1'.1.NDI.

NG IIBMO

Origin&!St.o:ry by
Andrew Stant.on

Sc,.enpla,'y" by
Andrew Stant.on, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds

'
'
 '.
FADE IN

TIIE DEEP OCEAN, A vast ""i'tY blue void. Anything could he out
there.
_,,
,-. (Q.$.)

co= (O.S.)
Mm •••
_,,
,-. (O.S,)

c- jO.S.)
l!lrlmhmm •••

Beat.
_,,
-·
Yes, !li!.rlin.
It•• ... beautiful.
,,. •••
'
(Q.S.)

c - Io. s. I
it.

' A PAIR OF CLOWNFISH look rn,t from their tranquil ane,none home
on the Gr""t Barrier Reef, It rests on the cliff face of TIil!
OROP--OFF, where the shallow water fall, steeply to the deep.
~ight dances over everything as it sways with the rhythm of
the undercurr<>nt.
_,,
So, Coral, when you said you wanted an
ocean view, you didn • t Ulink you were
gonna get the whole ocean, did ya? Buh?!
(swims out; breaths deep)
Oh yeah. A fish can breathe out here! Did
your man deliver? Or did he deliver?

-_,,
Coral rolls her eyes and smiles.

l\y lll!lil delivt!red.

And it wasn't so easy

co=
(feeds into him)
Because a lot of other olownfish had
their eyes on this place,.,
 ,.
CONTINUJeD;

_,,
You b!!tter believe they did! EVery single

-
one of them.

llo\-tmrn. YOU did good. And tbe

neighborhood io aweoome,
co,,al steers Marlin's focus l>a.ck to tbe CORAL RE&F, where
thair neighbors, an array of IIIILTI---<:OLOREO lllllUNE LIFE,
happily goo.bout their business om,_<fst the exotic foliage
that blankets the reef.
Marlin soaks it in, turns to Coral. She seams concerned.
_,,

,,.
,_
So you do like it, don't you1

No, no, no. I do. I do. I really do like

(leads him out to the edge)
But Marlin, I kru;IW' that the Drop-off is
desirahle with the great schools and the
amazing view and all that. But do we
really need so Dll]Ch space?
_,,
Coral, honey, tl>eee '°""' our kids ""'re
talking about. They deserve t.he best.
l.ook, look, look •• ,
(enters aneame: acts it out)
They'll wake up, poke their little heads
out and they ,ee a whale passing right by
their bedroom windowl
,_
Shhh. . . You' re gonna wake the kids •
_,,
Oh right. Right.
Marlin follows her down to a SMALL GROTT<l in tbe rock below.
They peek in at

A BED OF FISU EGGS

~-
ll8stled within the rock, The nuclei of the egg5 quiver at
random.

AW, look. They're dreOltli.ng.

 a.
CONTIIIOE(>=

Mother and fath<ar lovingly oboerve their babieo front the

entrance of the grotto.
co=
Ne still have to name them.
_,,
You want to name all of th811l, right now?
Alright, ""''11 name, uh, this half Marlin
Jr., and tbeo this ha.lf.,. Coral Jr,

c-
Okay, we're done,

(ignor... hlll)
I like Nemo.
_,,
Nemo? Nell, we'll name one Nemo, but I'd
like moat of then, to be Marlin Jr.
co=
Just think, in a couple day• we're gonna
be parent•,

Yeah, ••
(beat)
ilhat if they don't like me?
coral swims back up to the anemone. She's beard this before.

Marlin ...

~-
(goes J.nside)
There's over 400 eggs. Odds are one of
them is bound to like you.
INT, IIIIE>IONll !IOMll - CON'rll!lJOl,JS

coral settles oo the anemone floor. Turns to find Marlin

staring at her tll.rough the tendrils. All love.

ilhat?
_,,
You remember how we w,t?
CONTINUED:
'.
,,-
Well, I try not to.

He chases Coral around the inside of the anemone, threatening

to kiss her.
_,, ,,-
Excuse DI<!, miss. Could you (laughing)
check and see if I have a NO, No! Get away! Marlinl Get
hook in my lip? Oh, you gOtta away I Get away 1
look closer cau,e it's way in
there.

coral escapes outside, but he's right behind.

_,,
There he i•! Cutie•s here -- !
EXT. ANEMONE IIOME - CXJNTW\/OOS

11!.rlin pokes his head out of anemone and is startle<! to see

that the neignborhood is eerily empty.
_,,
Where'd .averyl>ody go?
NOtices coral. She is absolutely still,

floats io th<! mnrk, staring th1>111 down. """lin tries to

whisper without moving,
_,,
Coral. Get inside the hou,e, Coral.
He catches her glancing do,m at the eggs in the grotto.
_,,
No. No, Coral. Don't. They'll be fioe.
Just get inside. You. Right now.
Coral breaks for it. The barracuda lunges at he,;.

00"
t<arlin e<illides with the barracuda - Its jaW>I snap -- He
dodges -- The lllU<AACU!lA'S TAIL smacks him hard a9ainat the
rocks. Karlin falls limp ioto the an,,mone •••
 ,.
CONTINUED1

•• ,EVerything goeo black •••

FADE DI ON ANEMONE TENDRII.S, swaying gently with the current.

It's all quiet. Marlin"°'""" to, How long has he been out? He
bolts from the anemone.

CX)Rl\I. ! !

EXT, ANEHONE HOME - NIGHT

Marlin scan• the darkness. Nothing. Looks down. The moonlit
grotto remains silent. He moves cautiously towards it ...

.•. looks in ... rt·• empty.

Marlin begins to ohake. Calls out once more, hoping ..•

. , .Coral?!

No answer.
'
No ••. no ..•

He swims aiJlllessly. All alone. Stunru,ci. When he looks d.,.,,,,

and notices
A SINGLE FISH EGG
lying exposed on the saod, quivering on a ledge b<>low the
grotto. Marlin rushes to it.
_,,
There, there, there. It's okay ... Daddy's
here. ""-ddy's got you,

-~
Gently, he cradles the egg in hie fino. Tunis it over. The
other side is scarred but intact.

I promise, I will never let anything

happen to you. N,oro.

CLOSE ON EGG

AATCI! DISSOLVE TO;

Tb@ FULL MOON frOfll underneath the water's rippling $Urfac@, ••

 ,.
CONTINllliD:

-
Cllt:OITS FI.AY

MATCH OlSSO!.Vl:: l'O;

The lllUGIIT MORNING SUN replacing the 11100n as \fl! pull back
inside, ••

IN'!'. IINEMOllE HOME - SIX YEARS LATER

y,,,,r

-
A 6 old NE:MO sticks his head into fr11111e.

First day of school! First day of school!

!lake up!! !lake up!! C'mon! l"irst day of
school I!

Ke jump• on top of Marlin, asl""P on the floor.

_,,
I don't want to go to school -- five mere

-
minutes.

Not you, Dad, 11!!11 Get upl Get up)

,

-
NeD<> is so excited he literally bounces off the walls.
_,,
Okay. IIUh? I'm up ... What is It's time for school! Till>e
it? Alright, I'm up. It's for school! Tl.Jlle for school!
timo! for school. Time for schooll Oh boy, oh
boy, olt boy! -- llhoall
Neno looes control, and tumbles out the &n<>mone.

FJrr. ANU!OllE DOME - CON':rINUOIIS

Marlin bursts out of the"""""'"" to find Nemo stuck, face

-_,,
first, in a vase coral. Still e><cited.

(muffled)
First day of scllooll

Nemo! Don't"'°""• Don't ..ove! Y0u'll

never get out of_ there yours.,lf. I'll do
, it.
 ,.
CONTINUED:

-~
In an anxious fervor, Marlin pops Nemo out of the vase,
rushee hi,n haok inside, and frantically checks him all over.

Alright, where's the break? You feel a

-_,,
break?

(calm)

Sometimes you can't tell because fluid ie

rushing to the area. How, any rushing
fluids?

_,,
Are you woozy?

_,,
now many stripes do l have?

l',n fine.
_,,
Answer the stripe question!

Three.
_,,
Nol Seel Srnnething's wrong with you. I
have one, two, three? That's all I have?
(calms down)
oh, you're ol<ay. How's the lucky fin?

Lucky.

N"1110 turns to reveal

HI$ RIGIIT PBC'l'Oll.AL FIN

It is noticeably smaller than his other fin. Allnost
vestigial. Nenw, must flap it twice as fast, like a
hll1mlingbird, to stay balanced.
 ,.
CONTINUED:

Let's see.
Nemo awkwardly slaps his dad five with the withered fin,
_,,
Nm, you sure you ·wanna go to school this
year? Cause there's no proble,n if you

-_,,
don't. You can wait five or -- six years.

C'man, dadl It's time for school!

-_,,
Ah-ah-o.h. Forget to brush.

(protests)

-
Do you want this anemone to sting you?

, Yes.
!looks at it; b,,at)

Bruoh.
N"11<> huffo. Gives a W-ief perfunctory g,caze against the

-
tendrils.

Okay, I'm done!

_,,
Ub, you missed a spot!

Where?

There!
{tickles hiJII
And right there! And here and herel
l!XT. l\NEIIONE HOME - DAY

~ l i n pokes his head out, tentatively. Nemo doe~ the ealll&.

This"""""'"" is a new hame. It rests in the center of en
ISOr.ATED CUL OE SAC <leep inside the r""f- Nine and safe.
 ,.
CONTINUED,

_,,
Alright. we•= excited. First day of
school. Here we g<>, We're ready to learn,
to gets"""' knowledge. Mow, what's the
one thing we have to reo>elllber about the

-
ocean?

lt'o not. safe.

_,,
That's 11.r'f boyl So ... first we check to see
that the cout is clear ••• we gO out ...

Marlin venturea out halfway then pulls right back into the
anen,onl!. Proceeds to repeat this routin<> ad nauseam.

MNU,IN jCONT'D)
... and baek in. And then we qo out, .. and
back in. And then one more ti.,.,,
out •.• and back in, ADd sometim<>s if you
want to do it four times --

Dad •..
_,,
Alright, =me on, boy.
Impatient, Memo heads out, Harlin dotes over bis son'•
proqress as they swim th:roug~ the coral.
_,
Dad, maybe while I',n at school, I'll see
a shark!
_,,
-_,,
I highly doubt that.

Have you ever met a shark?

-
No, and I don't plan to.

Bow old are sea turtles?

=m
sea turtles< I -- r don't know ...
 CONTINUED:

-
Sandy Plankton from nert door,.,he said
that sea turtles, they live to be about
hundred years old!
_,,
!!ell, you know wl>at, if I ever ineet a sea
turtle, l'll ""k him. After I'm done
talking to the ahark, okay?
lgraba Nen>::,)
Whoa, whoa! Hold on. wait to oross.
lie pullsNemo back from llJl intersection of streaming fish. A
red crossing guard fish stop• the traffic, and allows them to
cross ovar.
_,,
-_,,
Hold my fin. Hold llll' fin.

Pad, you'r,i not gonna freak out like you

did at the petting 200, are you?

lley, that snail was about to charge.

,
They swim "to a large patch of sand - the SCIIOOLYIIRD. Chaos
reigns u children of all species run around playing while
tlt&ir relaxed parents talk and laugh in s,..,_11 groups. Marlin
nervously holds tight to Nemo.
_,,
111111n, 1 wonder where we're supposed to go?
-- A fish stops, epens her ..,uth, and all her !tide swim out.
KIDS IN MOtl'J'H
Hye, Maol
BIG MOUTH MO!(
I ' l l pick you up after sohool.
-- Two Matty fish play keep-away with a berm.it crab's shell.
YOONG HEIIMIT c:RAII
Com11 on, you guys. Stop it. Give it l:>aok.

-- Marlin tentatively weaves through the cr<Jlld ...

_,,
c•imm, we'll try over there.
. --- - ----------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CONTlNIIED,

, •• and Joins a group of r.,,U~HlNG FATHERS. He still holds

tight to Nemo.
_,,
Excuse me, is this where we meet his
teacher?
SEAIIORSE FATHER
Well, lock who'• out of the anemone.
_,,
Yes. Shocking, I know.
SEARORSE FATHER
Marty, right?

Marl.in.
SEARORSE FATHER

FLAPJACI< OCTOPUS FATHER

HUITERFI.Y FISH FATHER

Phil,
(realizes)
Hey! You're a clownfish. You're funny,
right? Hey, tell us a joke.
_,,
Well, actually that's a COllllllOn
misconception. Clownfish are no funnier
than any other fish.
PHIL
Aw, c'mon, clowny.

=
Yeah! -~
Yeah, do son,ethin' funny.

=m
well, alright, I -- l lrnow one joke. Ulll,
there's a mollusk, see, and he walkB up
to a sea -- -11, he doesn't walk up, he
swi.no up, !!ell, actually the 111Cl.lusk
isn • t moving.
. --- - ----------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CONTINUED:

As Marlin butchers the joke, the three fathers• eager

expressions slowly <ieflate.
MARLIN (CONT'D)
He's in one place liild then the sea
cucumber -- .,.,11, they ••• I'm mixed up,
There was a mollusk and a sea cucUlllber,
nQ.lle of them were walking so forget that

-
I said that --

Sheldonl Get out of Mr. Johannsen'& yard

NOW!!
Neuby, a seahorse kid (SIIELOON), a flapjack octopus kid
(PEARL) and butterfly fish le.id (TAD) laugh as tbey jump up
and down on the sand. They screffill in surprise as Mr,
Johannsen, a GIANT FLOUNDER (with both eyes on one side of
hi• body), bursts frOO\ under the sand.
MR. JOHANNSEN
Alright, you kids!I Where'd ya ge?!
Where'd ya go?! Where'd ya ge?l

-_,,
Tha kids hide on his blind side as he searches in vain.

(whispers excitedly)
Dad? Dad, can I go play too? Can I?

I would feel better if you'd go play ever

on the sp0nge beds.
11&rlin indicates to the SPONGE BEDS, wlt@re baby fish bounee
with their uotbers close by. One falls over, wails loudly.
Nel!IO looks at his dad: you've got to be kidding.
_,,
That's where I would play,
Tad, P<,a;cl, and Sbelclon crowd around Heme.
,_
What's wrcng with his fin?
,w
He looks funny.

Not

0,.-! ·~
Tad, but Sheldon j_s •-eked by his fatl>"r.

Beyl "l>•driido?l Whadclido?

. --- - ----------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CONTwtlllD,

-_,,
Be nice. It's his fir•t tllll!! et school.

He was born with it, kids, •• We call it

his lucky fin.

Dad.,.
,_
See this tentacle? It's actually shorter
than all my other tentacles, but you
can't really tell.
(twirls)
Especially when I twirl them like this.
SHELOON
I'm 020 intolerant, (Sneeze)
cw
I'm obnoxious.

Distant singing stops the kids. They wheel a:round to see a

MANTA RAY sailing into the schoolyard.
MANTA RAY
Ohhhhhh! Lats name the zones, the zones?!
TIIEZONES I Let's name cones of the open
oea! Theeeeeere'• eipelagic, mesopelagic,
bathyal, and ebyssalpelagic, hadipelagic
and ell the rest o.re too deep for you and
""'to seeeeel
KIDS
llr. Rayl

_,,
Whoa. You better stay with me,
llarlin hold• Nemo back, as the other kids rush over to Mr.
Ray. The ray lands right on tep of the waiting children.
MR. RAY
(mock concern)
Huh? I wonder wb<rre has my class ha,;
gone?
. --- - ----------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CONTIIIIJK[),

KIDS
(lllllffled laughB; giggles)
We're under here! We're under here!
Ml!.. AAY
Oh, there you are! Climb aboard,
explorers!

Ray lifts to allow the kids to board him.

~- ~
Kr.

(sings)
Ohllhhllhh •.•• knowledge
exploring is oh so
lyrical, when you think thoughts that a.re
""'Pirical.

-
Nemo io the l""t to get on. Marlin still holds his f!n.

Dad, you can go now

MR. RAY
Well, hello. Who !s this?

l'mllemo.

MR. RAY
well, Nen:,, all n"" explorers must answer
a science question.

Okay.
MR- RAY

-
You live in what kind of homoa?

ln an a.nemonene ... aman""10Jle •.• .......,neme

••• a.nemo
MR. RAY
Okay, okay, don't hurt youroelf. llelccne
aboard, explorer!
_,,
(aside to Kr. Ray)
JUot so you know, he"s got a little fin.
I find if he's having trouble swllll!U.ng, I
let him take a break. Tt>n, fift""n
minutes --
 CONTINUED:

-
(from the back)
Dad. It's t ~ for you to go now!
MR. RAY
Don't worry, we're gonna stay together""
a group.
(to kids)
Okay, class, optical orbits up front and
i ~ - r , we keep our supraesophogael
ganglion to oursel,,.,s. That means you,
Jinwy.

JIMMY !D.S. I
Aw, 111an!

MR. RAY
(sings)
Ohhbhhhh •••• a life of science is filled
with wonder, when facts of the sea are
ours to plunderl
As Mr. Ray sails out of the schoolyard, Marlin trails
behind ..•
,

By'", Dad!

Bye, son!
.•• and anxiously watches them disappear.
_,,
(under b,,.,athl
Be sate.
The fathers gather around Marlin, who tries to feign an air

-_,,
of indifference.

