Finding Nemo

A clown fish named Marlin, living in the Great Barrier Reef, loses his only son Nemo, after a fish had eaten his wife and the rest of his children. One day on a school field trip, Nemo ventures into the open dangerous sea, despite his father's wishes. Nemo is then abducted by a boat, netted up and sent to a dentist's office in Sydney. Trying to find Nemo, Marlin meets a fish named Dory, a blue tang suffering from short term memory loss. The two fish find them selves on the swim of their life, trying to find Nemo. The two new friends encounter various dangerous sea creatures; sharks, angler fish and jelly fish. Marlin and Dory, also make new friends; hooking a ride with the sea turtles, the pelican and the whale. Nemo and other sea creatures in the dentist's tank plot to break free. 

Marlin is the common archetype, the hero. He is to fulfill the necessary task of finding Nemo and bringing him back home. Marlin's wife and Nemo's mother is the scapegoat, her death starts the story and makes the theme a more powerful force to the hero, Marlin. Although the common archetype the damsel in distress is the woman who must be rescued by the hero, in this story Nemo is to be rescued by his father Marlin. Dory is the loyal retainer, she helps Marlin to find Nemo and protects Marlin. The sharks in this story are the evil figures with the ultimately good hearts, the sharks try very hard not to be fish eating and scary. Against the sharks' nature. There are many friendly beasts in Marlin's quest, there are; the turtles, the pelican and the whale. These animals assist Marlin, showing that nature is on his side.  

Marlin is on a quest to find Nemo. The departure: although Marlin is reluctant to accept when he is called to adventure, scared of the unknown, he dashes in to the deep sea racing after the boat that took Nemo. The initiation: after loosing the boat Martin found himself in a new busier part of the ocean. Leaving the safe security of the Great Barrier Reef, his home, behind. Marlin also meets Dory, a new friend, who will help him on his quest. The road of trails: on their way to Sydney, Dory and Marlin encounter dangerous creatures venturing a number of trails. Dining with sharks, out running an angle fish, jumping over jelly fish, riding the current with the turtles, being eaten by a whale and a pelican. The innermost cave: Marlin, while in the whale's mouth with Dory, has to go against his own belief and trust Dory. The two fish are hanging on the tongue faced with the fact of falling into the black unknown of the whale. Due to the trails Marlin changes internally and is emotionally reborn. Marlin trusts Dory and lets go of the tongue and falls. Only to be let out in the pier of Sydney. Letting go of the tongue also symbolized letting go of the fear he had held onto for so many years after the death of his wife and children. The return and reintegration with society: Marlin uses his new wisdom to save Nemo and Dory, when finally reunited, they get trapped in a fisher's net. Marlin's life can finally move forward with his new wisdom, his son and his new friends.


Another situation archetype is the father son conflict. As a result of losing his wife and children, Marlin is very protective of Nemo. This strong fear creates a barrier between them. This adventure forces Marlin to let go and allows for their relationship to grow and strengthen. 

Although when you first look at this story you believe that the hero of the movie is Marlin, looking deeper one may say Nemo is the hero. Though it appears that his father was sent to save him, it is actually through this quest that Marlin learns to enjoy life again and not live in fear. So really, this story could also be looked at as Nemo being the hero.