Film

Finding Nemo

Name: Finding Nemo
Genre: Animation, Family, Adventure
Released: 2003
Cast: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush

Pixar's undersea odyssey about an anxious clownfish who loses his only son and must cross a hostile ocean to get him back. It's dazzlingly colourful, laugh-out-loud funny, and quietly devastating before it even gets going. Kids get sharks and turtles; parents get a gut-punch about letting go. Essential, tissues optional.

TMDb rating

7.8

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Finding Dory2016

The direct sequel picks up years later and turns the camera on Dory herself, giving the scatterbrained sidekick a real backstory and an emotional weight nobody saw coming the first time round.

But Same ocean, similar rescue-mission structure — if you want something genuinely new, this one plays it a little safe.

Up2009

Pixar again mines grief and adventure from an unlikely hero, this time a grumpy widower tethered to a floating house, and finds the same balance of devastation and delight.

But That famous opening montage is one of the most efficient tear-jerkers ever made — brutal if you're not braced for it.

The Incredibles2004

Same Pixar heart — family first, courage under pressure — rebuilt as a superhero action movie with genuinely thrilling set-pieces and a sharp streak of domestic comedy.

But Louder and punchier than Nemo, with less melancholy underneath; if you wanted the quiet ache, this trades it for spectacle.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Prisoners2013

Same engine as Nemo — terror-driven parental quest across danger — played dead straight, with every joke and every safety net removed.

Denis Villeneuve strips the comfort out of the exact same premise — a desperate parent crossing a hostile world to get a child back — and turns it into a relentless, morally jagged thriller.

But Bleak, disturbing and utterly humourless; there is no fade-out reunion warmth here, and it is definitely not for kids or light evenings.

Monsters, Inc.2001

Another Pixar surrogate-parent story, this time a hulking blue monster falling for a toddler he's not supposed to keep, told with the same inventive world-building and warmth.

But Stakes stay low and cosy throughout — no life-or-death ocean crossing here, just gentle peril and door-closet logistics.

Ratatouille2007

Pixar's most visually rich film swaps the reef for Parisian kitchens, telling a story about following your true nature against family expectation with real elegance and wit.

But It's about ambition rather than parental fear, and the stakes feel more personal than perilous — a different kind of journey entirely.

Toy Story1995

The film that started Pixar's whole run is still sharp, funny and unexpectedly sad about loyalty, obsolescence and being left behind by someone you love.

But Toy-box scale rather than ocean-wide epic, and the animation shows its age next to Nemo's later polish.

How to Train Your Dragon2010

Different studio, same father-son friction and coming-of-age courage, with flight sequences that give the same soaring, weightless thrill Nemo gets from the open sea.

But Vikings and dragons instead of fish, and the tone leans more toward rousing action than character-driven comedy.

Luca2021

Pixar's own sea-creature coming-of-age tale, set on a sun-drenched Italian coast, about friendship, hidden identity and the pull between the safe deep and dry land.

But Lower stakes and a slighter story than Nemo — charming, but it never reaches for the same gut-punch.

The Little Mermaid1989

The earlier undersea classic that reignited Disney animation altogether, gorgeous music and a young protagonist yearning for a world bigger than the one she's been given.

But Musical, romance-driven and hand-drawn in a very different register — less about anxiety, more about longing.

The Silent World1956

Where Nemo imagines the reef as wonder, Cousteau filmed the real thing first — real fish, real light, real danger the animation was chasing.

Jacques Cousteau's Palme d'Or-winning documentary was one of the first films to show the real ocean in colour, and it's the actual reef that Pixar's animators studied decades later.

But Slow by modern standards, and some sequences reflect now-uncomfortable attitudes toward marine life — it's a document of its era, not entertainment.

Ponyo2008

Same ocean-crossing wonder and fish-out-of-water premise, rendered through an entirely different animation philosophy — Ghibli's soft hand-drawn magic instead of Pixar's crisp CGI reef.

Miyazaki's hand-painted undersea fairy tale trades CGI polish for watercolour waves and gives you a headstrong fish-girl who refuses to stay in the sea, told with dreamlike tenderness.

But Looser and stranger than a Western family film — it drifts rather than drives, which can frustrate anyone expecting a clear adventure plot.