Chances are that you’ve seen Finding Nemo multiple times, as it was released back in
2003, but there are still so many things that you probably have never noticed. From the
most unusual hidden gems to hidden adult humor, you will be surprised what we have found in
one of the most successful critically, commercially, and culturally Pixar animated movies.
Typical Pixar hidden gems There are a few details that Pixar adds to
every movie and you probably already know that we are talking about traditional A113
and Pizza Planet Truck. A113 code appears on the underwater camera when we see the diver
and as you already know A113 represents a classroom where many of Pixar’s animators
first studied. As for Pizza Planet Truck, it can be briefly seen from the dentist’s
office. The truck is seen driving by quickly and this is exactly the blink and you miss
its hidden detail. Haven’t found it yet? It happens when Gill is trying to escape from
the dentist’s office. The next cameo is dedicated to Cars and we can see Luigi passing
by real quick. Even though Cars wouldn't premiere for another three years, it was just a reminder
of how long these films take to produce. At least, this is what we think about it. The
next interesting cameo is from the past. From 1989 to be more precise. If you remember the
1989 Pixar short Knick Knack, you will notice the mermaid that looks exactly like the girl
from this movie. Knick Knack is about a snow globe snowman desperate for a little fun in
the sun. The sunny Atlantis mermaid from this short adorns the bow of the sunken ship inside
the dentist’s fish tank as a sort of a good-luck charm. This is so nice to see her there, by
the way. Another cool thing is about the young turtles' shells. Have you noticed that they
look really familiar and they all have different flowers on them? They were designed to resemble
Hawaiian shirts. The next cameo which appears at the very end of the movie was Mike Wazowski
from The Monsters Inc. and you can spot him swimming by in the end credits! We definitely
can't get enough of these Pixar character cameos. And yes, it is also important to notice
that Finding Nemo is the second movie in Pixar’s history with the words "the end" appearing
in the final scene. A Bug's Life was the first! Dentist office hidden gems
We don’t know if you have noticed that but the dentist's office in Finding Nemo is chock-full
of really cool hidden gems. Let’s start with the first one – the toys in the kids’
play area. You should take a closer look to see that our favorite toy from Toy Story,
Buzz Lightyear can be spotted on the floor of the dentist's waiting room. Very sneaky!
Eagled-eyes viewers can also notice Pixar’s Luxo ball and little Mikey. Remember him?
Miley is a stuffed toy that belongs to Mike Wazowski from The Monsters Inc. Let’s move
on to the waiting room to find one really interesting thing. There’s a boy sitting
and reading a Mr. Incredible comic book. But the thing is that The Incredibles didn't come
out until the following year! The next thing that was hidden in the dentist's exam room
was the mobile hanging from the ceiling that is identical to the one seen in Boo's bedroom
in The Monsters Inc. You also can notice Boo’s fun little fish and drawing in the dentist’s
office. As for the drawing, it is challenging to spot but if you put the scene when Crush,
Nemo and Dory get into the dentist’s office, the scared kid points to Boo’s drawing on
the wall. And the last hidden Easter gem is the funniest one. If you zoom in on the dentist
diplomas on the wall in the office you will see some very silly accolades, like the "Gums
Most Likely to Recede Award" and the "Toothless Grin Award."
Adult humor Finding Nemo was obviously created for kids
but we should also admit that there were a few hilarious adult jokes and scenes which
made this movie interesting and fun for parents as well. Sometimes the writers add innocent
adult jokes and this is what we all love about modern animated films. One of the adult moments
like that was in Dr. Sherman's office when the fish was in the tank and are scanned by
a cleaning machine. Have you noticed that one of the fish covers his private area? In
another scene, we definitely see the reference to an Alcoholics Anonymous addiction meeting
when the sharks are met to discuss that they should stop eating fish. And here is one more
moment when the shark Bruce in his hungry quest for fish says, "Here's Brucey!". Sounds
familiar, right? This is because it was a reference to the scene in The Shining when
Jack Nicholson shouts, "Here's Johnny!" If you have anything to add about adult humor,
feel free to share what you've noticed in the comments section below.
Description of the ocean We all have noticed that Finding Nemo is not
only beautifully made but it is also super realistic when it comes to the ocean. Not
many kids can notice this detail though but if you watch this movie as an adult, you will
definitely admit that the ocean is made pretty accurate. Many of you don’t know but the
movie’s art team had to go through marine training prior to production. Pixar’s in-house
art team was required to take courses and audit lectures in marine biology, oceanography,
and ichthyology while enrolling in scuba diving classes. We should give them credit as the
team worked hard to study the world of marine life. "Visits to aquariums, diving stints
in Monterey and Hawaii, study sessions in front of Pixar's well-stocked 25-gallon fish
tank, and a series of in-house lectures from an ichthyologist all helped to get them into
the swim of things," PixarTalk.com noted. They also did a really great job showing that the
deep ocean is terrifying. It was clearly shown in a scene in which Marlin and Dory encounter
a scary angler fish in the deep ocean. This scene was creepy not only for kids but for
adults as well. But if the kids will only perceive it as two little fish fighting a
big scary fish, adults will notice just how terrifying that big fish is. And yeah, this
fish is real and you can meet it in real life. Dogs’ face
We should definitely admit that all Finding Nemo characters look cute. But did you know
that dogs were used as models for the fishy facial expressions? Well, it explains the
cuteness of all characters. As you already know, The Pixar team had to take courses on
marine life and learned a wide variety of spectacular shapes and colors, perfect for
an animated film depicting the underwater population. But there was one issue that they
met with: there was a lack of emotions as the fish’s dull eyes didn’t let them build
expressive characters. But the challenge was accomplished when Pixar’s team found a way
out. They found another optical model and they chose dogs to model the eyes of its fish
characters. True story
Not too many people know that Finding Nemo is actually based on a true story but you
can definitely feel that the story itself is very personal. Finding Nemo’s writer-director
Andrew Stanton revealed that the movie began taking shape all the way back in his childhood:
"I remember going to my family dentist, who had this funky fish tank in his office ... I
assumed, when I was a child, that all fish in tanks were originally from the ocean and
wanted to go home." According to Andrew, this story stayed in the back of his mind for decades,
and a trip to Marine World with his son Ben only proved once again that this fish story
would be a perfect pick for the next computer animation but he still needed a story that
"mattered to him emotionally." But thanks to his son he found an answer. One day, the
father and son went for a walk in the park, and he caught himself spending the whole time
panicking about all the ways Ben might get hurt. He then realized that this fear was
really stressful for both of them and at that moment he realized that this conflict would
be perfect to depict in his new movie. And we see this reflected in Marlin and Nemo’s
relationship. We should admit that Finding Nemo is not only an interesting and beautiful
movie. It is also a deeply emotional story about the challenges of being a good father.
You can tell us about the hidden details you noticed in Finding Nemo. Feel free to leave
your comments in the section down below. If there’s something we forgot to include in
this video, just let us know. See you in the next episode and don’t forget to hit the
subscribe button! Bye bye!