Hey, you're doin' pretty well for a first

tl.O\er.

well, you can't hold on to '81ll forever,

can you7
CONTINUED:

,,~
Y'"Ah, I ha.cl a tough time when my oldest
went out on the Orop-eff.
_,,
They just gotta grow up sometime -- THE
OROP-Off?I They're going to the orop--off?
llhat are you insane?! l!hy don't we just
fry 'em up now and serve •em with cliipo?!
oo,
Hey, Marty, callll clmm!
_,,
Don't tell me to be calm, Pony Boyl!
Marlin frantically awi.m!! off after the class. The other
fatllez:s just float there, stunned.
oo,
Pony Boy?

PHIL
You know for a clownfish, he really isn't

-
that funny,

(shake• h""d)
Pity.
EXT. CORAL REEL - MON':rAGE

As Mr. Ray glides tlirougb the reef, Nel!IO and the class take
in all the wondroua aights. It is an underwater paradise,
tM!llling with life. An ongoing parnd& of color. All the while,
Mr. Jtay is in full aong,
MR. RAY
Obhhbh, let's n.,... the species, the
apeoies, the species, let's name the
speoi.es that live in the sen. Theeeeere•s
porifera, coelenterntn, hydrozoa,
scyphOzoa, antbo•on, otenopbora, bryozons
three. Hollusca and gastropoda,
arthro~, =binaderma, tunicnte,
chordata, and sane fish llle you and me.
Coaie on, sing with Ill@! Ohhhhh, the fins
on the fiab go swish swish swish, swish
swish swish, swiah swish swish -- Just
the girls this time -- Obhhhli, au"""'d is
cool, se..-ed ia fun, it m,ikes its food
fr011> the rays of the sun ...
CONTINUED:

CLOSE ON NEMO. lie lS in awe of everything he .......

Cool ...
EXT. DROP-OFF - l'IOMENTS LATER

Mr. ltay settles on a clear sandy patch, The cheering kids

tU!llble off his back.
MR, RAY
Okay, the Drop-off. Alright kids, feel
free to explo:,e, but otay close --
(Gasp!) Stromalitic cyanobacterial
Gathex!
The class gather, around Mr. Ray as he scrutinizes a TINY
FLOATING PARTIC<-E,
MR. RAY
An entire ec:osyste,n contained in one
illfinitessilu-1 speck! There are•• many
protein pairs contained int.his one
bacteria ao all the grains of sand in the
entire ocean.
Tad privately nudges Pearl and Sheldon.
,w
("'hispers)
C'mon, let's go.
MR. RAY (0,S.)
C',non sing with me ... Theeeeuere's
porifera, coelenterata, hydrozoa,
scypbozoa, ant.hozoa, ctenophora, bryozoas
t.hree. Mollusca and gastropoda,
arthropeda ••..
NelllO catches sight of Tad, Pearl and Sheldon sneaking away.
Curious, he foll""" after them through the coral brush, out

-
the other side.,.

Hey, guys. Wait up -- Whoa,

••• and stops at the edge of
THE DROP-OFF

The r...,f falls sharply into the open waters of the deep: an
empty ominous blue void, Anything could l>e out there. All
_four kids are riveted on the ,nurky depths.
CONTnruEOo

-
Cool •••

Saved you,c lite.I

,_
Tad pushe• Pearl out, th@o pulls h@r right back. She sere...,.
and sg,,itts A CLOUD OF Bl.ACX INK.

-
Aw, you guys! You made 111.e ink!

llhat's that?
Nein<> spots a DIVE BOAT, anchored 100 feet out. It floats high
above on the water's surface.
•M
I know what that is -- <>h, oh! Sandy
Plankton,..., <>De. ae said it was
called •.• A butt!
,_
Waw. That's a pretty big butt.
Sheld<>D surprises them all by suddenly leaping out into th@
open water.
,_,
Oh, look at""'• I'm gonna go touch the
butt!
lie sn,...zes, and is propelled furt.h<>r out into the deep.

Oh y,,ah? ·~
Sbaldon sere....,.. Races ha.ck to the edge. The otbo>rs laugh.

Well, let's see you get closer.

Okay.

-
Pearl swislis out jnat a touch farther than Sheldon.

e""t that!
Tad takes the dare even fil%"ther. All three look back at Nemc.
•M
ec- en, Nemol !law far oao yen go?
CONTINl!llO;
.,.

N<!III<)! Nol I
-
Oh, um .•• My dad says it's not safe.
IIMLIN {O-S.)

Dad?

M=lin comes charging out of the coral, and pulls Nemo away

-··
fro,n the edge, thinking he's saved his ,en's life,

-
You W<!re about to swim into open water!

-··
No, I wasn't gonna go out

It's just a goOd thing I was here. If I

hadn't sh01<11 Up

-
But, Dad,

Sir, be wasn't gonna go.

,M

-_,,
Yeah, he was too afraid.

No I wasn't.

'-"his do<!s not nonc.arn you, kids. And

you're lucky I don't tell yow:: parents
you """" out there 1
(to Neir<>)

-
You know you can't swim well.

I nan swim fine, Dad, okay?!

CLOSS OIi NEARBY COAAL

Alerted by the commotion, Mr. Ray and the other children

eavesdr0p from behind the coral.
-rn
No, it's not okay, You shouldn't be
anywhere near bere
,_,
(grab.B N"""')
CONTINUED,
MIIRLIN (CONT'D)
okay, I was right. You knaw whet? We'll
start ochool in a year or two,
T<> Marlin's surprioe, Ne.., pulls """Y•
,Mo
No, Dad! Just because y-you're scared of
the ocean
_,,
Clearly you're not ready, and you're not
coming b<>ck here 'till you are. You think
you can do these things, but you just
can't, N811101

-
Nemo stares at the sand.

(whispers)
I hate you.

Marlin flinches as if he ""re physically struck by Nemo's

words. The wound is evident in his exp,::ession.
MR. RAY (O.S.)
Tbe...,rrr...,es •.• nothiog to see, come on
kict,;. Gather! Uh, over there!
Mr. Ray breaks the tension, sweeps the gawking class to the
side, and glides over to Marlin and Nemo,
MR. RAY
Excuse me, is there anything I can do? I
""'a scientist, sir. llh, is there any
proble<11:I
_,,
You know, I"m sorry, I didtl't Olean to
interrupt things. Ee isn't a good
sw:immer •.• and I just think it's a little
too soon for him to be out here
unsupervised,
While they talk, Nerao glares at his father, then looks out to
the anchored boat.
MR. RAY
Well, ! can aeeure you he's quite safe
with me
_,,
Look, I'm sure he ie. But, you have a
large class, and he can get lost, you
,_,
know, from sight if you're not looking.
. --- . --- ------ ------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

,,.
cm!TlNUED,
KARLIN (CONT'D)
Now I'm not saying you'r,, oot looking --
You're looking.,,
A GAWKY LITTLE GIRL FISH in the class points out to tlle deep.
GAWKY LITTLE Gil<t rrs11
Oh my gosh! l Nemo's swbin.ing out to seal l
Everyone turne to see
IIEMO IN THE OPEN WATER

already half-way out to the anchor<><! boat. lie 2ig2ags with

sl"" determined strokes •••
KARLIN 10.S.)
NEIIO!l What do you think you're doing7!

Marlin rushes to tlle edge, but is too afraid to go further.

_,,
You're gonna get stuck out there, and I'm
gonna have to get you before another fish
doeoJ

... Nemo ignores him. EJ7"S locked on the - t ...

=rn
Get back llere! I said get back here, now!
Stop!!
,,.Nemo otOps under the - t . Stare• back at Marlin .•.
_,,
rou take one =re move, mister --
... holds out his fin ...
_,,
Don't you dare -- If you put one fio on
that - t ! Are you listening to me??
OOll'T - rouce - TIIE - BOA --

••• and defiantly slap,i the bottom of the boat.

Nen,o!
,M
(whispe,cs)
Be touc~ the butt.
r
 ,,.
CONT'.IIIUED;

-w
You just paddle your little tail right
back here, Nemo. That's right. You are in
big trouble, yowig man. oo you hear...,,
Big •••

N""10 begins his long swbo back, rolling his eyes at Marlin
•Mo
A GIANT DIVER
sl=ly rises up from behind him, filling the entire frame.
Everyone sees it -- except Nemo,

=w
(voice g0es small)
••• big ...

llarlin ope119 his mcuth, but nothing crnoes out. The words are
stuck in his th:roet. The kids ell scream in te=or. Nemc
finally looks back to""" HIS REYLl:lC'l'ION IN THE GIAN'!' DIVER'S

-_,,
MASK. He screams.

Daddy) !!alp me!

(finds his voice)

I'm ccming, H8lll0!
Karlin breaks fr<m1 the safscy of the reef when

A SECOND DrvER

rises up, blocking him from NeJoo, Mr- Ray scoops up the class
of kids h""ds back into the reef.

MR. RAY
Get under me, kids!
llemO swW for his life. It is tlte reverse of JAWS: man

-
oh,...ing fish. A HES!! NYLOll ,w; snares Nemo. YM\ks him away.

No! DADI DADDY?!!!

The second diver locw, over MUlin ... A BRIGll'l FLASH. Tile
diver has taken a picture. Karlin is momentarily bliPded.

N<>I Nemol
 CONTINUED,

MARLIN'S BL\IAAED IIIAGt Of THE SClJIIA DIVERS rising to the

,_.
surface slowly comes into focus. He struggles to catch up to

_,,
(hy•terical)
Nemo, Nol •• ,Neroo, Nerool

But Kulin is too fu away, and is forced to watch the divers

exit the water with his son and climb aboud the - t .
:rhe engine stuts up. Hulin is blawn back by the wake of the
propellers as the boat pulls away,
By the time the turbulence of bubbles dissipates the boat is
gone, leaving only a TRAIL OF 1'Al!E. Marlin tollrn,s it, but
there is no way he'll ever catch up.

ABOVE WATER
Th@ boat cruises by on the open ocean.
, INT. BOAT - COtlTIN\IOUS
NEMO is drOpped into a COOLRR OF SEAWATER. Scared. Confused.
As the diver closes the cooler, the boat hits some chop.
!!OMM1 VOJCE
Whoa l !!Old on I

He loses his balance, and knocks hie DIVER'S MASK

overboard •..
UNDER THE S\/ru'I\CE

..• The mask plunges into the ocean. 'l'umbles into the !llllrk .••
EXT. REU OUTSKIRTS
Marlin continues to ~ollow the rapidly thinning trail o! wake
until finally it evaporates e<wpletely. Marlin sw:uns back and
forth, frantic, trying to pick up the trail again.
_,,
Oh no ••• No. No, it's gone. It"s gone --
No, it can't be gone!
, Marlin takes a deep breath, breaks the surface. GIANT OCEAN
SIIELLS surround hJ.m, lifting him up high. But it is gone.
!!e's lost the trail.
==,
=rn
Nemo! (GASP!) Ho. Please, no!
Marlin is just a tiny orange speck floating in the n,iddle of
the vaet ocean.
He dives back underwatar. Spots a ROIi" OF FISH etreoming
across the ocean floor. Races down to them.
_,,
Bes anybody seen a bOat? Please? A white
boat!
Karlin swims agaJ.ruat the stre""' of fish like a crazy man in
traffic. All the fish are too scared, or unfriendly, to stop.
STREAM OF FISH
lleyl ••• MOVel ... Watch it! ••• Get out of the
'"'l'! , •• You' re going the wrong way l

=rn
Tl>ey took my ,on! lly ~on! Help me.
Pleasel
DORY (O.S.)
Look out!
An oncOIILing BLUE TANG (Dory) slams lllto Karlin, Be's knocked

~·
against a rock, and falls to the sand, dazed.

Oh, oh! Sorryl Sir? I didn't see youl

Dory swims down to hin,.

oo,,
Sir? Are you okay?
=rn
He's gone, •• He's gone •.. No, he's
gone •••
-,
There, there. It's alright.
=rn
He's gene ...
oo,,
It'll be ckay.
Harlin picks hil>lself up. Tries to swim, still c!Rzed.
CONTINOEI>;

_,,
No, no, no ... They took hiln away. I've got
-- I have to find the boat.
w,,
(perky)
A boat? Hey, I've seen a l>oatl
Marlin jumps to life. Fully alert.

YOU haw?

~·
Uh-huh. And it passed by not too long ago
_,,
A

Hi. I"m
~·
white one?!!

(pUts out a fin)

Dory.
_,,
Ohl Oh! ~·
1<11:tere?! 1'1hich way?!

It went, um ...
(searche•; finds it)
This way! It went this way! Follow me!
Dory leads Marlin into deeper waters.
_,,
Thank you. Than!< you, than): you so =nh I
w,,
No probleo,.
The two fish g<> coursing over rifts of sand, with Karlin
sticking right behind Dory.
As th@y swim, Dory gradually olow,; down. Karlin then notices
her glancing back, giving bim strange looks. She begins to
swim faster. More erratic. Marlin hu a hard tio>e keeping up.
It's aln'lost aG if ohe's trying to lose him.

Wait -- !
Dory hideo behind rocks, races through coral, but she oan't
shake him. Finally, site stops. Faces Marlin,
 ,, .
C011T:mu1m,

oo,,
Will you quit it?I

What?

oo,,
I'm trying to swiill here. What, the ocean
isn't big enough tor you, or SOlllething
like that?

!!uh?

-,
You got a problo,m buddy? Buh, huh? Do ya,
do ya, do ya?
!postures to fight)
want a piece of ,oe? Yeah, yeah •• ,ooh, I'~
scared new. Wha-a-at?
_,,
-_,,
Wait a minute --

Stop following !lie, okay?!

What are you talking about? You're

showing me which way the b<>"-t went.

-,
(perky again)
A boat? Bay, l'V<! ~een a boat. It passed
by not too long ago. It went, lllll .•.
(saa:rchesi finds it)
This way! lt ""nt this way! Follow me!
She's off again. Marlin speeds ahead. Blocks her path.
_,,
llait a minute. Wait a minute! What ia
going oo?! You already told ,.., whieh way
the boat was goiog I

-·
I did?
(realizes}
 ,,.
CONTINUED,

_,,
If this is srnne kind of practical joke,
it's not funny• And I know funny! I'm a
cl<>WDfish!

DORY
No, it's not. t knew it's not funny -- I
- I'm oo sorry. See, I suffer from short
term memory loss.
_,,
Short term ineir,ory loss.
(moves to go)
I don't believe this.
DORY
No, it's true. I forget things ai..ost
instantly. It runs in my family -- well,
I mean, at least I think it does., .Uh •••
hmm., .where ue they?
(thinks, then notices Marlinr
smiles)
ean I help you?

Beat.
_,,
Something'• wrong with you. Really.

·-·
You're wasting ,ny time. I have to find roy

Mulin turns to go when he find• himlielf face to face with

A GRl!ll'I' !!HITE Sl!ARK

GREAT IIHITE
(all teeth)
118110.

Karlin doesn't dare move.

(cheery)
11<>11, hi!
=·
GREAT IIHITE
Name's Bruce,
The huge shark juts out a fin. Marlin stays fro•en.

MO~
S'al..right. I understand. Why trust a
shark, right?
 CON1'INOED;

eruce chOO'pS for effect. Marlin leaps behind Dory. ittuce

laughs ha.rd.
BRUCE
l•tuclie• both fish)
So what's a couple of bitea like you

-~
doin' out so late, eh?

(fro,n behind Dory)

Nothing, we• re not doing anything, we• re
not even out.

-,~
Great. Then how'd you morael, like to
oom,, to a little -- a little get together
I'm haviog?
oo,,
You mean like a party?

-=
Yeah ••• Yeah right, a p<>rty. !Chuckle)
Waddya say?

-,
__ (elbows
,Ooh, Marlin)
I love pa.rtie•. That sounds lil<e

_,,
Y'kn"" parties are fun, iiitd it's
tempting, but we can't because --

=om
;,,,,, come on, I insiet.
Bruce puts a big fin around each fish, trapping them •••
_,,
0-okay, that's all that matters •
••• and leads them up iiitd over a rocky ridge into •••

The 111Urky crater ia littered with FLOATING lAND JUNES, all

moored to the sandy floor with heavy iron chains, making it
look like an underwater .,raveyard.
, 00~
Hey, look! Balloons! It ill. a party!
' '' '
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COIITnltlED:
, ..
Bruce hovers over a oinlc, which acts as a make-shift podiWll,
and addresses the other sharks. It truly is a ..,.eting. They
all lift their right fins (and ao does Dory),
1111.UCE/ANCHOR/CHtll!
(in unison)
I""' a nice shark, Not a mindless eating
,...chine. If I""' to change this .t.m,,ge I
must first change myself. Fish are
friends, not foo<I.
~,
Except stinkin' dolphins.
,_
Dolphins. Y.... h. They think they're so
cute.
1..,ck.B)
Oh, look at me, 1•= a flippin' little
dolphin! Let..., flip for ya'I Ain't I

_,
SOll!etllin' I

Anchor and Dory laugh. Marlin doesn't.

Right tllen. 'l'oday's meeting is Mstep

Five: Bring a Fish Friend.• 110\1, do you
all have your friends?

Got mine.
Anchor rises to r"""al a QUIVERING LITTLE FISR (BI.ENNY)

-·
floating under him.

