Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures

Marlin and Coral, a clownfish couple who are waiting for their eggs to hatch, live on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. After a barracuda knocks Marlin unconscious, Marlin awakens to find Coral and all but one of the eggs gone. Marlin names the surviving child Nemo and vows to keep him safe.

Years later, Marlin and Nemo live in a secluded sea anemone. Nemo is eager to start school and explore the outside world; however Marlin remains anxious and hyperprotective of his son. While dropping Nemo off at school, Marlin warns the teacher of Nemo's deformed pelvic fin. After discovering Nemo's class will be visiting the "drop-off", where the reef meets the open sea, Marlin panics and tries to withdraw Nemo from school. Nemo defiantly swims to a nearby speedboat to prove his independence and is captured by a pair of scuba divers.

The inspiration for Finding Nemo sprang from multiple experiences, going back to director Andrew Stanton's childhood, when he loved going to the dentist to see the fish tank, assuming that the fish were from the ocean and wanted to go home. In 1992, shortly after his son was born, he and his family took a trip to Marine World. There, after seeing the shark tube and various exhibits, he felt that the underwater world could be done beautifully in computer animation. Later, in 1997, he took his son for a walk in the park but realized that he was overprotecting him and lost an opportunity to have a father-son experience that day.

In an interview with National Geographic magazine, Stanton said that the idea for the characters of Marlin and Nemo came from a photograph of two clownfish peeking out of an anemone:

==== Original theatrical run ====

During its original theatrical run, Finding Nemo grossed $339.7 million in the United States and Canada and $531.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $871.0 million. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 2003, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Finding Nemo also defeated The Matrix Reloaded to become the highest-grossing film of the 2003 summer season. The film sold an estimated 56.4 million tickets in the United States during its initial theatrical run.

A spin-off sequel to this film was released in June 2016, titled Finding Dory. It focuses on Dory having a journey to reunite with her parents (Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy).

Two short films, an educational documentary, Exploring the Reef with Jean-Michel Cousteau (2003) and Marine Life Interviews (2016), were released as part of the home releases for Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, respectively. In April 2026, Pixar announced that a new short film set in the world of Finding Nemo is in development, with DeGeneres returning to reprise her role.