‘Finding Nemo’ is one of the most classic and beloved children’s animated movies. With Marlin, Dory, and the cast of characters around them, it’s hard to forget the delights of the journey across the ocean to save his son. However, there are so many great characters in that movie that it can be difficult to remember which ones belong where.
Who is the voice actor of Nemo? Is it someone famous, like Ellen Degeneres for Dory, or an unknown child voice actor? Read on to find the answer to that question and more, like what Nemo’s voice actor is doing now and how Nemo affected other movies like it.
In this article
- History of Nemo and the Movie Finding Nemo
- Finding Nemo’s Influence on Other Animated Movies
- Who is the Voice of Nemo?
- Nemo’s Best Quotes or Videos
- Final Thoughts
History of Nemo and the Movie Finding Nemo
‘Finding Nemo’ was released in 2003 to great critical acclaim. With a soundtrack by Thomas Newman and a star-studded cast, the movie was instantly popular and has been a fan favorite ever since. However, the idea for Nemo started much earlier, when the director was a child and visiting the dentist.
Andrew Stanton, who directed ‘Finding Nemo’, always assumed that the fish in the dentist’s office were from the ocean and wanted to go home. As an adult, he used this information to start the plotline for a movie about a fish who was stolen from his home to live in a tank. Nemo was that fish, and his father, Marlin, crossed the whole ocean to find him.
The name Nemo is a reference to Jules Verne’s classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, about a lost sea captain trying to find his purpose. In it, Captain Nemo encounters many sea creatures, as Marlin does in the film ‘Finding Nemo’. With that background, we get one of the classic films of the early 2000s.
Finding Nemo’s Influence on Other Animated Movies
‘Finding Nemo’ is a seminal Disney Pixar animation of the 2000s. Released in 2003, it followed movies such as ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’, ‘Lilo and Stitch’, and ‘Treasure Planet’. However, Nemo was the first movie in a while to have a cast almost exclusively made up of animals.
While some researchers cite the “Nemo effect” as causing harm to pets, it has largely been proven to be untrue. The “Nemo effect” was so named because, in the movie, the fish long for escape and repeatedly say, “all drains lead to the ocean.” They try to escape through toilets, sinks, and other drains.
However, not all drains lead to the ocean, and not all pet fish are saltwater fish. After Nemo was released, an urban legend called the “Nemo effect” started, saying that children were flushing their saltwater fish down the toilet in hopes they would find the ocean. In reality, this didn’t happen nearly as often as was believed.
‘Finding Nemo’ actually had a positive impact on how large swaths of people viewed the ocean and the environment. The negative impact of humans, as shown in the film, caused many pet owners and environmentalists to think more carefully about how their actions affected the big blue sea.
Instead, ‘Finding Nemo’ had a largely positive effect on the movie industry. Its effects can be seen in the influx of animal-themed worlds, from ‘Zootopia’ to ‘Sing’. Throughout the industry, more and more movies have been made directly involving animals and how animals move through the world.
Of course, you can see ‘Finding Nemo’’s effect most clearly in movies that involve father and son relationships, such as ‘How to Train Your Dragon’. It is also clear in movies that involve mostly animals and how they interact when humans aren’t around, such as ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ or ‘Zootopia’. ‘Finding Dory’ is a direct sequel to ‘Finding Nemo’ and set in the same world.
Who is the Voice of Nemo?
‘Finding Nemo’ had a star-studded cast. However, the voice of Nemo was played by Alexander Gould, who was a relatively unknown eleven year old child. Still, he nailed the role! Gould has kept a low profile in terms of his career since the movie to focus on his personal life, college, and adulthood.
After Nemo, Alexander Gould was able to score a supporting role on the television show ‘Weeds’. He provided a few more voice roles, including a cameo part in ‘Finding Dory’. Gould is now married and lives in Los Angeles with his wife.
Of course, the most famous voice in ‘Finding Nemo’ was Ellen DeGeneres, who played the part of Dory. Other stars include Willem Dafoe as Gill, Geoffrey Rush as Nigel, Andrew Stanton as Crush, and Albert Brooks as Marlin. Many other stars had cameos or smaller roles throughout the movie.
Although Alexander Gould wasn’t the biggest star of the movie, his voice certainly had reach. After Nemo, he was able to film a special information video about the reef with Jacques Cousteau’s son, Jean-Michel Cousteau. His performance as Nemo lent the film much of its heart and emotion.
Nemo’s Best Quotes or Videos
Although Nemo has several excellent quotes from the movie, most of the memorable quotes and scenes from the movie involve other characters.
However, here is a compilation of clips from the film. Here is a list of some of Nemo’s most iconic quotes:
- “Dad, you’re not going to freak out like you did at the petting zoo, are you?”
- “I can do this.”
- “That’s my dad!”
Nemo goes on an adventure in the film, but not as long or harrowing as the one his father, Marlin, undertakes. Throughout the story, we flash back and forth between the colorful cast of characters in Nemo’s fish tank and the wild array of fish that Marlin and Dory meet on the way. The movie is truly a classic animated film.
Final Thoughts
Finding Nemo is one of the most iconic animated films of the 2000s and impacted many films after it. Of course, none of that would have been possible without the little orange clownfish we all loved named Nemo. Voiced by Alexander Gould, Nemo swam his way into viewers’ hearts on the big screen.
What do you think of Gould’s performance in ‘Finding Nemo’? Do you wish he kept doing voice acting? Let us know in the comments below!
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