(W4VeS)
Bey tbexe.
BRUCE
How 'bout ycu, Chum?
,_
Oh ••• well ••• I, ""'· •• I see,n to have
mispl"""'1 my ••• uh ••• friend.
Chum gives a guilty Slllile, revealing the BONES OF A FISH TAIL
stuck between his teeth. Re slurps it back into his ..,uth.
BRUCE
S'al.right, Ch\llO. I bad a f""'ling this
WOIJJ.<i be a difficult step. You c;,n help
yourself to one of my friends.
 0
,!
oe !
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CONTlllt!ED:

=•
Wh""! I'm glad I got that off my chest.

''=
Alright. Anyone else?
Bn>ee eyes Marlin under Chum's fill,
~oc,
Bello, hew 'bout you, mate? What's your
problem?
_,,
Me? I don't have a problem.
BRUCE
Oh, okay.
BRDCE/llHCHOR/Cl!UII
(to each other)
Denial.
Bruce swats Marlin to the podiUlll.
_,
Just start with your name.

-m
(nervous)
Okay ••. \lh, hello. lfY n,...., is Marlin. I'm
a clownfish.
llHCHOR
A clownfish? Really?

Go on, tell us a joke.

=
Oh, I love jokes!

=m
(really ne.-vous)
Well, I actually do know one
that's ••• pretty good. Um,. ,There was this
mollusk -- and he walks up to the -- uh,
a sea cucmnber.
The sharks stniggle to maintain their grins.
 CONTINUED,

MARLIN (CONT'D)
Normally they don't talk, sea cucumbers,
but in a joke, e""ryone talks.,.so the
sea mollusk oayo to the cucmnber --

Marlin goes still. Stares at a hole in the roof. ijaoging from

scm& bent ""'tal is

T!IE DIIIER'S !VISE

MARLIN'S POV OF MASE, The UL>ge of the diver, raising his
net to catch Nemo, superin,poses oW!r the mask.
NRMO {l'.O,)

_,,
(under his breath)

-
Nemo •..

(Laugh) Nemol Ha! Ha! Neniol

!straight)
I don't get it.
BRUCE
' -- 1aside)
For a clo,mfish, he's not that funny.
Fixated on the lll1'.sk, Marlin swilns pASt the sharks, and up to
the hole in the roof.,.
_,,
-,
No, no, no, no. He's my son .•• He was
taken by ••• by these di,,..,,s.

-~-
!Gasp) Oh my, you p00r fish,

HUlllal!S. Think they own e=rything.

Frobo.bly American.

~=
1,noved)
New, there is a father. LOokin' for his
little boy .••

, __
While the sharks talk 8lll0Jlgst themselves, Dory follows Marlin
,
out the hole. He inspects the m.sk. Notices IIRITING ON THE
COIITilltll!D:

-m
Ugh! What do these !lllll'ki11gs 111ean?I

•=•
(l>ursts lllto tears1
l n,.,,.,r knew my father.

AIICIIOR/CIIUM
Come here ••• GJ:oup bug.,.We're all 11111.tes
here, mo.te.
Marlin points the writing out to Dory.
_,,
I can't resd human!
oo,,
Well, then we gotta find a fish that can
read tbisl
(looks back into sub)
!ley, look, sbarksl

No, Daryl

Befo,:e Marlin can react, Dory scoops up the mask and swims
into the sub.

00~
Hey guys! Guys, guys, guys --

Marlin chases after her. Grabs the inask.

No, Dory.
_,
Heyl That's mine!

A tug-<;>f-war starts.

=•
Give i t baek! Gi.Pllnel
=m
Doryl Cut i t out! Gi,... i t --

Tb,. mask rubberbaru:ls bard into Dory's face. She clutches her
nose.

=•
Ob, I•n sorry. ue you ol<ay?
 CTlNTINUED,

-·
Ow. Oh yeah. Ow, °"' ,:,,,. Wow, you really
clocked me there.
(tilts head back)
Am I bleeding?

She shoo,e Marlin her no.ae.

A TRICKLE OF BLOOD
clilllbs up in the water, like a tiny red ribhon •.• right under
11:cuce's nose •••
BRUCE
Dory, are you oka -- oh -- Oh •.• that's
gcoood!

Bi• eyes roll back in his head.

ANCHOII/CBOM
(G"-•PI) Intervention!
Anchor and ChUIII pin Bruce to the wall, and struggle to hold
the giant great white back.
BRUCE
' Just a bitel

=•w
Now you hold it toqether, Dlilte l
,,~
,-,
Reme,nber, Bruce! Fish are friends, not

BRUCE

He break• free. Lunge• for Marlin ,md Dory.

=m
Dory! Look outl
Bruce overshoots them. The two fish swim awkwardly away with
the mask, and escape through "- GRATE IN THE VLODR.
INT. SUB CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

Marlin and Dory swiln down the cw::ridor full of piping and
duct work. Bruce omashee through the grate.

' BRUCE
I'm havin' fish tonight!
CON'rrNTJED,

Bruce gives chase ae Chum and Mchor stick their heads

through the hole he's .,..ae.
,,~
Remember the steps, 111<1te ! The steps !
Marlin and Dory weave through the dark ma2e with Bruce right
on their tails.

=cr
Ahh! Just one bite!
The fish shoot up through another grate, Bruoe stays in the
sub-level below the!n, his dorsal fin knoc,king out grates as
he goes,

G'day!
The rabid shark smashes through the floor grate onto their
level. The tiny fish speed around a cracked open doc:r with
ease •• ,but the bulky Bruce ala.ma into it, knocking it closed.
DlT. TORPEDO ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Marlin frantically searches the room.

_,,
There's no way out! There's gotta he a
W"-Y to escape!
Bruce repeatedly rOll\S the door,
oo,,
(sing-song)
Who is it?
_,,
Dory. Help me find a W"-Y out,
oo,,
(ta Bruce)
Sorry. You'll have to come back later.
We're U)ling to escape,
Another pound. A BOLT p0p5 off the door that is now beginning
to bend inwards •••
=m
oJ<!ly, there's no way out! There's gotta
be a way out.
CON"rIN\IED,

Dory floats to the top of the roam, eyeing a valve handle

with the words "ESCAPE HA'I'CH" printed on it.
oo,,
LOok, here's something, "eo-cap-t." l
wonder wl>at that means? It's funny,
because it's spelled just like the W<>rd
•escape."

r.,,t•s go!

Marlin grabs her, and exits through the hatchway. Bruce

forces bis snout through the gap he's WI.de 1n the doorway,

EXT. SUN!rullNE, TOPSlDE - SAME

Mll.rlin and Dory swim out of the hatch. Marlin stops short.
_,,
wait a JIUnute! You can read?I
oo,,
l can read?
(remembers)
That's right. l can read!
-rn
(lifts !IIUk)
w-well, then here, read this nQl!I
Bruce bursts through the sub'• rusted hull, right under them.
His teeth wrench the "1Uk from their fins, where it remains,
dangling.
The screaming Marlin and Dory are chased dawn the length of
the wreck. Chum and Anchor once again stick their heads
through the hole Bruce has made.

=•=
Be really doesn't n,ean it. You know, he
never really knew his father!
es=
Don't fall off the wagon!
At the bow, Marlin and Dory bank a hard right, $Wl.J!>ning down
into the torpedo tu.be ••• loaded with a torpedo.
- - '

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 ,,.
CON'flNJJEDo

IINC!IOR/CHW!
lGa•pl Oh no. Bruca?

!!hat?

The shark• indicate the torpedo arcing gracefully tm,ards the

minefield, as if in &low motion. They retreat.

BRUCE

-·
Swim away ••• Swilll away!

1peeks out of tube)

Aw, is the party over?
The torpedo just ki•••• a floating mine -- It explodes,
causing a chain uaction of EJU'LOSIONS, ••
• , .3 inines explode, ••

• • •5 mines ...
• . . 10 .••

• • • 100 •••

EXT. OCEAN SURl"Ac:5 - NIGHT

TWO WHITS CRI\IIES sit quietly on the calm surface. A SINGLE
AIR BUBJlLE, from the explosions deep below, lightly J?OPS ne>tt
to one of them. The other looks at him accusingly ••.

Ni.,_,,

•. ,and flies oft.

Ill'I. UNDER THE !!ATER' S SURFACE OAY

Nemo plunges into the water in a whirlwind of bubbles. He

lands in plant life. Peeks out. Frightened.

Slowly, he backs out of the plants, scanning, wide-eyed.,.and

into GIANT SCARY T!~l Hl'!AOS!
Nemo screams! Swima in the opposite direction - W>Ml - ae
hit& a GI.IISS NALL. Another dir8"tion - 1111111 same result.
'!'urns 11g11in - W>M!
 CONTINUED:

, •• A terrified Neino has been dropped into a FANCY 1!11RINE

AQ11A!!IUM.

lie looks out the tank at magazines on a table, a woman behind

a service window, a toy chest, it's a DENTIST'S WAITING R~.
"Girl Pram l111Panema" plays over tinny speakers.
The tank is bobedded in the wall of the dentist's office,
viewable from both the waiting room and the examining room.
Each side of the tank is deoorated with a different theme:
"Polynesian Island" on one side Jeomplete with working
volcano), and "Pirate Shipwreck" on the other.
DENTIST (O.S,)
Barbara! Prep for his anterior crown,
wouldya please, and, uh, I"m gonna need a
few more cotton rolls.

RECEPTIONIST (0,S,)
Okay.
Nemo moves cautiously through the dense plastic brush towards
the voices. lie stares out the glass in wonder at a patient
seated in a dentist chair when

' THE DENTIST'S PACE

Leans dc,,m, right in front of him.
DENTIST
R<>llo, little fel~ah!
Sp<,oked, Nemo hide• inside a fake plastic ba:icrel.
DENTIST
I to P"ti,ant)
Beauty, isn't he< I fo\11\d that guy,
struggllllg for life out on the reef and I
saved hill!,.,
(beat)
so, tbat novocaine kicked in yet?
PATIENT
Ifl>Wll!ksho.
Nemc backs away from the dentist. Bump,; into a FAKE TREASURE
CHEST. lie gasps as the lid opens and bubbles spring forth.
Out of the dark interior of a PLASTIC PIRATE SHIPWREC~, A
YELLOW TANG (BUBBLES) charges at Nemo.
'
 CONTINUED:

BUBBLES
Buhblesl Buhbleal The big bubbles! The
little bubbles! My bubbles, all the
bubbles!
'!'he spastic fish grabs at the bubbles, slams the lid shut,
and lays on the chest to keep it closed.
BtJBBLEB
(protective)
My bubbles.
on the nearby glass, a STARFISH (PEAcH) unsticks above Hemo.
one af her arms flaps an his head.
-,
He likes bubbles.
Hema shrieks, and hides in a FAKE MINIATURE DIVBR'S l!ELM!lT.
NE!IO'B POV INSIDE '.J'BE IIE1,M8T,
shadowy fish emerge from their
cover and approach the helmet. Bushes. Eerie whispers.
Nemo shrinks farther into the he1-t. A pair of eye stalks
lower next ta him and blink.
J/ICQl!ES
Bonjour,
Hemo screams, bolts out of the helmet and into the arms of a
PUFFER PISH I BLOAT) . II BLACK AND WHITE H!)MBUG (DEBI , a ROY/IL
GRAMHA (GURGLE) and Bubbles float around him,

llhoa.
,-,
Slow down little fellah. (Laugh)

·~
There's nothing to worry about.

-
Oh, he's scared to deatl>.

I wanna go home. Do you know where my dad

isl

•=•
Ion the glass)
Honey, your dad's probahly baek at the

-
pet store.

Pet store?
'
CONTD!UED'

_,
-~
Yeah, you know, like uh •.• I'm from !!Ob's
l"iah Mart.

Pet Palace,

Fish-0--Rama.
,~
BUBBLES
Hail order.

Ebay.
Gurgle pUto a fi.n on N..mo's shoulder.

=
-=
so. ilhioh one is it?

I'm ... from the ocean?

Ab, the ocean.

(alarmed)
'l'BE OCUll:I l

Gurgle rips his fin away, clutching it as if it were on fire,

,_
Re hiiSn't been decontaminated yetll
(calls out)
Jacques I l
In a flash, a TINY CLRANRR SHRIMP (J1'COl,JES) ~ip• out of the
diver's hellllet.
JACQUES
Oui?

Clean him! =
Jacques skitters <>VBr to Ne,no. Perohe& on top of him.

Ocean!
 ,,.
CONTINUED;

JACQUES
ooh. I.e Mer, Bon.
A true professional, Jacques spins Nemo like a coh of corn,
cleaning him in seconds. Nemo sparkles.
JACQUES
voila! He is clean.
The shrimp :1ps back in the hel.Jllet, pops his mouth, and slams
the face plate shut.
BlJBI!LES

-
Wow. The big blue, What's it like1

Uh •• ,big, •• and blue,

BUBI!LES
I ):new it.

'''
Kid, if there's anything you need, just
ask your auntie Deb, that's me.,.
, !Deb points to her reflection)
Ox, if I'm not around you can always talk
to my sister, Flo.
(to Flo; with love)
Hi. Hrn, are you?
Ito Namo; conspiratorially)
Don't lioten to anything my sister says.
She's nuts I

Pel>CH (O.S.)
(muffled)
"""""'ttami.vemcne I !

The tank gang looks up to Peach stuck high on the glaoe.

,-,
Can't hear ya, Peach.

(unstick•I •=•
I SAID WE GO'rTII LIVl.' OIIEI

E:r.cited, the tank gang ditch Nemo, and swim up to Peach'•

level. They look on with Kean interest ao the dentiat l:>@gins
wrn::k on the patient.
,
Yes!
CONTINUED,
,,.
_,
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

OM
Whadda we gotl

FU.CH
Root canal, and by the looks ot tllose x-
rays it's not going to 08 pr@tty.
SFX, DRILL/SCREAM

=••
Rubber dam and clamp installed?

=u
What'd he use to open?
,=,
(l.ator-Glidden drill. He seems to be
favoring that one lately.

Deb tries to look p,tst her reflection.

OM
I can't see, Flol
,-,
Uhp, now he's doing the Shilder
technique.

,-,
Oh, he's using a Hedstroem file.

=u
That's not a Hedstroem file. That's a K-

-
Flex.

It's got a teaor---d<0p cross section.

Clearly a Hedstroeio.

=
No, no, K-Flex.
 COIITWUED,

HEDSTROEII!
,-,
Bloat suddenly inflates to the sioe of a !>each ball, and
lists helplessly away f..o,n the group.
_,
There l go ••. Little help.,.Over here.
,w
I'll go deflate him,
She swims after him, we hear Bloat deflate offscreen,
DENTIST (O.S.)
Alright, you can 90 ahead and rinse.
The fish watch the patient rinse into the SPIT SINK.
_,,
Oh, the hwnan ,ncuth is a disgusting
place!
Without warning, a PELICAN (NIGEL) bounc"s off the window by
the tank. The fish don't react, Keep their eyes on the
dentist. The bird thrusts his head into the room, out of
' breath.
PJ::ACII
lley Nigel.
NIGEL
What did I miss? Am 1 latel

•=•
Root canal, and it's a doozy.

NIGEL
Root canal, huh< What did he use to open?

•=•
Gator-Glidden Drill.
NIGEL
He's been favorinq that one. Ho,.e he
doesn't get surplus sealer at the
secondary pertal terminus, ••
(spOts Ne100)
Hello. llho's this?

' New guy.

 •••
CONTilWE!H

,_
The d"ntist took hiln off th" reef.

NIGEL
(studies Nom>ol
An outie?l From my neck of th" woods, eh!
Sorry if I ever tock a snap at ya! Fish
gotta swim. Bird's gotta eatl
DENTIST (O.S.)

The dentist is beading for th<! window, wa'ling tl>" bird away.

DENTIST (CONT'D)
No, oo, no, nol Those aren't your fish,
they're my fish. C0IOe on. Go. Go on.
Shocl Shoo!
Nigel takes off, knocking over a niAMED PIIOTO. The dentist
picks up the frame, Sees the glass has cracked.
DENTIST
Aw, the picture broke.
!Shows the patient)
This here's Darla. She's my niece. •Gonna
' be eight this wt>ek.
(showu """°"
in the tank)
Hey little fellah. Say belle to your new
IIIUDIIY• SIie's gonna be here Friday to pick
you up! You're ~er present. Oh sbhshhshh!
It's owe little s"cret!
The photo is of a CIJ'l'E Lll'TLI:: GIRL IN PON!TAlLS. She smiles
through her bracers, holding a Pl.l\STIC BAG with a fish. The
dentist places the picture on the counter by tl>e tank, and
heads for the bathroom.
DENTIST
Well, Hr. TUcker, while that sets up I'm
gonna go see a man about a wallaby.
The t~ fish ,wim over to the picture. Awkward silenQe.

-
,_
llhati llhat's wrong with her?

She wouldn't stop shekin' the bag.

CONTINUED:

CLOSE ON PICTURE
we nows..., the fish in Darla's bag is belly up. Dead.
B\IBl.lI ES

~·_,
Foor Chncl<les.

He was her present last year.

Hitched a ride on the porcelain express.

n.usn. The fish look across to the dentist emerging
IIE HEI\R A

-·
from the bathro=, revealing the TOILET.

She•s a !!sh-killer!

I can•t go with that girl. I have to get

back to my dad.
Hemo paoics, swimming out of control. He passes too close to
the FIL'l'llR, and ie sucked into the end of the intake tube.
Plugs it up.

