Finding Nemo, Pixar’s masterpiece came out 20 years ago: trivia. PHOTO

It has been 20 years since the US theatrical release of Finding Nemo (Finding Nemo). The film directed by Andrew Stanton (and co-directed by Lee Unkrich), produced by Pixar and distributed by Disney, arrived in US cinemas on May 30, 2003. It immediately proved to be a huge critical and box office success: it grossed almost 900 million dollars worldwide and won the Oscar for best animated film. Here’s everything you need to know

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THE INSPIRATION – Andrew Stanton took inspiration for the film from various episodes in his life: like when as a child he loved going to the dentist to see the aquarium, imagining that the fish came from the ocean and wanted to go home. The idea for the Marlin and Nemo characters came from a photograph of two clownfish peeking out of an anemone

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HOW THE FILM WAS BORN – The pre-production of the film began in 1997. Stanton began writing the screenplay during the post-production of A Bug’s Life. Consequentially, Finding Nemo began production with a completed script, something co-director Lee Unkrich called “very unusual for an animated film”

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THE CAST – Many big names in Hollywood have lent their voices to dub the main characters. William H. Macy was cast as Marlin, and he also recorded most of the dialogue. But Stanton decided early on to go for a lighter touch and cast Albert Brooks, a decision the director says “saved” the film. In the Italian version this entry is entrusted to Luca Zingaretti

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THE OTHER ITEMS – The character of Dory was initially supposed to be male but the director upset the script by choosing Ellen DeGeneres as the voice actress when in an episode of Ellen he saw her “change the subject five times before finishing a sentence”. In the Italian version Dory’s voice is by Carla Signoris. Stanton himself provided the voice of the turtle Crush (Scorza in the Italian version): he recorded all her dialogues lying on a sofa Other characters are voiced by Willem Dafoe, Allison Janney, Geoffrey Rush and Eric Bana

THE DISMISSAL OF “KAREN” – Actress Megan Mullally was originally going to be one of the voices in the film. According to what she said, the producers were stunned to learn that she used her for her character of Karen Walker in the series Will & Grace it was not his natural voice. The producers hired her and strongly encouraged her to use “Karen’s voice” for her role. She refused and was fired

ANIMATION – To make sure the fish’s movements in the film were believable, the animators took a crash course in marine biology and oceanography. They visited aquariums, went scuba diving in Hawaii and received lessons from an ichthyologist. In this way they were able to integrate fish behaviors with human movements and facial expressions

THE SOUNDTRACK – Finding Nemo it was the first Pixar film not to feature a score by Randy Newman. The original soundtrack was instead signed by Thomas Newman, his cousin. And it got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score, but lost out to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

THE EXIT – The film, Pixar’s fifth but also the first to be released in the US market during the summer instead of November, premiered in Los Angeles on May 18, 2003. It then opened theatrically on May 30. In Italy it arrived at the cinema on December 3 of the same year. The budget of the film was 94 million dollars: it grossed almost 10 times as much

RECORD REVENUES In total, the film grossed $339.7 million in the United States and Canada and $531.3 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of $871.0 million. In 2003 only The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King it grossed the most at the box office. After 20 years, worldwide, it is still in the top ten of the animated films with the highest grossing ever

THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS – Finding NemoIn addition to critical acclaim, it garnered numerous awards and nominations. At the 2004 Oscars it won the statuette for best animated film, as well as nominations for original screenplay, sound editing and score. It also earned a nomination for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes

THE NEMO-MANIA – The movie made clownfish one of the most recognizable species in the world. Ironically, despite the plot negatively portraying the use of fish as pets, the demand for this species has skyrocketed. According to environmental and animal rights groups, the sudden demand for tropical fish has caused imbalances in coral reefs. However, some owners of these fish, after watching the film, have released them into the ocean, unknowingly introducing species that are harmful to the indigenous environment

3D VERSION AND SEQUEL – Disney recreated the film in 3D in 2012: the new release brought in an additional 69.3 million in box office takings, bringing the film’s cumulative worldwide total to $940.3 million. The spin-off/sequel was released in 2016 Finding Dory, centered around the co-star’s journey to reunite with her parents. This too was a commercial success. Finding Nemo it also led to the creation of a video game, theme park attractions, and a manga

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