by Lauren Reynolds

Created on: May 27, 2008

One of the most popular questions for parents today is, "Is this film actually teaching my child something?" Thanks to Pixar's Finding Nemo, little Susie can actually pick up a few useful facts. It is for the most part, biologically accurate and it even gives a decent representation of the interactions and relationships between marine creatures. Two specific scenes focused on the relationship between clownfish and sea anemone, as well as, jellyfish. Both were prominent learning experiences and part of the way of life for the viewer and the fish in the movie.

The very beginning of the movie focuses on Marlin and his wife. But after the audiences endures the tragic death of Nemo's mom and all his siblings, they are exposed to the clownfish's home: sea anemone. This represents the symbiotic relationship between these two saltwater animals. The clownfish and the sea anemone help each other survive in the ocean. The clownfish, while being provided with food, cleans away fish and algae leftovers from the anemone. In addition, the sea anemones are given better water circulation because the clownfish fan their fins while swimming about. Both organisms benefit from their relationship.
The clownfish and the sea anemone help each other survive in the ocean. The clownfish, while being provided with food, cleans away fish and algae leftovers from the anemone. In addition, the sea anemones are given better water circulation because the clownfish fan their fins while swimming about. Both organisms benefit from their relationship.

Another ocean creature that the kids, and even the parents, have an opportunity to learn about is the jellyfish. Jellyfish have tentacles covered in nematocysts, responsible for "stinging". Each nematocyst has a "trigger" paired with a capsule containing a stinging filament and barbs on the exterior. On contact, the filament will unwind, launch into the target, and inject toxins.

This is seen, although without excessive detail, in the movie. While swimming over the trench, Marlin and Dory run into a smack of jellies. As long as the clownfish and blue tang only touched the tops of the jellyfish, the bells, they were safe. Later however, each is stung badly and knocked unconscious when coming in contact with the tentacles.

These were just two specific examples of many throughout Finding Nemo. Other animals that were seen included flatworms, octopuses, seahorses, blowfish, starfish, angelfish, sharks, sea turtles, manta rays, a whale, shrimp, krill and sponges. While the movie had it's fair share of mistakes to criticize, it did an overall well job of representing a view of life we still know so little about as well as giving kids a learning opportunity though the media.

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