Nol Daddyl Help mel

TANK GANG
Dh no! ••. He's otuck! .•. Oh boy .•.
The fish rush to get him out ...
GILL (O.S.)
Nobody touch hiJo .
... but instantly free~e on command. From l>ehind a plastic
skull, a MOORISH IDOL (GILL) glides into view. The majestic

--
fish"s dorsal and pelvic fins seem to extend the full height
of the tank. A commanding presence. He stares intensely at

o,u
(quiet)
Nobody touch him.
Calmly, Gill approaches the filter and stares Hen>o down,
considering his situation. Hie intentions unreadable.
' ( '
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 COIITINUED:

_,,
( under breath)
The mask! ••. llhat does it say? ••. What does
it say? Dw-y!
=,
.•• That sea mookey has my money •.•

-·
Marlin shakes her.

Wake up! Get npl COIIIB on! Get upl

=,
•.• Yes, I'm a natural blue ••.

GET OP) I

Dory i=• awake, unknowingly taking the mask with her. It

hangs off her baok like a saddle.
=,
Aagbl Look out! Sharks eat fish! What?!
llho is it?! Aagh!
Ser broad actions do the trick, and the sub slides full boar
off the cliff. Straight at the two fish. They swim for it,
but r,,n right into the OPPOSrNG ROCK WALL •••
• . • Too late.
The sub slams into the rock wall, consuming the fi•h in an
""plosion of duet. As it settles, Marlin is shocked to find
he and Dory still alive, spared by inches.
oo,,
(coughs)
wow. DUsty.
Marlin notices something is missing .••
_,,
jGasp) The ,...,,k. Where's the Dlll8k?
They look dc,wn just lll time to see the mask disappear
caopletely into the bl...,kness.
_,,
No! No, no, the mo.ski Get it! Get the
.m.osk, get the ""'Ski Get it!
'
 SL
CONTIJ>ITJED:

Marlin dives down after it, but the second he enters the lllky
black he backpedals to a more visible depth. Clings to the
trench wall, spooked.
Dory swims jauntily past, humming. Marlin watches her
disappeu into the darkness.,.

DORY (O.S-1
It just keeps going on, d°"sn't it? Echol
Echo!

•• ,and then pop hack up next to him.

ooo,
Uey. mi.atchya dotm.17
_,,
It's gone. I've lost tlta mask.
oo,,
What'd you drop it?
_,,
You dropped it! That was my only chance
of finding my son. Now it's gone.
All she sees is a sad clownfish, and that just won't do. She
makes a pouty face.
DORY
Uey, Mr. Grumpy Gills ••• when lite gets
you down, you !<now what you gotta do?
_,,
I don"t wanna know what you gotta do.

(sings)
~,
Just keep !IWi.Jmu.ng. , • just keep
swilllming ••• juat - p swimming, swimming,
s,d.1•••ing ••• what do we do .•. we swim, swUI.
oocy takes Marlin by the fin, and gently leads hllll down into
the abyss.
_,,
Dory, no singing.
oo,,
(opera singing)
Ho ho-ho ho-ho-ho! I love to swillll When
you want to swilo you want to keep on
h:unin9 --
CONTINUED:

_,,
see, I'm gonna get stuck now with that
song! Now it's in my head!
DORY
So,,ry.

Slowly everything goes BL7lCK.

Beat.
IVIIU,lN (0.S.)
Dory, do you see anything?
DORY (O.S.)
Ahh! somethlllg'• got mel
HA!U,IN (0.5.)
That waa me. I'm sorry.
DORY (O.S.)
I Gas-p) Who• • that?
IVIIU,IN (O.S,)
Who's that?! Who could it be?! It's me!

DORY (0.5,)
Are -- are you my conscience?

IVIIU,:(N (0.5.J
(SIGH) Yeo.It. Yeah, I'm your conscience.
We haven't apoken for a while, How are
you?
OORY (O,S.)
Can't cou,plain.
IVIIU,lN IO, S. )
Dory, I want you tell me, do
Goad. Noi.-
you see anything?
DORY (O.S.)
I SB& ..... I aee a light.
IVIIU,lN (Q.S.)
A light?
A TINY BRIGHT LIGl!T awears, hovering alone in the blac~ness.

DORY (O.S.)
Yeah. Over there. Hey conscience, ""'I
dead?
 s,.
CONTINUED;

MMLIN (0.S.)
No, I see it too.

Ma.rlin and oory swill! into the glow of the light. It is simply
a SII/U,L GLOWING ORB, floating by itself in space. The orb is
mesmerizing. It's alI>ost as if 11.arlin and Dory an,, under a
spell.

oo,,
It's so ... pxetty •..
_,,
1 ... I'm feeling.,.happy ••.. whioh is a big
deal., .for Ole.
oo,,
r want to touch it.
She reaches out. The orb ccn,es to life, dancing like a fairy.
They chuckle in drugged ..,nder.
_,,
• eey ... COIN! back ••• con,e on back here •
The orb rises. They giggle and follow it.
_,, oo,,
{sing-song) Ito the orb)
I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna I'm gonna getoha ... I'm gonna
swim with you. I'm gonna l>e g<>toha •.• l'm gonna getchal
your best friend --
A LARGE l\NGLERl'ISH

silently fades into view. It is ho=ifying. A prehistoric

creature, with huge fangs, and lifeless eyes. The oxb i,
attached to the tip of a LONG AN'J'ENIIA that juts from ita
forehead. It wa• bait, and Mllrlin and Dory fell for it.
_,,
Good feeling's gOJle.

They scream. The voracious anglerfish chases after the two of

th..,._, who bavt! only the glow of its antenna to navigate by.
_,,
I can't 5ee, I don't know where I'm
going I!
•• I •• •
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 COIITINllED,

Marlin ducks bet.....,n two rocks. The anglerfish tries to

ferret hiJII out, but can't fit. Marlin grabs its light. Aiols

~·_,,
it at Dory.

Oh! The first line'• "P. Sherman!"

•p. Sherman" doesn·t ,...ke any sense --

Still holding the antenna, Marlin is yanked from the rocks.
oo,, _,,
Okay, uh .•• Second line ••. (very fast)
•42 -- 42 waaay •.• w,.,.,. -- • Don't eat me, don't eat me
The anglerfish swallows Marlin and its own antenna whole.
Everything goes dark ••.
OORY (0.S.)
Light, pleasel
The ANG1J!RFISR'5 STOIIAC!I lights up. Marlin's silhouette
bounces inside, still holding the antenna. The fish spits hiJII
out, and lunges for him, but bites down on ite own anteMa
' instead. Roars in pain ••.
.•• Marlin rushes over to Dory. The anglerfish, now furious,
gains its bearings, and barrels straight at them.
oo,,
Wa -- Walla -- Walla-by •.• Wallaby
Way •.. Tbe second line's "42 Wallaby way!"
_,,
That's great. JUst finish up here. Speed
read.
oo,,
Sssss ••. sid --
_,,
Jeyes on anglerfishJ
Take a guess. No pressure, no pressur --
well, there's a LOTTA pressure! PRE5SIIREI

~·
TAKE A GUESS! NOW! WITH PRESSURE!!

•sydneyl" "SYDNEY!" It's •sydneyll"

'
 ss.
CONTINt!BD:

In one. swift mpve, Ko.rlin lifts up the face plate of the

mask, closes his eyes and lets the =glerfish crash into him,
There is a BLINDING FLASH! ••.

MARLrN (O.S.)
I'll\ dead. I'm dead. I'm dead, I'm dead,
I'm dead --
Marlin opens his eye,,. The anglerfish is wedged tight between
the mask and the rock. Flaps around helplessly. Marlin's fear
turns to laughter. ae gets in the creature•• face.

Woohool
(sings)
we did it. we did it. Oh yeah, yeah,
yeo.h. No eating here tonight -- wool
Eating here tonight!
Dory appears from behind the rock. Sees Marlin celebrating,
ooe,n't re,neo,ber why, bnt joins in anyway.
oo,,
Ho, no, no, ""ting here tonight! You on a
diet --
' _,,
Dory! ~ l So what'd i t say?! What did
the mask say?!

oo,,
( automatic J
"P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney."
(stops, gasp,,)
I remembered what it said! I usually
forget things, but I ~ememM>"ed it that
time. "P. Shernian, 42 -- •
_,,
Naitl Now where is that?I

=•
I don't knm,.
!beat)
But who cares? Ba-bal I r - r e d l
The anglerfish roars in frustration. Marlin ancl Dory scre,un,
and take off toward.a the surface.

'
=•
"P. ShBrman, 42 Nallaby Nay, Sydney!" I
remembered it a',lainl
 ''.
INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE - NIGH,r
The office is closed up for the night. The rotating red glow
of the tank's fa.l<e volcano illum.i.natea everything.
IN l'IIE TANK

Nemo sleeps soundly in,ide a plastic Tiki hut, From out of

the dark, a PEIWLE otrilces him, N...., doesn't wake. A second
pebble .• ,

JACQUES 10-S.)
Ps,t. Nemol
(louder)
Nemo •••

Nemo is pumneled by a BARRIIGE OF PEBBLES. He jun,ps awake, The

tiny shrimp figure of Jacques stand• in the entranceway.
JACQUES
Suivez-moi.

Jacques swi.!ns off, but Ne.., just floats there, confused.

J""ques pokes his head l)ack into the Tiki hut.
JACQUES
Follow me.
The boy is led th:rougl\ the plastic underbrush to t.he center
of the tanl<. The lllDOO is eerie and saober. No one ,peaks.
Tribal chanting can be heard as they near the l><tse of the
volcano ••.
• ,.Rising from behind the Tiki heads are Bubbles, Gurgle, and
Bloat, the sourc,, of the chanting. Jacques begins the 10'19
climb up the face of the volcano with llemo nervously in tow.
Halfway up the mountain.sicla, Deb and Peach hold fake kelp
fronds, and cerenioniously whack Nemo as he passes. Jacques
continues to lead hi.m up to the peak of the volcano .•.
... where Gill waits. Silent and stern.
A wimpy stream of bubbles continuously stream from the
volcano bet"""'n hiJI! and Nemo. Tbe tank gang rise up behind
Gill. Tl><!,ir chanting crescendoes.
Gill gestures with his fins and the chanting stops.
He lllilks the silence.
Looks through the col= of bubbles directly at Nemo.
 COIITINIJllO:

11-N-Nemo,
.,~
Brother Bloat, proc:eed.

_,
Bloat advances. Fully commits to his tribal role.

Nemo. Newcomer of orange and white. '>'.OU

have b....., called forth to the sllllDit of
Mount Wannahoc:kal0<>gie to join with us in
the fraternal bonds ct tankl!ood.

•=•
(unstick• fram volcano)

-_,
We want you in our club, kid.

, Really -- 7

••• IF!! You are able to swin> through ...

{<l:rana.tic pause)
tl!E RING OF l'IRE ! I I

Nothing happens. Memo looks around, confused. Bloat glances

at Jacques, who i:eata on the eonti:ol valve of the volcano.
-,
turn on :rhe Ring of l'ire ••• the Ring of
Fire you said you could do itl
Jacques realizes he's miaaed hie cue. Quickly tw:ns the
to.,,.,;,.,.,
_.,r. A TORREllT Ol' BOBBI.ES erupts at full
-,
volco.no
force out of the volcano.

(back in character)
THE RING OF FIRE I I l
:rhe fish kick back into chanting. Bubbles i• compelled to

-~·
touch the colU11111 bubbles ...
,
Bubblesl Bobble• -- Ow!
CONTnruED,

Dt!b'..,ats Bubbles fin with her frond.

Gill motions for Nemc to swim through the bubbles to him. The
chant•s tempo picks up. It is ti.Jl>e.
,-,
Isn't there another way? Be's just a boy!
Deb covers her reflection's eyes. Nemo braces him.self .••

••• and swims right through. So fast he bumps into Gill. The
chanting stops.
Nemo opens his eyes. Gill -=les down at him. Be proudly
lifts Nemo up high in proclamation.

From this moment on you will now be known

as "Shark Bait.•
BUBBLES/GURGLE/BLOAT
Shark Bait. Oo-hah-Nah!
,,~
Welcome, BrOther Shark Bait.
BUBBLES/GURGLE/BLOI\T
Shark Bait. 00-hah-Bahl
,,~
Enough with the "Shark Bait.•

{all alone)
,-~
Shark Bait. Ooh •.• bop ••• pa-do.
Gill lowers N81110 into a huddle with the gang.
,,~
Okay. Shark Bait's one of us now, agreed?
TMK GANG
Agreed.
,,u
And w,, can•t send him off to his death.
Darla's coming in 5 days. So ..• wha<lda we
gonna do?
No answers.
 so.
CONTINO!ill,

,,u
I'll tell you what we're gonna do. We're
gonna get hill! outta here, We're gonna

-
help him escape.

Escape? Really?

c,u
We're all gonna escape.
-~,
~-
Gill, please, not another one of your
escape plans ...

sorry, but they just -- they never work.

SL0/1.T
Yeah, why should this be any different?
Gill grins at them with confidence. Points to N@l!IO.

c=
Cause we've got hllll.
'
He faces Nemc towards the glaes,
,,u
You see that filter?

Yeah:?

,,u
You're the only one who can get in and
out of that thing.
As Gill pitches his plan, T!IE CAMERA RUS!!ES THROUGH ALL TH!l
IMAGDIARY STEPS AH!> LOCATIONS HE 'l'l\LKS ABOUT,

c,u
!<hat "" neo><I you to de, is take a pebble
inside there and jam the gearo. You do

,_,
that, and this tank's gonna get filthier
and filthier by the minute.
 ,,.
CONTINlle!H
GILL !CONT'D)
Pretty soon the dentist'll have to clean
the tank hil!'lself -- and ~hen he does,
he'll take us out of the tank, pUt uo in
individual baggies, then we'll roll
ourselves down the counter, out of the
window, off the awning, ;nto the bushes,
across the street and into the harbor.
!lACII nl TIIE Tl\NK

GILL (CONT'D)
It's foolproof.
(to the gan\l)
Who's "ith me?

Each raises a fin, except Gurgle who keeps hia folded tight.

-~
TANK Gl\NG
r. .. 1 ••• 1 ••• r

I think y,,u•re nuts! No offense, kid,

but, llDI,,. You're not the best swimmer.
,,~
He's fine! He can do this! Sa, Shark
Bait. What do you thinkl
Nemo pUts on his game face. LOoks up at the filter,

moo
Let's do it.

5X'l'. DEEPER WATERS - DAY

Tile distant orange and blue speeks of Marlin• Dory travel

through the open underwater c<>untry. Dory has been chatting
non-stop. Marlin ignores her.

-·
(to herself)
.,.you can't hear ..el I've already told
you, I'm goin9 to P. She:rman, 42 Wallaby
way, Sydney ... Whexe a:re you going? ••• I'm
goin' to P. Sherman, 42 Wellaby Way,
Sydney if you ask where I'm going. I'll
tell you that's where I'm going is P,
Sherman, 42 Wallaby way, Sydney ...
_,,
(gro81ls)
Ohhh, ••
CON'l'DI\JED:

=•
Where? r•m sorcy r didn't hear you ••• P.
Sherman, 42 Wallahy Way, Sydoey ..• I
didn't hear yo,:,., r was listening to
someone else •••
Marlin spots a SCHOOL OP IIOOIIPISH swirling in the Open wat..,,.
Swims owr to speal< with thell1.
_,
E,ccuse ""'· E-excuse ..,? !lo., hi! Do yo,:,.
know hew to get -- Hello!

=•
(to school)
P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!
The SCHOOL DARTS lll!AY. M.arl1.11 follows after them, but they
keep ditching him.

=·
W-w-w-wait! Wait! Can you tell n>e --
(school swims away)
Hey, hold itl wait a minute, I'm tcying
to talk to you!
(swims away again)
Okay fellaha, cane back here, pl81!1..Se! One
g,,ick g,,estion. I need to
(and again)
And they're gone again ...

He gives up. Docy Stlims over to him, still spouting her

soliloquy. Marlin looks like he's going to ha,,., a migraine.

=•
.•• if }'<lU need me, I"ll be at P. Sherman,
42 Wallahy way, Sydney. why do I have to
tell you over and over again? I'll tell
y<iu again. I don't get ti.red of it. P.
She,.,,,._n --

=w
Okay, alright •••

Oh-huh.
=w
eere•s the thing ...

Uh-huh.
CONTINUED,

_,,
You J<no,,, 1 think it's best if 1
just ..• carry on from here ••• by myself.

Okay •.•
_,,
You know, alone

Uh-huh .••
_,,
llithout ••. llell, I mean not without you --

-·
I mean just -- sut I don't want you with

_,,
Am I, •• Aro. I? -- I don"t want to hurt your
feelinqs.
oo,,
You want me to leave?
_,,
Well, I mean not -- Yes. Yeah. It's
just ..• you koow ..• I just can't afford any
more delays, and you're one of those
fish that cause delBys. And sometimes
it's a gcod thing. There's a whole group
of fish -- They're ••• delay fish.
oo,,
You ""'"-n, •• You mean you don't like me?
_,,
No. Of course I like you. It's because I
like you I don't want to be with you.
It's a C""1plicated ..motion.
(Dory begins to cry)
Oh, don't cry. I like you
IIOONFISH (O.S,)
!ley' you!
Marlin turns. The SCHOOL OF MOONl'IS!l have massed behind him.
A SINGLE VOICE can be heard, but not seen, from within.
C<JNTDIIIED,

MOONFISII (0.8.)
Lady, is this guy bothering you?

