Prize Catches (A Tongue-In-Cheek Tribute to <em>Finding Nemo</em>)

[1]

Marlin, Dory and Nemo have more awards on their reefs than Katharine Hepburn. All images © Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. [1]

The evening of Feb. 7, 2004 was a magic one for Pixar; no less than nine Annie Awards went to its outstanding feature film Finding Nemo [2]. While Nemo’s domination of the Annies seems impressive enough, the entire story has not been told. The briny blockbuster, which became the animated box office champ of all time, combined for an unprecedented 37 Annies and Oscars [3] including awards in categories created especially for this unique film. Your humble scribe went behind the scenes at Glendale and Los Angeles to talk with the awards committees and as a result I am able to bring you the full and entire list of Annie Awards and Oscars that were actually presented to Finding Nemo:

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature: Finding Nemo

Best Directing: Lee Unkrich, Andrew Stanton

Best Voice Acting: Ellen DeGeneres (Dory)

Best Music: Thomas Newman

Best Writing: Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, Dave Reynolds

Best Production Design: Ralph Eggleston

Best Character Animation: Doug Sweetland

Best Character Design: Ruby Nierva

Best Effects Animation: Martin Nguyen

Best Mass Murder by a Saltwater Predator: Barracuda

Best Jellyfish Envenomation in an Animated Theatrical Feature: Carybdea alata

[4]

Now in its triple platinum Disney Masterpiece Treasures edition DVD box set, it is estimated that every home in the world has at least two Nemo digital downloads, DVDs or the arcane VHS. [4]

Best Portrayal of Sequelae to a Closed-Head Trauma: Dory

Best Clinical Demonstration of Relapse in a 12-Step Program: Bruce the Shark

Best Appearance By a Biological Mother in A Disney Production (or Co-Production) for Longer Than Five Minutes or Three Lines of Dialogue: Coral

Best Analysis of Dental Repair Technique by a Piscine: Bloat

Best Purchase of an Aquatic Pet Via eBay: Peach

“Rats With Wings” Award for Special Achievement by Maritime Scavengers: The seagulls

Best Idea for a Theme Park Ride: “The Porcelain Express”

Best Vocal Performance by a Pedantic Stingray: Mr. Ray, “The Species Song”

Outstanding Group Impersonation of a Clownfish Award: School of Moonfish

Most Often-Repeated Address in an Animated Feature: 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney

Best Tribute to John Kricfalusi: Mount Wannahockaloogie

“Chicken Run” Award for Best Mass Escape by Anthromophic Animals: Bloat, Jacques, Peach, Gill, Deb, Bubbles, Gurgle

Best Practical Application of Child Development Theory by a Sea Turtle: Crush

Speed Grooming Award: Jacques

Most Innocuous Gang Initiation Ritual in an Animated Feature: The Ring of Fire

Best Plot Complication Device: The AquaScum 2003

“Midnight Bark” Award for Longest Animal Chain of Communications: Assorted fish, cetaceans, avians and crustaceans, Finding Nemo,

Best Replication of a Disney Film Device within a Disney Film: Dory and Marlin, “Inside the Whale” scene

Best Animated Feature Since the Initiation of CGI: Finding Nemo

Best Animated Feature of the Past 10 Years: Finding Nemo

Best Animated Feature of the Past 20 Years: Finding Nemo

[5]

OK, Best Animated Feature Since Gertie the Dinosaur, Are You Happy Now? [5]

OK, Best Animated Feature Since Gertie the Dinosaur, Are You Happy Now?: Finding Nemo

Special “Nail in the 2D Coffin” Award: Finding Nemo

Best Nomination for Inclusion Into American Film Institute Immortality Within a Year of Release: Finding Nemo

The “We Ain’t Giving No Damn French Cartoon Picture Any Awards This Year” Award: Finding Nemo

Best Electromagnetic Images That Will Reach the Horsehead Nebula in Approximately 1,600 Light Years: Finding Nemo

Addendum:

November 20, 2019 (AP)

[6]

From this humble storyboard, the Nemo empire began. [6]

When the time came to plot a course for the 16th sequel in the wildly popular Finding Nemo franchise, Pixar directors Lee Unkrich and Andrew Stanton decided to throw a few twists into the current. Moviegoers this year will really see a fish out of water when the cast blasts off into space for Finding Nemo: The Great Galactic Rescue.

“It was time to change the formula,” noted Unkrich, who makes an annual ritual of reuniting with co-director Stanton. “We’ve done just about everything we can do in a marine setting, and we’re ready to take some risks for this film.” Stanton agrees, “After we did that team-up with the Little Mermaid cast in Finding Nemo: The Search For Sebastian, I kind of had the feeling we were running out of possibilities. Then Dave (Reynolds), who worked with me on the first four films asked me, “Why don’t you take Nemo out of the Big Blue altogether?” I thought that he was nuts until he pitched this space idea and then I began to get excited.” Unkrich adds, “Since we were playing with convention I thought, “What if this time it’s Nemo who has to come to the rescue instead of getting trapped or lost or tagging along while Marlin and Dory save the day?”

So what will the fans (many of whom go to the movies dressed as their favorite characters) see? “I don’t want to give too much away, and we’re still straightening out some of the storyboard,” said Stanton. “But I can tell you that this time Marlin ends up as a test fish on a Mars mission until a bunch of intergalactic pirates gets other ideas. It’s up to Nemo to save his dad from their plundering crew. That helps us keep a sort of nautical theme even though most of the picture takes place off-planet.”

Unkrich came up with a few ideas of his own, “You’re going to see the old gang -- Gill, Peach, Bloat, Bruce, Dory, some of the others -- since Nemo’s going to need a crew, but there are going to be some new major characters introduced as other alien species get into the act. I don’t want to say any more than that right now because the licensing agreements are still being worked out.”

Also being worked out is Pixar’s new Lightyear Holographic Imaging System (HIS), which will be used in several portions of the film in order to give heightened 3D effects to the more traditional CGI. “I wish we could have done the whole film using HIS,” said Unkrich, “but at this point we couldn’t get all the effects we wanted, let alone the time they took to generate. I remember we did a few test shots of Dory that took almost a month and we still didn’t really get what we were looking for. I think, though, that HIS was very useful for some of the minor effects. Audiences will really see the difference, and we hope to get to the point where HIS can be used for an entire feature. Maybe even the next one.”

In all, Unkrich and Stanton agree that the Nemo franchise still has legs. “It’s still fun.” said Stanton, dodging a question about how Nemo and company obtained a starship. “I guess we’re into a whole new generation of fans now, and that says a lot about the original film which is still one of my favorites. We might not have as many Oscars as we won with the first Nemo, but we’re still turning out great films and I think people still want to see them. Just think; all this started with a clownfish.”

Martin “Dr. Toon” Goodman is a longtime student and fan of animation. He lives in Anderson, Indiana.