How ‘Finding Nemo’ Almost Became Pixar’s “First Bad Movie”

Finding Nemo is arguably one of Pixar Animation Studios’ most beloved films. Well, that almost could have not been in the case if it were not for a last minute change.

According to animator Jason Deamer, the 2003 film was almost the studio’s “first bad movie” until one last-minute change was made.

“Originally you found out [about Nemo’s mother’s death] through flashbacks. We all went to the last screening before it was going to be finished, and we all walked out the theater and no one was saying anything,” Deamer told UNILAD. “[We thought] ‘Did we just just make our first bad movie?’ We were a little concerned, and [co-director] Lee Unkrick said ‘Let me try something’, and he took those flashbacks and he recut them all in the beginning.”

Finding Nemo tells the story of an overprotective clownfish named Marlin who, along with a forgetful regal blue tang named Dory, searches for his missing son Nemo. Along the way, Marlin learns to take risks and comes to terms with Nemo taking care of himself.

“When you didn’t know [about Nemo’s mother’s death] in the beginning, you thought Marlin was an overprotective, annoying character. It was the same footage. We didn’t animate anything new. [Unkrick] just told the audience that sooner. I know it’s heart-wrenching, but otherwise you just didn’t empathize with [Marlin’s] overprotective behavior.”

Grossing over $940 million worldwide at the box office, Finding Nemo is the best-selling DVD title of all time, with over 40 million copies sold as of 2006, and was the highest-grossing G-rated film of all time before Pixar’s own Toy Story 3 overtook it. In 2008, the American Film Institute named it as the 10th greatest American animated film as part of their 10 Top 10 lists. A sequel, Finding Dory, was released in June 2016.