=•
urn .•. I don't remember. 11<,re you?
_,,
No, no, no, no, no. We're just --
(remembers)
Heyl Do you guys !<now how I can get to F.
Sherman
MOONFISH (D.S.)
Look, pal. we•re talking to the lady, not

(to Doryl
Hey, you lile :inpressions?

=•
(Sniff!) ••• - . lllrlm.

IIOOITT'ISB 10.$.)
Ito the others)
Okay, just like in rehearsal, gentlemen.
The entire school fonns the shape of a SWORDFISH.
IIOOITT'ISII (0.SJ
So, what are we? Take a guess.

=•
Oh, oh, I've seen one of those!
HOONl'ISH 10.S.)
I'm a fisb with a nose like a sword!
oo,,
wait ... wait ... um •.•

=m
It's a swordfish!
All the moonfish moan with disappointment.
IIOOITT'ISH (D.S.)
Heyl Clown boy. Let the lady guess!
The school rapidly changes into a LOBSTER.
MOONFISH (O.S.)
Where•s the butter?
 ,,.
CONTIIIOEO,

oo,,
Ooh! Ooh! It'o on the tip of my tongue .•.
_,,
(as a sn.,..ze)
LOl>sterl
HOONFISD {O.$.)
Saw that! I

The n,oonfish change into an OCTOPUS.

MOONFISH (O.$.)
Lots of legs. Live in the ocean.
oo,,
MODNFISH (O,S)
C-lose enough!\
The moonfiah change lllto a CLIPPER SHIP, co,nplete with waving
flags, firing cannons and a fish walking the plank.
MOONFISH (O.S,)
(sings)
Oh, it's a whale of a tale. I'll tell you
lad. A whale of a tale, I'll tell you
oo,,
Oh they're good.
_,,
would ~2Dllllxll1Y please give !II<!
directions? I
The moonfish turn into a dead ringer of Karlin, A FISH Slllll'E
WlTD A FROWN,

MOONFISH (Q.S.)
(mimics Marlin)
Nould §Pt'Df'hodY please give me
directions?!

Dory bursts out laughing.

-m
This is -- I'm serious I
 CONTIN\rell,

IIOOIIFISH (O,S.)
Blah, blah, blah ....... , me, blah ••• blah,
blah, blah, blah, me,,..., me •••

-rn
( sarcastic)
Thank you.
Marlin swilu off in a huff,
~,
Oh, dear. Hey! Hey, come back!
(follc,ws Mllrlll!)

-rn
Beyl Wllat's the matter?

!!hat's the matter?

In the background, the moonfish Wtate Marlin's gestures,
_,,
What's the matter? l!hile they're doing
their silly little i.mpl'.essions, I am
miles from home, with a fish that can't

-_,,
even vea+lllber her own n,me.
'
( genull!e)
Boy, I bet that's frustrating.

Yeah. Meanwhile, my son is out there.

oo,,
Your son, Chico?

~,
Right. Got it.
_,,
But it doesn't llliitter. •c,.use no fish in
this entire oceAn is gonna help me!
oo,,
well, I'm helping you.
He pauses. She's right.

WAit right here.

~,
CONTINUED;
.'.
Dory jaunts over to the school, friendly as can be.
oo,,
Hey, quys?
HOONFISH (O.S.)
I/hat, is he bothering you agaio?
oo,,
No, no. He's a good guy.
(looks back at Marlin)
Go easy on him. He's lost his son, Fo.bio.
Any of you heard ot P. Sherman, 42
wallaby Way, Sydney?
MOONFISB { 0. S. )
Sydney?! Oh sure!
The school changes into the SYDNEY OP£RA HOUSE, then
p,:anctuat<> it by hitting an operatic high note.
MOONFISJI (O.S.)
Why, Ted here's got relatives in Sydney.
Don't ya, Ted?

TED (O.S.)
sui:e do.

Oh!
1calls to Marlin)
Hey! They know Sydney!

Karlin rushes over, ecstatic.

oo,,
You wouldn"t know how to get there, would
you?

HOONFISB (O.S.)
Wllat you ~anna do is foll<:111 the E-A-C.
That's uh, East Australian cw::rent.
( changes into the CtlRREIIT)
Big current. can't ffliss it. It's in •••
1turns into a GIANT AAROWJ
... that d1rection. And then you're gonna
follow that fo~ about -- uh, I dunno --
oh, what do you guys think? 'Bout three
leagues?

s~=
Yeah ••. three leagues •.• s.ounds about
~ight ...
COll'l'lNUED,

MOONPISH (0.S.)
And that little bahy's gonna float ycu
right past Sydney.
The ochool accent their giant arrow with an outer horder cf
fish that flash their refleotive scales like blinking lights.

'l'a-dal
_,,
Great! That's great! Dery, you did it!
Marlin hugs her. She hlushes.
oo,,
Oh, please. I'm ju,t -- your little
hel!>"r. Belplll" along, that•s n,e.
_,,
Well listen, fellahs. Thank you.
Marlin takes off in the direction of the arrow, not waiting
for Dory.

MOONFISB (O.S.)
Don't mention it. Just, uh, loo,en up.
Okay, buddy?
The school turns back into MARLIN, changing his FROWN into a
SMILE. Dory giggles in recognition.

-,
Oh, }'OU ~Y•· You really nailed hi.Jn. Bye.
MOONTISH (O.S.)
Oh, hey, 111<1'am? One more thing.

Yes?
'l'he fish form intc two sidea of a 'l'RENC!I.
MOONFIS!I (O.S. I
When you ccae to this trench, swim
through it, not over itl
oo,,
Trench. Through it. Not over it. I'll
remembar I
She swims through the JDDCk treru:,h, and chases after Marlin.
CONTIN\/llD,
''.
"~'
Heyl Heyl Hey, wait up, putnerl Bold on!
w-wait, wait, wait! I got -- 1 gotta tell
you 5e>methinql
She follows Marlin around a hill of rocks, where she finds
hllll floating in front of
11 DARK, FOREBODING TREIICII
oo,,
-- Whoa, Nice trench.
She peers into it.
oo,,
Hello!

Her shout echoes ...,rily down the crevasse. She heads in.
oo,,
okay, let's go!
_,,
(pulls her back!
Ho, no. Bad trench. Had trench. Con,e on.

-·
We're gonna SWlJII over this thing.

Who-whoa, whoa, partner. Little red flag

g<>in • up. Something' s telling me we
should swllll •through it, not ov"r it.•
_,,
Are you e,;en looking at this thing? It's
got death written all over itl
oo,,
l'm sorry but I really, really, really,
think we should swilrt through.
_,,
And, I'm really, really done talking

-·_,,
about this. Over we go,

c°""' on. Trust me on this.

-·
Trust you?

Yes, Trust. It's what friends do.

 ,o.
CONTINUED:

_,
(points behind her)
Look! Something shiny!

lilhere?!

Dory turns around, excited.

_,,
_,
Oh, it just swom over the trench. C'mon,
we'll follow it.

(perky)
Okay!

Dory gladly follows Marlin up and over the trench, and into
the open waters.
w,,
Boy. sure is clear up here-
O£f in the distance, Mulin spots the wispy ribbon of the
EAST AUSl'RALIAN CURRENT.
_,
And look at that. There's the current. we
should be there in no time.
CLOSE ON DORY; She seems tu l>e listening, hut is in fact
concentrating on a TINY JELLYFISH, floatlllg just in front of
her face. She sniles at it.
_,
Hey little guy.

=rn
(eyes still on current)
You wanted to go through the trench.
w,,
I shall call him Squishy and he shall be
!lli.ne. And he shall be my Squishy. COllle
here, Squishy. Came here, little Squishy.
Dory OW<es b<lby talk. R,iaches out to tollch Squishy. MUllll
turns to witness her receiving a tiny, but effective sting.
CONTINUED,

_,,
(Gasp) Dory! That•• a jellyfish!
oo,,
Bad Squishy! Bad Squiahy!
_,,
(swats Squishy away)
Shool Shoo, shcol Get awayl
(to Dory)
Come here, let me eee that.
She sucks on the tip of her fin like a child. They huddle
over it, eyes completely foc:used on her wound.
oo,,
Don't touch it, Don't touch it,
_,,
,_.
I • m nat gonna touch it. I just wanru,_

oo,,
-- Heyl? How come it didn't eting you?

-
It did,

Ow, Ow. Ow.

ouring their conversation, neither of them notioe LARGER

JELLYFISH silently floating down from above. Big ones.
_,,
It'e just that -- hold still -- I live in
this anemone and. I'm uoed to theee kind
of stings -- Come here •• ,

-m
(inspects her fin)
It doesn't look bad. You're gonna be
fine. But now we know, don't we? That we
don't want to touch these again. Let's be
thankful this tilne it was just a little
one.
They look up and sore..,.. HUNDREDS OF PINK JELLYFISH surround
them, blocking their path ••.
CONTINUED: ''.
=m
Don't ioovel

••• Every direction Marlin looks tltere seems to be more and

1110re jellyfish quietly descending .••
_,,
This is bad, Dory.

DORY (O.S.)
Bey! Watch this!
Merlin discovers Dory bouncing on a jellyfish top, causing
its bell to gracefully bill<OW and collapse. Ironically, it is
beautiful to watch.
_,
Boi.ng, boing, bolllg ... !

just a game to her.

_,
Marlin mcves to stop her, but she hops over his head. It's

You can't catch mel

Dory! Don't bounce oo the topsl Th"}' will

-- not., .sting you •••
(to himself)
The tops don't sting you. That's itl

Dory hopscotches around him.

oo,,
Being! Boing! Woo-hoo! Two in a row. Beat
that!
_,,
Dory. Alright, listen to me! I have an
idea. A g.._.

A game?

A game.

A game?!
CONTINUED:

Yes.
oo,,
Ahh! I lc,re games!
(hez: fin in the air)
Pick !lie!
-m
Alright. Here's the 9 ...,e, um., .Whoever
can hep the fastest out cf these
jellyfish wins.
oo,,
Okay I Ol<ay I
_,,
Hules, rules, rules! You can't touch the
tentacles. Only the tcps.
=,
Souething about tentacles. Get itl
(very rapidly)
on-your-""'-l'k-get-set-GO!l
She takes off.
_,,
He, no, no! Wait! Wait! Not something
about them, it's all about them. Wait!
ooey,
Marlin tentati,rely follows after her. Do:cy playfully .,..aves
hez: way through the shifting vacant spaces.
oo,,
Get to go fa,;ter if you want to win!

While Dory bounces back and forth like a pinball, Marlin

nervously comas up alongside, .....,zed that his plan is
actually "°rking.
_,,
!winded)
So we're cheating <ieath now ... That's what
""''re doi.ng. aut ""'re having fun at the
Bame time. I can do this. Just be
careful.
CONTINUED, '' .
oo,,
Yeah, careful I don't inal<e you cry when I
winl

Dory puts on a burst of spe@d. Marlin takes the challenge.

_,,
Oh, I don't think sol
They race along through the tentacled forest at a breakneck
pace, laughing the whole tine, The two are neck and ner;:k.
Mu U.n • s Ill to it .
oo,,
Give it up, old man! You can't fight
evolutiool l was built for apeedl
_,,
Question is, Dory, are you hungry?

Hungry:!
_,,
Yeah. •cause Jf<lU're about to EAT NY
11\IB&ES ! l

Ml>rlin shoots ahead at top •P""d •••

=rn
]to himself as he races)
Oh, duck to the left -- back -- cO!Uing
over -- right there .•.
.•• and z,:,om,; out of the jellyfish forest to find himself
facing the !last Australian Cu=ent.

=•
The clownfish is the winnerl Woo.boo! We
di.cl it! r.ook at us! Dory?

llarlin tu:cns to celebrate with her -- only she's not there.

Oh no.
INT. JELLYFISH FOREST - MOMENTS Ll\TER

Marlin """""" through the f<>rest, searching for Dory as more

and more pink jellffish fill the sp&~.
CONTINUED:

Re spots her entwined in the tentacles of a jellyfish.

Lifeless.

Marlin shoots straight into the tentacles, screaming as they

sting him, and pulls Dory free.
oo,,
(weak)
••• llffl I disqualified?
_,,
No, you•= doing fine ...
Marlin searches in vain for some way out, but they're
completely enveloped in pink, and the meager space they
occupy is shrinking ...
, MARLIN (CONT'D)
••. You're actually winning. But you gotta
stay awake. Uh, where does P. Sherman
liv"?
oo,,
P. sherman .•• wallaby •.• way .•. sydney .••
..• There! Off in the distance. Marlin spots a TINY PATCH OF
amidst all the pink, but it's closing fast.
III,\JE

That's it!
Holding Dory tight with one fin, Marlin swi.me through the
pink gauntlet towards the blue. He lists into a tentacle
STINGI AnOther tentacle -- STING! weakening with each
contact.

oo,,
wallaby way .•• sydney •••

-w
Stay awake! (STING!) Stay awake! (STING!I
STAY. • • ( STING I )

A MASSIVE JELLYFISH drops directly in Marlin's path. With his

last ounce of strength, be jettisons straight through its
tentacles ••.
 CONTINUED,

•• ,/\WAKE!
_,
ISTlNGJJ)
.
.•. and out into the safety of the 0pen water. The two fish
drift lifelessly, barely conscious .•.

Awake.,.

oo,,
_,_
P. Sherman •.• 42 Wallaby ••• Way .• ,Sydney.,.
II 1,1\RC,E S!IADO!i looms O'-'Sr Marlin just before he blacks out.

••• awake ••• wake .•• wake up .•. Nemo •••

MIITCI! DISSOLVE W;
INT. TANK - DAY

Nemo is hy th& tank glass, staring longingly out the window

at the harbor. <.ill swim, up frctn behind, unsure whether to
approach.
c,=
You miss your dad, don't you, Shark Bait?

Yeah.
c,=
Well, you're lucky to have someone out

-
there who"s lookin' tor you.

He's not lookin' fo,, me. Be's scared of

the ocean.
Gill looks away. Poor kid.
c,=
Peach, any ,,,,_,.,,.,..nt?
Op on the glass, Peach 1<8eps watch on the dentist, who's busy
inspecting x-rays.
PUCB
Be's had at least 4 cups of coffee. It's
gotta be soon.
r
c=
Keep on hi.m.
CONTlN\/ED,
''.
Gil1 catches Nemo staring at his damaged fin. Nemo looks
away, emba=assed.
,,u
(lifts bad fin)
My tirst escape. Lo.nded on dental tools.
I was aiming for the toilet.
_,
The toilet?
,,u

-
All drains lead to tru> oc:ean, kid.

W<>W. How many times have you tried to get

out?

,,u
Ahhh ••• I've lost oount.
(swims off; Nell>O followol
Fish aren't meant to l>a in a box, kid. It
does things to you,
They pass Bubbles staring cklwn the treasure chest. The lid
opens. Spevs a stream of buhbles. Be tries to catch them all.
B\/BBLl!S

-
Bubbles! Bubbles! Buhblesl

(unsticks)
J?<otty breakll Potty bre.ol<II Be just
grabbed the Reader's Digest! lie have 4.<
minutes!
TIie fish watch the dentist slip into the bathroom.
,,u
That's your cue, $hark Bait!
_,
You can do it, kid!

They swim up to the filter, just below the surface.

,,u
Okay, we gotta be quick. once you g<,t in,
you swirl, down to the bottom of the
challlber, and I'll talk you through the
rest.
 ' I'
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CQNTINUE!l c
,, .

-
l can't do it.

EXT./INT. FILTER - SAME

•=•
Gill, thi• i•n't a good idea.
,,u
He'll be fine.
Ito Nemo)
Try again.

Okay.

Nemo is ocared, but still he places the pebble next to the

fllter ag.o.in ... gently nudges it into the rotating fan •• ,
GILL (0.S,)
That's it, Shark Bait ... Nice and
steady ...

With a loud crash the pebble jams the fan blades. Up abcve,

-
the water wheel stops turning.

I got it! I got i t l

The fish all breath a sigh of relief.

,,u
That's great, kid.""" swim up the tube
and out.

With moxe confideru:,e than he had going in, Nemo swims thi:ough
the fan blade housing and up the narrow intake tube. Be
barely fits, but manages to inch forward.
CLOSE ON PEBBLE IN THE FAN BLADES
It shudders ... slip,; ... then pops out. The filter roara back to
life. The suction pulls nemo b!ICl<lfards through the tube

-
towar<la the blades,

Oh no! Gill! Gill!

Shark Bait!
,,u
{to gang)
Get hllll out of there! Get him out of
there,
 CONTINUED,
"".

The tank gang is frantic. Gill scrambles to pull a long

plastic plant out of the tank bed ...
TANK GANG
Oh my gosh! ••• Help hilnl.,.Whatta we do?

c,u
Stay calm, kid! Just don't panic!

••• Nemo contlllues to slip backwards .••

Help mel

, •• :rhe fish snake the plant up the tube •••

c,u
Sh,uck Bait -- Gral> hold of this I

As N8111D slips closer to the JDDVing blades, the plant app@RrS

in the tube o.bove hl.n> ••. He can't reach it,.,His tail now an
inch Rbove the fan ..• Nemo tries to bite down on it, but the
LEAF bre.oks off, Md i.s shredded by the 111<1chine.

, Nol Nol

c,u
(to gang)
Feed me more!

c,u
Come on, Shark Bait! Grah it!

Nen<> concentrates .•• one last effoct; .•. bites down on the very

-
tip of the plant!

!through clenched teeth)

I got it!

The gang pulls hard. Nemo flies out of the tube. All the fish
crash in a pile on the tank floor.

Nemo is crying in Peach's anns. Gill rises up out of the

tangle of fish, lookin9 as shaken a, Nemo.
 CONTUI\JED,

,-,
Gill, don't in.ake hin. go baok in there.
c,u
No. We're done.
Gill can't look at Nemo. He swlllla away. Nemo buries his head
in Peach's arms.
EXT, o:.PEN WATERS - DAY
CLOSE DN MARLIN, waking up, groggy. Di,oriented.
CRUSH (O.S.)
Duuudel Duuuude. Focu• Dude! Ouuuude ••.
_,,
(groggy)
Oh-hhhhh!
Marlin look$ up at the HEAil OP A $A T<JRTLE alowly cOl!ti.ng
into focus. A big grin pasted on the leatherback's face.
CRUSH
Ue live•! Hey dude!

Marlin discovers he's lying on the turtle's shell.

_,,
Ohhh. What happenad '
CRUSH
Oh, saw the whole thing, dude, First you
were all like -- whoa. And then we were
all like -- WHOA! And then you ""'re like
whoooooa •••
_,,
What are you talking about?
CRUSH
You, mini man. Takin' on the jellies. You
got eerious thrill i•sues,
dude., .awesome.
_,,
Oh, my stomach. Ohhhh ...
CRUSH
(serioua]
Oh man, no burling on the shell, dude,
' okay? Juat waxed it?
com:111Ufill,

_,,
So Hr. Turtle --
=sa
Whoa. Dude. M)C. Turtle is my father.
Name's Crush.
_,,
crueh? Really? Okay, Crush. Listen, I
need to get tot.he East Australian
Cu:crent. E.A.C.?
CRUSH
(chuckles)
oude .• ,You're ridin' it, dudel Check it
out.
crush gestu:ces to look back. M!lrlin turns around to see
Tl!E EAST AlJSTRALI.IIN ClllOOlNT

fill&d with l!llNOREOS OF SEA TURTLES. They ride an endless

ril>bon of water that wea,;es through th@ blue ooean, all
migrating together. Passing fish merge into the current, like
it was an interstate freeway, and ZOOlll off.
=sa
'~ay, grab shell, dude.
_,,
Grab whaaMAAA -- 1 l

The cu:crent dips and they rush downward as if they were on a

giant underwater roller coaster. Marlin holds tightly to
Crush's shell as they corkscrew through the ascent.
cra~
Oh-ho! Righteous! Righteousl Yeah!

Stop!
The curr&nt SlbOOths out and crush resume& hi& leisurely pace.
=sa
So, what brings you on thio fine day to
the E.A.C.?
_,,
well, Dory and I need to 9et to Sydney
(Gasp) Dory! Dory, is she alright?
 CONTINUED, "'·
r CRlJSH
Oh. Oh, little blue ...
1points down)
She is sub-level, dude.
Ma.i:lin spies a blue speck lying still on the back of one of
the turtles far below the,n. lt's Dory.
_,,
(GASP! I Dory! Dory! Dery I

Marlin races dawn to her, but is afraid to touch. She""""'"

to be delirious, on death's door.

Oh, Dory.

She mmobles unintelligibly to herself.

_,,
I'm eo sorry. This -- this is all my
fault.

-,
(Humble) ... Twenty-nine, thirty! Ready or
not here I came!
'
suddenly, Dory jumps up. She's fine, She darts off, i;,eeking
under turtle shells. A bunch of ~IO TURTLES pop out. They've
been playing bide-and-seek.
-,
There you are! Catch me if you can!
As they all chase after Dory, giggling, Mdrlin slowly becaoes
aware of all the surrounding TURTLE FAMILIES,
Kids spin upside-down on top of an adult's shell •.
Two adults •~ing a baby turtle between their flipper•.
A group of kid• slide off an adult•• back and are launched
into the air by his back flipper••
-- A chain of kid• are whipped around by an adult. The
smalleat of the kid turtles (SQUIRT) io hurled off. Flieo
past Marlin.

'
CONTINUJ::O,

Squirt breaks through the turbulent l<lU,L OF TBE CllRREHT, and

lik<a someone falling off a train, tumbles ioto the open
waters outside, quickly being left behiod. Marlin moves to
rescue him when Crtlsh's flipper otops him.
_,,
Oh my g0odness --

CRUSH
Whoa. Rill the motor, dude. Let us see
what Sguirt does flying solo.
ON SQo:IR'I': He struggles furiously to lililtch speed with the
current, then bursts back into the flow, Be..,.. with pride.
SO\llR'l'
Whoa! 'l'hat ~as so cool! Hey Dad, did you
see that?! Did you see me?! Did you se,e
what I did?I
CRUSH
You so totally rock, Sguirt!
Sguixt paddles up thern,

=••
So ginme some fin •••
!they slap fins)
NOggin.
Ibump heads I
CRUSH} SQUIRT
(in unison)
Dude ••.

=••
(remembers manners)
Oh. Intro, Jelll'Dlan, Offspring.
Offspring, Jellyn,an.
SQt.rlR'l'
Jellies? Sweeeet!
• CRUSH
Totally.
_,,
Well, appar@ntly I 111Ust havt! done
something you all liked, uh, dudes.
SQUIRT
You rock, dude!
••
0

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 CONflNUED:

_,,
Alright, wait! Kids -- !
They pig pile Marlin on top of Crush's shell, burying him
from view, while firing a barrage of questions,
$QUIRT/KID TURTLES _,,
Are you funnyC ... l!bere're you (muffled)
from?., .Where•• your I need to breathe ••. That's
shell? ... Do your stripes ccme fine •.• Alright, kids. One at
off? ... Are you running a tillle! ••• One at a time •••
away? ••• Did you really cross
the jellyfish forest? ... Did
they sting you?
Marlin breal<s free. F""es the kids, s,nillllg. He misses this,
TINY TURTLE
Mr. Fish, did you die?

=,
sorry, I was a little vague on the
details.

-m
SQUIRT
So where you goin'?

!!ell, you aee, ,rty son was taken -- my son

was taken away from me,
The kids (and Doryl gasp. Buddle closer together, eyes wide.
oo,,
No way,
SQUIRT
!!hat happened?
_,,
No, no, no, no. Rids, I-I don't want to
talk about it.
/ILL RID TURTLES
Aw, come on, •• Tell us •••

SQUIRT
Please?!
-m
' ,_,
(Sigh) Well, okay.
(where to start?I
CONTINUED,
MARLIN (CONT'D)
I-I live on thio reef, a long, long way
from here .••
~,
Oh boy, this is gonna be good, I can
t@ll.
_,,
.•. and my son, Nemo -- see, he was mad at
me ••. and maybe he wouldn't have done it
if I hadn't been so tough on hl.n ••• I
dotl't know ••• Anyway, he swam out in th@
o,.en water to this boat, and while he was
out there, these divers ap,.eared. And I
I tried to otop the,n. But the boat was
too fast. So we swam out into the ocean
tc follow it ••.
MONTAGE (DUSK TO DIIWN)

-- A RID TURTLE relays M=lin •s story to some NEIIR!IY FISH:

KID TURTLE
•.• but he couldn't stop th..,., And then,
Nemo's dad, he swims out to th@ oc@an and
they bump into three ferocious sharks ..•
TWO FISH, one big and the other small, owim together,

Slllll,L FISH
l<leep voice; overlapping)
••• three ferocious sharks. He scares away
the sharks by blowing them up!
BIG FISH
(high voice)
Golly, that's amazing!
Slllll,L FISH
( deep voice)
And then dives thousands of feet straight
down, iota the dark.
-- A LINH OF LOBSTERS walk along the sea floor. The one in
fn,nt tells the story,
LOBSTER
(overlapping)
.•. and then dive• thousands of feet
straight dm.m into the dark. It's like
wicked dark dmrn there. You can't see a
thing.

,_,
{aside to a lobster in trap)
How's it going, Bob?
 COHTilll.lED:
•••
LOBSTER lCONT'D)
1contioues)
And, the only thing they can see down
there is, ••

-- T!IQ SIIORDfISH duel as they talk:

SllORDFISH
(overlapping)
And, the only th:i!lg they can see down
there is the light from this big horrible
creature with razor-sharp teeth.
1asi<i<!)
Nice po.rry, old mo.n!
(continues)
And then he has to blast his way out of a
jellyfish fmcest ••.

__ TWO DOLPHINS repeatedly b..eak the surface in perf&et sync

as one relays the story. TWO ALBATROSSES flying overhead
listen in,
DOl,PHIN
(ov=lapping)
So these two little fish have been --
sea=hing the ocean for days -- on the
, East Australian Current -- which means
that he lllll.Y be on --

-- om;; OF TIii: ALBATROSSES tells the story to her flack as

they fly into the sunset,
IILIIATRCSS INTO SUNSET
{overlapping)
.•• which iaeans that he mo.y be on his way
here right now. That should put hl.ln in
Sydney Harbor. , •

-- The full 1DDCn silhouettes an IIL!IA'.l'llOSS relaying the story

to PELICANS perched atop a lighthouse, as the bemi, scans the
dark ocean,
ALBATROSS ON LIGHT HOUSE
{ov<,rlappin<,I
.•• Sydney Barbor in a matter of dayo. I
mean, it oounds like this guy's gonna
stop at nothing •.•
A FLOC~ OF PELICANS fly through the night sky .•.
LEAD PELICAN
, {ov<,rlappingl
.•• it sounds like this guy•• gonna stop
at nothing until he finds his son.
{MORE)
 ,,_
CONTlN0!::0,
LEAD FELICAN [Cill!T'D)
I oure hope he ..._kee it. That's one
dedicated father, if you ask me .

..• tm,ards the evening akyline of Sydney Harbor,

DISSOLVES TO:

&XT. SYDNEY SEWAGE OUTLET - MORNING

At the mouth of the harbor, near a red buoy, Su.GUL:l.,S

congregate on a rock, They pester a GllOOP Of PELICANS. Nigel
is one of the,n. He is trying to e,,.t a crab, but the noise of
the seagulls is distracting.
SRAG!n,LS
MJ.nel MJ.nel Minel Mine!
NIGEL
Oh, would you just SHEBYADDAPI ! You rats
with winqs I

PELICAN 11"1
,.,and new this bloke's looking for his

-
boy, Nemo.
NIGEL
Nemo?

FELIC/IN #I
.•. He was taken off the reef by divers
and this clownfish has been looking for
his son "11 over the ocean •..
To grl rid of the noise, Nigel tosses his crab at the
squawking seaqulle.

••=
There I Take itl You happy?!

Mine! Mine\•-=
Mine! Minel
The seagulls chase after it. Nigel can hear now.
NIGEL
(tc Pelican #1)
Hey, hey, hey. Say that again. You just
said something about Nemo! What wa• it?

- The CRAB land• on th<! rock•- Is pursued to the edge. It turns

-
on the seagulls, and strikes defensive karate pOoes.

l!l'IEE&El'lEE-YAAA I
 ==,
r
The seagulls stop dead in their tracks, confused. Tba crab
seizes the moment, llJld leaps into the water. Gone,
SEAGULL #1
Mine?
on the other rock, the pelican finishes telling Nigel
everything,
PELICl\11 #I
••. Last I heard he's heading towards the
harbor •
•,=
H0-h01 Brilliant!
Nigel takes to the air.
INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE - DAY
N<mK> lies slumped irl the diver's helmet, defeated. He looks
ac:z:oas the tank at the threatening picture of Darla, Sighs.
Sinks deeper inside.
Bloat, Deb, Bubbles and Gurgle quietly float down fron above.
OU
(whispers)
Is he doing okay?
,_
(loud whisper)
I don't knaw, but whatever you do, don't
mention D-A-R --

-
Neroo swims out of the hell,,et past them.

That's ol<ay. I know who you're talking

about.
The gang watches him go. Bl0<1t ......cks Gurgle upside the head.
Nemo nervously passes the filter to reach Gill's hom<>• the
plastic skull, Tj_,nj_dly, he peeks through the eye hole. Gill

-
floats mctionless in the d&rk.

Gill ... ? Gill?

c=
Bey, Shark Bait.
 CONTINUED<
' ..
I'm sorry I couldn't stop the fi
,,u
No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I
was so ready to get out, so ready to
taste that ocean.,.1 was willing to put
you in harm's way to get tl>ere.
!beat)
Nothing should be worth that. I'm sorry I
couldn't get you back to your father,
kid.

Gill finally looks at Nerno. The boy doesn't know what to say.
ON NIGEL IN TIIE SKY
He is flying like a madman.,,
NIGEL
Hey! Hey! Hey!

... and slillll5 full force into the closed window.

DENTIST
ilhat the -- ?

The crash spooks th& dentist, and he prematurely PULLS T!!E

TOOTH fro,n his patient •.. who naturally sore...,s.
DIWTIST
W.,11, that's uh ••. one way to pull a
tooth.
The dentist walks over to the window. Dpty. He opens the
window, checks left and right.
DENTIST
Hunh ••• Darn kids.
(walks back ta the patient)
Well, good thing I pulled the right one,
eh, Prime Minister?
Nigel peeks up over the sill. Leans inside. Tries to get the
gang's attention.

,=,
oh, Nigel! You just fll.issed an extraction.
'
CONTINUED:
'' .
NIGEL
Ooh! Has be loosened the periodontal
ligament with the elevator yet? -- Doh!
What am I talking about? Nemol Where's
Nemo? I've got to speak with hiJnl
The gang all congr,,gate by Nigel. Nemo swims up to the glass.

What? What is it?

NIGEL
Your dad's been fightin' the entire ocean

-
lookin' for you!

My father? )leally?

i<eally?
NIGEL
Oh yeah! He's traveled hundreds of miles.
He's been battling sharks, and jellyfish,
and all sorts of

Shark.s?
(defeated)
:!'hat can't be him,

NIGEL
Are you sure!
(taps wing on chin)
What was his nlllN!? Uh, some kind of sport
fish or something •• ,TUna ... Trout ... ?

Marlin:/
NIGEL
That'a it! !<arlinl The little clmmfish
from the reef!

Nemo's face lights up.

,-
It's my dadl He took on a shark!

NIGEt
I heard he took on three,
 ,, .
CONTINOJ:D,

TAN~ G1'NG/NEM0
Three? ••. Three sharks? ••.

,-,
That's gotta be 4BOO teethl
,,=
You see kid, after you got taken by Diver
Dan over there, your dad followed the
boat you were on like a maniac.

Really?

As Nigel tells the story, THE cAl!ERA SLOWLY MOVES IN ON

NEMO'S FM'.E as it swells with pride. (SCORE sho1lld overtake
this dialogue, allowing only snipp,,ts to peek through),
NIGEL
He's swi<inin' and he's swi.mm.in' !!1ld he's
giving it all he's got. Then three
gigantic sharks capture him. He blows
thBlll up, and then dives thousands of feet
down where he gets chased by a monster
, with huge t .... th. He ties this thing to a
rook. What does he get for hie reward? II<>
gets to battle an entire jellyfish
forest. But nm, he's ridin' with a bunoha
oea turtles on the East Australian
Current, and the word is he's headed this
way, right now, to sydneyl
The tank gang all look at each other in amazement.
TI\NK GANG
Wcs, .•• What a good daddy ••• Unbelievable .••
,,~
He was lookin' for ya after all, Shark
Bait --

N<!m<>'s not there. Gill looks across the tank to find the boy
picking up a large FUSED PEBBLE, and heading up to •••
_,
Ke's swimming to the filter!
TANK GJ\NG
Shark Ila.it I ••. Not again!
, The fish swbn after hJ.,n. Remo spits the pebble into the
filter, and vaults in. Gill just misses him.
 ,,.
CONTlNUED:

,,~
Shark l>ait!
TANK GIIIIG
No! ••• You've got your whole life ahead of
you l •••
,,~
We'll help ya, kid!
Like before, the gang grahs a plastic plant.
rNSIDB THE FILTER

ll determined Ne!IID approaches the fan ... gauges the size of the
fuse<! pebble in his fin •.•

__
IN THE '.Cl\Nll

The fish shtwe the pLo.stic plant into the intake tube.
,
Get him outta there!.,.Coine °"' kid, grab
the eru:11 ••.

SFX1 GEARS GRIND NOISILY TO ll HALT

Fearing the worst, the gang rush to the side of the filter.
TANK GANG
Shark Bait!, •• Ar~ you okay? •.. Oh no ...
,,~
Can you bear !fie, Shark Bait? Nemo, can
you hear me?

-
Nl!IIIO pops up behind them, smiling.

Yeah, I can hear you.

GILL/TANK GANG

-·
SHIIRK WllT! You did it!

(hug• NemoJ
Ahhl Shark Bait you're
(pulls away; horrified)
COVERED IIIT!! GKRl!SI ! AAAIGH! l
,,~
That took g,,ts, kid.
CON'l'INUEO,

IIOl(EN'l'S LATER
Gill bas assembled everyone around Darla's picture.
,=
Alright gang, we have less than 4B hours
before Da:rla gets here. This tank'll get
plenty dirty in that t1-, but we have to
help it along any way we can. Jacques?
JACQUES
Qui?
,,~
-~·
No cleaning,

I shall reeist.
,,~
Everybody else? Be aa grasa as possible.
Think dirty thoughts. We're gonna make
this tank so filthy the dentist'll have
ta clean it.
!lloat belches.

Coed work.

NelllO giggles.

EXT. EASTERN AUSl'RI\LIIIN CUllRENT - AFTERNOON

The turtle aa:ravan races by at top speed. ~arlin and oory
ride Crush's back, EVeryone has to yell over the roar of the
current,
CRUSH
Alright, we're here, dudes! Get readyl
Your exit's cOOLin' up, man!
_,,
Where? I don't see itl

!tight there!
-,
(painto)
I see it! I see it!

In the distance, a GIANT EDDY branches off the current -- an

offramp.
 ,,.
CONTIN\/Ell:

_,,
You mean the swirling vorteot of terror?!
CRUSH
That's 1t, duc!el
_,,
Of couroe it is.
CRUSH
Okay! First! Find your exit buddy!
Dory grab• Karlin real tight.
CRUSH
Do you have your =it buddy?I

Yes!
CRUSH
okay, Squirt here will now give you a run-
down on proper exiting technique!

Squirt pops up frco underneath his father.

' SQUIRT
Goad aftez:noon! we•re gonna have a great
jump today!
ltnal<e• broad gasturas)
Okay, crank a hard cutback as you hit the
wall! The>:e's a ocreaming bctt001 turn,
oo, watch out! ~emelllh<lr, Rip it, roll it
and punch it!

Ma:rlio juat stares at the boy for a beat.

_,,
It's like he's tryin' to speal< to n,e, I
!<now it!
(to Squirt)
You know you're really cute, but I don't
know what you're saying. say the first
thing again -- I
Cl!USH
Okay, Jellymanl GOI GO! GO!
Squirt shoves Marlin• Dory off Crush's shell, and into th<>
offramp eddy.

Marlin screa,ns as they're sucked into the vorte~. Tru!ly ride

tbe eddy like a waterslide, spinning around out ot control •••
 ,, .
CONTINUED:

... and shoot out the other end into oal~ open watero,
_,,
;scre8ll\S into laughter)
Whoa. That waa, •• funl I actually enjoyed
that!
oo,,
Jspcta turtles; points)
Hey, look! '!'urtles!

Above them Crush tread.o water against the fl0W of the

current.
CRUSH
(Laugh) !\Ost e=ellentl Now, turn your
fishy tails 'round and swim straight on
through to Sydney! No worries, manl
-rn
No w,orries! Thank you, dude-crush!
crush is pelted with passing kids. Their weight slowly sends
hiJII downstream.

lllD TURTLES
Bye! .•• Bye, Jellyman! ••• See ya!,.,

ClllJSH
You tell your little dude I said hi,
okay?

SQUIRT

-·
See ya later, dudes!

Bye everyone!

Marlin gives a sad ..,ile.

_,,
Oh, NeDC would ha.ve loved this.,.
{r..,........rs; calls out)
oh -- Hey crush, crush! I forgot! !!OW old
are you?!

CRUSH
A hundred and fifty, dude! And still
young! Rocle on!

Crush and the other tiirtles fade off in the di•tance.

CONTIIIOED:
, ..
-w
'Hundred and fifty ... 'hunct,ced and fifty,
l gotta remember that.

The two fish turn, and oonfront a l'OREBODING WALL OP IIURK.

oo,,
Whoa. tie goin' in there?

oo,,
(all business)
P. Sherl!IO.n, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney?

-w
Yup. We're gonna just swim straight.
They head fearlessly into the murky void .•.

=•
JUst keep swilolriing,.,just keep
swi.mming ... swi --

Dory switches to hunning.

rNT. MURKY VOID - LATER

-··
Deep in the thick murk, Marlin and Dory fade into view ...

Boy this is taking a while.

=•
Berl How "bout we play a game?

Okay.
oo,,
Uh, okay, I'm thinking of something ...
orange! And it's small

It's me.

=•
Right! Okay, this one you'll never
guess •••
 ,,.
CONTINUED:

... and out of view ... back into view ...

oo,,
... It's, like, orange ..• and, uh, ,..,..ll --

It's me.
oo,,
Alrighty, Mr. Smarty Pants, now I'm
thinkin' •..

-·_,,
.•• out of view .• ,into view •..

.•. It's orange •.• and slllllll •.. and white

stripes

Me. And the next onel Just a guess -- me.

oo,,
Okay. That's just scary.

Marlin begins to look worried. He ,.oints to a particle in the

water. As he speaks, he l>eco,nes more hysterical,
_,, DORY
Wait, wait, wait. I've Hey, hey, hey .•• Nhoa, whoa,
definitely seen this flcating whca,. ,BEYi !
speck l>efore. That .,..ans
""''ve passed it before, and
that means we're going in
circles, and that means ~e•re
not going straight -- lie
gotta get to the surfacel
Come on, we'll figure it out
~,
up there! Let's <JO, follow

Dory grabs hold of Marlin. Hakes eye contact.

DORY
Relax. Take a de«p breath ...
(they breatl>e together)
Now, let's ~sk sOlllebody for directions.
_,,
Oh, fin~- wt,o you wanna ask? The speck?
There's nobody here!
 100.
CONT!NUEO,

r oos,
Well, there has to be someone. lt"s the
ocean, s~lly. We're not the only t = in
here.
Dory looks out into the murk.
oos,
Let's see ...
(revol,.,..s)
Okay, no one there ••• uh, nope •• ,nada.,.
DORY'S POV, A S!!IILL 01\RK BLUR Of A FISH slides into view,
deep in the gray mist.

=•
There's some.body!
(calls out)
Heyl Excuse --
=m
Dory, oory, DOl7 I
(gets in her face; whispers)
Okay, nm, it's my turn. l'm thinking of
, sOlN!thing dark and mysterious. It's a
fish we don't know. And if we ask it
direntions, it ,;,ould ingeot us and spit
out our bones!

=•
What is it with lll"!n and ~skin9 for
directions?
-m
LOok. l don"t want to play the gender
ca:rd right now, You wanna play a co.rd?
Let's play the, ••
(makes guotes with his fins)
"Let's not die" card.
oos,
You want to 9et out of here don't you?
-m
of course I do --
oos,
tlell, then how are we gonna do that
unless we 9ive it a shot and hope for the
best? l!mm.? Hmm?
,
 101.
COll'l'INUEO;

_,,
But -- But Dory, you don't fully
understan

Coine
-,
on. Trust""' on this.
This line stops Marlin. He glances at the JELLYFISH WOUND on
her side. The wound she received hecause he did.n"t listen to
her before.
_,,
(Sigh) Alright.
Dory smiles .
aoo,
(calls out)
E~ouoe ... 11 Woo-hool Little fellah?!
The sinall dark hlur of a fish just floats there. No response.

Hello!
(to Marlin)
Don't be rude. Say hi.

e-Hello!
oo,,
His son Bingo --

oo,,
Nemol Was taken to, uh --

Sydney.
oo,,
Sydney! Yes, and it"s really, really
~rtant that we get there as fast as""
can! So can you help us out?

-
Long pause. The shape just sits there.

Come on, little fellah! Co,ne onl

 102.
CC>NTlNIJBD;

_,,
Dory, I'm a little fellah. I don't think
that's a little fell!UI ...
The shape unfurls. Emits a distant whale cry.

=•
Oh. Oh, oh ••• big fellah. Big f8ll
whale! Okay. Maybe he only speaks
"whale."
(in •whale")
lleeeee n<>e""ed to fiiiillld his sooooon •..

-rn
Uh, Dory. What are you doing? llhat ar<>
you doing?! Are you sure you speak whale?

=•
Caaauan yooooooouuuuuuu giiive uuus
dir""""""eeectioooooons ...
_,,
Dory! Heaveo """"" what you're saying!
The whale turns away into the murk, and disappears.
_,,
see. Be's swimtri.ng away.

=•
coooooooome baaaaaaaaack ..•

=rn
Be's oot coming back. You offended him!

=•
Maybe a different dialect
{makes whale noises)
_,,
Doryl Dory, this is not whale. You're
speaking, lilce ... ups<>t stomach.
As they debate, the whale slowly appears behind them out of
the IDurk. They don't see it. It grows btgger and bigger, ••
 l 03.
CONTINIJEP<

r
=• _,,
Maybe I should try hUBpback, No, don't try
(speaks humpback) humpback! ... Alright. YOU
Maybe louder, huh? actually sound sick ... Don't
(speaks loud humpback) DO that! ••• It doesn't sound
TOo much orca. Doesn't that orca, It sounds like nothing
sound a little o,,ca-ish? I've ever heard ... oh, It's
just as well. He might be
hungry.
oo,,
Don't worry. Whales d011't eat clownfish.
They eat krill.
The whale now fills the entire fr,une behind then,, I\ l!t!NDRED
TINY SCRRAl!ING KRILL swim past.

=u
(tiny voices)
Swim away .•• !
oo,,
Oh, look! Krilll
Marlin slowly turns around. The whale opens its mouth •• ,
_,,
HOVEi DORYI HOVE!!
... and swallows them up. Tiley never had a chance.
INT, Tl\NK - DI\Y

Gill and Nemo float before an entire Tl\NK NALL OF ALGI\E,

,,u
LOok at that. would you look at that?
Filthy. l\bsolutely filthy. And it's all
thanks to you, kid, You made it poosible
- Jacques, I said no cleaning!
Jacques turns from the glass. caught. Green algae covers his
face, llle a kid eating ch00<>late.

JACQUES
I ... a,hamed.
""""h, up on the glass, waves her anns, smearing the algae.

•=•
Bey look! Scum angel!
 I )
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i i "z • ,
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 l 05.
CONTINUED,

s=u
E""1WI Don't you people realize ""''re

-
3Winming in our own --

Shhhl eere he comes!

THE DENTIST'S BAND
Juts into the water. The fish scatter. Nemo hides in the fake
plastic shipwreck,
The dentist slides his inde~ finger up the glass, making a
clear lioe through the algae. Pulls his hand out of the tank,
and inspects the SCUii\.
DENTIST
Krikey, what a state.
(calla out)
Sarbara, what's my earliest appointment
tomorrow?
RECEfTIONIST 10.S,)
Ten o'clock!

ourJ:IST
Leave it open, wouldja7 I'm gonna clean
the fish tank before Darla gets here.
IN TUE TANK
The fish slowly emerge from hiding, except Nemo.
c,u
Did you hear that, Shark Bait?
NEltO (O,S.)
Yay! He's gonna clean the tank! Be's
gonna clean the tank!

-
N...., popa out the ship's porthole, covered in green acwo.

Yay, we'r" gonna be cleanl

c,u
Are you ready to see your dad, kid?

Uh-huh.
They both look out the window to the harbor.
 106.
CONT:nllJE[);

c,u
Of cour•e you are. You know, r wouldn"t
be surprised if he"s out there in the
harbor waitin' for you right now.

Yeah .••
EXT. SYDNEY IIARBOll./DEEP OCEAN - MONTAGE
Through a SERIES OF DISSOLVES, we "10Ve under the water, out
of the harbor and into the open waters.
TIii: WH/!.LE appears, 1110ving with weightless grace. The giant
m,mmal gently rolls pa5t, its massive shape blotting out the
light. Slowly it IIIOVeO towards us.
INT. WHALE'S MOUTH - CONTINUOUS
rt is a vast, dim, red, sinewy cavern, full of water.

-··
Everything undulates back and forth with haunting creaks and

UNDER THE SURFl\CE

Harlin shoots pa5t, hurtling towards the front of the mouth.
He crashes ho.rd into the haleen with no effect. Dory twirl5
up to bl.Ill, enjoying the ride. He ignores her. The 5"ells
carry them away fram the baleen.
Harlin swims forward for another attempt. Slams into the
bal8"n. No good. Dory twirl5 by hiP> again, swimming upside-

-_,.
down, laughing with glee.

Here ccuies a big one. OOhl Coaie onl You

gotta try this!

WOULD l'OU JUST STOE' IT? I

_,.
~,
Why? What's wrong?

We're in a whale! Don"t you get it?

00~
(looks around)
A whale?

'
 107,
CONTilllJED;

_,,
A whale! 'Cause YOU had to ask for help!
And now we're stuck here!
oo,,
wow. A whale. You know I speak whale.
_,,
No!! You're insane! You can't speak
whalel
(pounds furiously oo the
baleen)
I have to get outl -- I ha,,., to find my
son! -- I have to tell him how - OLD
SEA - TIIRTLES - ARE!!

Marllll breaks down, exhausted. Slides to the bottom. Dory

spins up to the baleen, laughing. l>Ooks around far Marlin.
Finds him far below, lying an th<> tongue.
oo,,
(serious)
Hey. You olcay?
She gently lowers. Marlin remains still, eyes olooed.
oo,,
There, there .• , It'• alright. It'll be
okay.
_,,
No ... No, it >ron"t ...
oo,,
Sure it will. You'll see.
_,,
No •.. I prCIJ\ised hi.m I"d never let
anything happen ta hi.m ...
Dory considers this staten,ent.
oo,,
1111>. That's a funny thing to promise.

What?
oo,,
Well, you can't never let anything happen
ta him. Then nothing would ever happen to
him.
 I OB.
COliTIN\IED,

He looks at Dory. That actually made sense,

_,
Not Dll1Cb fun for little Harpe,.
Suddenly, the whale lurches to a stop. Everything goes guiet.
oo,,
=m
What's going on?
_,
Don't know. I'll ask him.
(in whale)
Whaaaaaaaat's gooooiiiiiiiiing oooooooon?

The whale responds with deafening moans.

oo,,
I think he says we've stopped.
' =m
Well, of course we've stopped. Just --
stop trying to sp,,ak whale, You"re gonna
make things worse.
A low rumble.
_,,
What is that noise:/
Marlin looks up. 'l'he WA'.CER LEVEL is lowering •• ,
_,,
Oh no. Look what you did. The water's
going down .•• it's -- it's going down.
_,
i>eally:1 You sure about that?

_,
=m
I.oolcl Already it's half-empty!

Hmm? I'd say it's half full,

_,,
STOP THAT! IT'S HALF EMPTY l I
 109,
CONTINUED:

Tl\e whale's votce booms again.

oo,,
Okay, that one was a little tougher. He
either said, we should go to the "hack of
the throat,• or he wants •a root beer
float!•
_,
Of course he wants ua to go there! That's
eating us!
(rubs against a tastebud)
How do l taste, Moby?! Huh?I Do 1 taste
good! You tell hllll I'm not tntereated in
being lunchl
oo,,
Okay.
(in whale)
Heeeeeee'a ncoooot
_,,
Stop talking to hJ.m
Without warning the mammc,th tongue leaps out of the shallow
r water, thrusting Marlin 8Jld Dory up no>ar the roof of the
mouth. They h8Jlg vertically from the tast<>huds, scre!Ulltng.
_,,
WHAT IS GOING ON:/ I!
oo,,
I 'LL CHECK --
( tn whale)
Whaaaaaaaaat' •
_,,
NOi No more whale! You can't speak wbalel
oo,,
Ye• I can!
_,,
No, you can'tl You think you can do these
things but you can"t, Nem:>!I
Karlin catches hiJnself. Goes guiet. The tongue reachea ito
peak. They dangle high ov,,r the whale'• undulating throat.
Again the whale moans. so loud the fish shake from the
reverberation. Dory listens intently. Nods.
oo,,
Okay!
 110,
CONTINUED,

She let• go.

Docy!
Marlin grahs her by tbe fill. Still oliogs to the tongue.
oo,,
He says it's time to let go! Everything's
gonna be alright!
_,,
How do you know? I Sow do you know
sOll!ething had isn't gonna happen?!

I don't!
Beat. Marlin loo):s down at the bottomless throat ••• gulps •••
• • • and lets go.
The tiny oraoge and blue fioh tlllllble down the darl: esophagu,,
Then ..•

'
erupt• from evecy dir<>otion. Filling the frame. Rushing
upwards. No more &rlio. No Docy. Just water.
EXT. SYDNEY HARBOR - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
The whale breaches the surface, shooting a JET OF WATER from
its spout. Marlin and Docy are throl,m high into the air, They
pop their heads out of the water.

-m
(Laugh) we·re alive!

The stern of a passing boat reads, S>DNEY !!ARBOUR. In fact,

they are surrounded by boats all labeled with the S!Urle words.

=•
(reads)
S-s-sid-knee ••• Sydney! Uh, Sydney, ••
Sydney, agaio ••.

Their eyes fall on the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, punctuated by an

' operatic high note.
 lll.
CONTINUED;

_,,
You were right, Dory! we made itl We're
gonna find my son!
They turn to the whale, who6e tail is gracefully submerging.
_,,
(in whale)
Thaaaaaank yooouuuuuuuuu, siiiiiiiiiiir!l

-,
tlrn,I I wish I could speak whale.
_,,
Okay, all we ha"" to do is find the boat
that took him.
oo,,
Right!
_,,
Come on, Dory. We can do this!

INT. TANK - HORNING

CLOSE ON PEACH as she wo)<es. Yawns. Squints at the bz:ight
6un. smacks her lips.
~,,
Morning •.. It's morning everyone! Tocia.y's
the day! The sun is shining, the tank is
clean, and we are getting out of --
{Gasp!) The tank is clean.
WIDE ON THE ENTIRE TANK. It's crystal clear. Not a speck of
algae.
PEACH
TIIE TANK IS CLEAN I l
ON QRI\NV NEW fILTER - IIOMEUTS LATER
The hi-tech filtration syste,n of brushed inetal and no movlllg
parts t"""'rs over the tank gang. They stare in silent horror
at the monolithic monster.
om
But bow?

,,~
Boss must have installed it last night
while we were sleeping.
 112.
CONTINUED:

-,,u
l>i-llhat ar" we gonna do?

llhat'a it aay, Peach?!

Peach reads the FILTER MANUAL, lying open on the counter top,
but her voice is muffled.

r
,,u
can't heu ya, Peach.
,-,
(unstick.s; reads)
The Aqua Scum 2003 is an all-purpose,
self-cleaning, ,,..,_intenance free,

_,
saltwater purifier that is guaranteed to
even extend the life of your aquarium
fish --

(inflates)
Stop itl

(reads)
,-,

,-~
The Aqua Scum is progrommed to scan your
tank environment every five minutes?

Scan? What does ~hat mean?

A RED LASER BEAM shoots out of the Agua Scum. lt rapidly
scans the entire tank with a hi-tech hum. Gurgle covers his
privates. The laser disappears.
IIQ\/A SCUM
(automated voice)
Temperature B2 dagr..,.s. PH balance

·--
normal.

1i.Jnpressedj
Ooooohh .•••

Nice.
,~=
(a la Heston)
CURSE YOU AQllA SCUM! ! !
 113 .
CONTINUED,

_,
ThAt's i t tor the escape plan. It"•
ruined.
_,
Then what are we gonna do about --

The DOOR CHIM!l rings.

TANK GANG
Darla I
,,~
Stay do>m, ll;idl
Gill shoves Nemo into a fake plastic barrel. Everyone else
rushes over to the lobby glass.

ON WBBY

A NERVOUS LITTLE BOY enters with his HOTHE!l. The gang sighs
with relief.

,
-,~
My nerves can't take much more of this.
Ne100 peeks out frao the barrel. He doesn't see

silently lowering behind hiin.

l!hat do we do when the little brat gets

here?
,,~
I'm thinl<ing. I"m thinking.
NEMO (O.S.)
Gilli! Help o,el Help mal
The gang whips uound to see Nemo caught up in the net.
,,~
N"""'I Hold on, I'm comin'I

, Gill races over. Juops in the net. The rest of the gang does
the s.....,.
 \
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'
 llS.
CON'l'INUEO:

'l'ANK GANG

EX'!'. 111\RINA - SUNRISE

Eodle•• rows of sailing boats line the docks, rocking in sync

with the mild swells. llarlin and Dory pop to the surface.
Marlin, still in overdrive, scans the row of boats, but Dory
looks tired and haggard,

=•
~lright, do any of these boats look
familiar to you?
=m
No, but the boat has to be here
somewhere, Come on, Dory. We're gonna
find it.
oo,,
(aln,o,;t asleep)
I'm totally e.<eited,.,are you excited.,.?

She lists to the side. Marlin slaps her awake.

_,,
Dory, wake up. Wake up. come on.
Her eyes flutter open. She looks past llarlin •••

OUCKI

Marlin turns to see a BLACK PELICAN gliding towards them,

_,,
(calm)
'!'hat's not a duck. It's a -- PELICAN!!

""'''
l'he bird swoops down, opens its beak, and scoops them up.
EXT. DOCKS - CONTINUOUS

The pelican lands on a piling, Throws its head back to

swallow its breakfast,
INSIDE '!'HE BU,K
Beth fish sere""' as they slide down the tongue, and into the
, throat. Marlin twists sideways, wedging himself tight. Dory
lands on top of hUI. Hulin refuses to go down easy.
 116.
CONTINUED:

_,,
NO! I didn't come this far to be
breakfast!
The P"lican's eyes go wide. Makes spastic jerks. He trieo to
hack his meal onto the dock, like a cat with a hairball,
ON THE Ol'POSlTE END OF THE PlER
A ROW OF PELICANS are perched on the roof of a nearby pub.
Nigel is wncng them, sleeping. The rest notice the black
pelican stumbling oo the pier like a drunken sailor,
PELICAN #1
(nudges Nigel)
Hey Nigel, will you look at that?
NIGEL
ilha,wha -- Whet?
PELICAN #1
Sun's barely up, and already Gerald's had
more than he can handle,

NIGEL
Yeah. Reckon soinebody oughta help the
poor guy.
PELICl\1'S
Yeah.,.You•re right •• ,Yeah •.•
But nobody moves. They continue to watch Gerald flail.
fil~C
Aw, well don't !!Vt!rybody fly off at ooce.
Nigel swoops down to Gerald, who is now turning blue,
,,-
Alright, Gerald, what is it? Fish got
your tongue?
Gerald nods desperately. Opens his mouth to show a sore!lllll.ng
Marlin and Dory, holding onto his tongue.
NIGEL
Love a duck!

~igel whacks hi!n on the back. The fish fly onto the dock,
and flap <>bout, gasping for water.
_,,
I =j\ TO FIND m' SON lll,l:lljl I
 117.
CONTINUED:

NIGEL
Nemo? !
1to Gerald)
Heyl Hey! Hey! He's that fish! You know,
the one we've been talking about. The one
that's been fightin' the whole ocean I
Ito Karlin)
Hey, I know where your son is --
Marlin and Dory have flopped down the pier. Nigel waddles
after them.
NIGEL
Hey wait! Corne backl Stop!
_,,
Dory. Keep g<>ing. He's crazy.
NIGEL
I've got something to tell ya!
Nigel io gaining on the fish when BIRD POOP lands in tront of
Marlin and Dory. All three freeze.
A P'LOCII OP SEAGULLS !NOT Tl!E BAND)
are per<>h&d all over the pier, boats and rigging.

Mine?
Staying frozen, Nigel ever-sc-,lowly lower• his healc ...
NIGEL
(guiet)
Okay. Don• t make any sudden 100ves. Hop
inside my mouth if you want to live.
_,,
Hop in your mouth, huh? And how does that
make me live?
••• A single seagull lands beside them. curious ...

Mine? •==
NIGEL
!quiet)
Because I can take you to your ,on.
 l lB.
COB'.l'INUEO•

_,,
(quiet)
Yeah, right .

.•. Two more seagulls land •••

,,=
No. I know your son. He's orange. He'•
got a gimpy fin on one side,.,

=rn
{ loud)
TI!AT'S NBMO!

The entire flock attacks.

-~
MINE! MINEJ MINEI
llarlio leaps frcm beak to beak, while Dory is pulled in four
different directions. Nigel snatches th..,. both fram the
fray ••• dives off the dock, grabbing a mouthful of oc:eRD
water ... and takes to tlle air.
,,=
Fasten your seatbelts!
The seagulls fill the sky, as Nigel flies perilow;ly through
the mare of 111RSts. The pelican veers sha.rply ••• hea<b straight
towllrds a sailboat crossing their path ••.
NIGEL
{mouth full)
Everybody bold onl
... At the last second, Nigel tilts sideways, and flies
between the boat'• two sails. The seagulls all slam into the

-·
CRDV!LS, their beaks punching through.

MINE I MINE! MINE!

Nigel heads for Wallaby way.

INT, TAN!I - MOIUUNG

CI.0.sE ON VAR.LA, banging her finger oi> the tank glass. She

·--
smiles sweetly at the fish. They a.re deafened by the thuds.

Ow-1 ... Wlloa whoal ... Too loud for me!

'
She taps directly at Peach on the glass.
 119,
CONTIN\JED:

-
-·
'.l'.winkle, twinkle little star •..

Find a happy place! Find a happy place I

l'he receptionist opens her window,
RECEPTIONIST
Darla, your uncle will see you now.
EXl\11 ROOK - IIOl!EN'l'S UTER

Darla sits in the chair, while the dentist adjusts her bib,
DENTIST

-
Alright, let•• see those ,.early ~hites.

(bites at his hand)

I'm a pi-ran-ha. l'hey're in the A-111a-zon.
C!ml'IST
Aod a piranha's a fish, Just like your
, pxesent ..•
He moves to get lleloO. Darla b<>unces and claps in her chair a
little too enthusiastically.

"-
{sing-•ong)
I get a fishie! Fishie, fishie, fishie!
l'he tank gang helplessly watch the dentist lift the plastic
bag from the tray, and gasp in horror •.•
, •• NeIOO floats belly up in the bag,
TANI' G>ING
Oh no! ... Be's deadl .•• Shark Bll.it! •••
DENTIST
Oh, no. Poor little guy.
Th<> dentiot hides the bag behind his hack. TUrns to Carla.
CEmIST
Must've left your present in the car,
,.....,ti<,. (Nervous laugh) I'll 90 get it.
, Darla whines,
CLOSE ON T!IE IIAG
 l20.
CON'J'lNU!Ul,

--
Nemo opens hi• eyes and winks at the tank gang.

He'• still alive!, •• He's not

dead! ••• What'• happening? Why's he
playing dead? •••

,=
He's gonna get flushed down the toilet.
He's gonna get outta here!
TANK GANG
Yeahl ••• He's gonna get flushed!,.,What a
smart little guy! ••.
NEMO'S POV, The dentist walks toward the bathr0010. Behind the
o ~ door, ,..., can see the TOILaT, when suddenly the dentist
turns, and heads for

The fish all gasp.

,=
Oh no, not the trashcan!
'
Nemo, no!
Just then, Nigel lands at the window, carrying Mllrlin and
Dory in his IDDUth. He sticks bis beak in.aide.
NIGEL
(mouth full)
Bey! Beyl I found bis dad!
_,,
·--
Where's Nemo? Where is he?

Dentist) Dentist! •.• Be's over there!.,.

_,,
What's a dentist? What is that?
Harlin looks across the r<XJJ11 to where the fish are pointing.
The dentist is about to drop Nemo into the trash can.
_,,
(Gasp!) Nigel, get in there!
'
 121.
CO>!Tll!OED,

NIGEL
(m::,uth full)
I nan't go in there!
_,,
Oh yes you can! CHARGE!
Marlin yanl<s on Nigel's ton',Ue, using it like a rudder. Nigel
squawks as he is pulled inside.
Darla turns, sees the rahid bird, and screams!
DENTIST
What the -- ? Darla, Sweetie, I'll save
you!
Nigel dives at the dentist (still holding the bag), who
lunges for the bird. They chase each other around the room,
knocking tools and equipinent everywhere.
Oil WBBY

The nervous little boy, who entered earlier, look• up fram

his maga~ine. Through the tank he nan see a flurry of lillws,
punntuated by the sounds of screO!ning, drilling and
squawking. His jaw drops in terror.
BACK IN THE EXA>\ ROCIM

The dentist and Nigel collide over Darla in the exam chair.
The bag drops onto the tool tray. Nemc sees Darla l<>0ming
above him, and defensively plays dead.
At that exact mcment, Marlin peers out of Nigel's beak ••. sees
the llllage of his dead son -- and he shuts down. T:!Jne slows.

oo,,
Oh iny goodness ...
DENTIST 10.$.)
Gotcha!
The IIIClllent is broken when the dentist clamps Nigel's beak
shut and wrestles the pelican toward the window.
MARLIN (O.S.)
,_, (inside beak)

N...., openo hie eyes.

 122,
CONTINUED:

Daddy?
But the denti5t shove5 Nigel out thoa wind.,..,

OU'ITlST

-
Out with ya! And STAY OUT!

Daddy -- I

-
Darla picks up Neroo's bag. Begins to shake it. Hard,

rishie? Fishiell Wake upl! Wl\l<E UPI!

The tank fish, still at the glaoo, realize they 1111>st act.
,=
Quick! To the top of !!Ount

-
Waonahockaloogie!

(to N,mp)
WHY ARE WU SLHEPING?
Gill shoves himself inside the ..,uth of the volc&no •••

Bloat!
••• Bloat, wedged at the bottDlll, inflates, tipping the volcano
at an angle. The other fish strain to help push it over.

Ring of Fire!
,,~
Jacgues cranks the control valve, and Gill is rocketed out of
the tank by the pre5s=e.
Gill arc• aero•• the r0C1111, •• lands on Oarla'5 heacl ••• She
screams ••• Throws the bag high into the air ••• It falls onto
the tray and e.q,le>des. NelID flops on the DEm'AL MIRROR,
DENTIST
Krikey! All the aniloals have gone !114d!
He rushe5 to save his niece, and SLAMS HIS llllAD on the X-ray
m.ocbine. Falls over unconsciow,.
 123.
C<lNTINUED,

Now all the waiting patients stare nervously through the tank
at the chao,,

IN THE TIIN!I

T/IN!I GI\NG

-
Smack her in the headl •.• Go, Gill, G:>!

There's a fish in my hair!

Gill flips off of Darla'• head onto the tray. )IO.kes eye

·-,,~
contact with Nemo,

IOUt of breath)
Gill?

(gasps for air)

Shark Bait -- Tell your dad -- I said --
hi.
Gill leaps onto the handle of the dental mirror, catapulting
Nemo off of the tray, past Darla's grabby handa •••
,.,and into the spit sink. Nemo swirl• down the drain.

c=
(los:ing consciousness)
Go get 'em .•.
The dentist gets up from the floo,,. Panics at the sight of
Gill lying on the tray •••
IN THl'l TANK

Gill is dropped into the water. The gang surrounds him,

·--
cheering.

He did it! ••• He's in!.,.I'm ,o happy .•.

,_
Is he gonna l>e okay, Gill?
,,~
Don't W<>rry, All drains lead to the
ocean.
CON'fINt!ED:

She leans into the spit sink, looking for her lost fish.

FISBIEl

l'he •ink breaks, and a JET OF WATER spurts her in the face.
INT. SEWER SYSTEM

sewer water hurls N""'° through the PIPING. It's the ultimate
fllllllB ride.

"Daddy!!!
Neroo is dump<>d into the MAIN FLOII PIPE. Be and the rest of
the city's debris rush under a concrete overhang, labeled,
"SYDNEY WATER TREATMENT."

MATCH DISSOLVE T{);

EXT. MOUTH OF THE HARBOR - OCEAN FLOOR - SAME

CLOSE ON OUTFLOII PIJ,H, EMBOS!ro IIIT!la "SYDNEY WATER TREATMENT"

A CRAB scuttles over the pipe that lays along the 0<:ean
floor. PERI'ORATl:D HOUS run al,,ng its top, blowing up JETS OF
PAR'rICLES. The piplllg goes on forever into the murk. OTHER
CRABS can be ,een in the di,tance ,currying all over it,
ABOVE IIATER

Drizzle falls from the overcast skies, Nigel lands on the red
buoy. Gently <irops Marlin 8Jld Dory into the water. No one
knowo what to say.
fil~C
I"m -- r•~ so sorry. Truly, I am,
()ui..tly, Nigel takes off. The fish suhmerge.
llNIJER THE SlJRFACE

The two fish float in silence, Marlin stares into nowhere.

Dory lllOVeS to console bim.

-,,
Dory ••• If it wasn't for you. I never
would have even made it here .•. so, th=k
you.
 125 •
CONTINUED,

Dory is touched, then surprised when Marlin begins to simply

swim away. She gets in front of him. Kakes him stop.
-,
Hey. Ney, wait a minute. Nell -- well,
wait. Where are you going?
_,,
It"• over, POry. Ne were too late.
jbeat)
Nemo's gone. And I'm going home now.

Karlin ,winla past her. Dory ia in a panic. Thia can't be

happening.
-,
No. No, you can't! STOP!

-,
Me stops. Keeps his back to Dory. She wait,, afraid to tip
the fragile balaru,e out of her favor.

••• Please don't go away. Please. No one•s

ever stuck with me for so long before.
And if you leave ... if you leave ...
(tries to hold it together)
I just -- I remember things better with
you. I do. Look!
(chants)
P. Sherman, forty-two ••. forty ••• two ...
ohh •.•
(can't remerol>er; desperate)
I remember it. I do. It"s there. I know
it is. Because when I look at you, I can
feel it. And ••• and ••. I -- l look at you,
and I .•• I"m home.
No resl)Onse.
-,
Please ••• I don't want that to go away. I
don't want to for<,1et ...
_,,
I'm sorry, POry, but I do.
Marlin sw:iJns into the murk ... Gone. Dory is left all alone.
AT THE OUTFLOW PIPE
TIIO CRABB (BERNIE & RAZ) are greedily snatching bit, from one
of the perforated holes.
 126.
CONTINIJE!l:

_,,
(mouth full)

-
Manoa from heaven!

(mouth full)
sweet nectar of life,
Beth Beniie, llllz tuni to face a passing crab. They raise
their claws in the air, and posture to defend their
territory. The passing crab automatically does the""-•
BERMIE, BAll
Ney! Hey! H"""ey ...•
PASSJ;HG CRAB
Ney! Beyl e.,.....,y ...
,_,
This is our spot!

=
Go on. Get outta herel
The passing crab moves on. Bernie, Baz resume their eating.
K>.rlio appears in the distance, s,,i,rintlog slowly out of the
""-'rk. Again, the crabs raise their claw, posturing, keeping
their eyes on him.

BERNI!:' ' BAll

Heyl Heyl Beeeey ••• !

Karlin ignores then,. Continues out to the onean.

-u
Yeah, that's it, fellah! Just k""'P on

-
~vimmiogl You got that!

:roo right, 11111te1

--
Just then, N...., pops out of the outflow pipe between them.

Oh, oh! I gotta a live one here!

(Fanti) Beyl Have you seen my dad?

The crabs snap at N....,, He d0dges their attacks, aod swims ••.
 127.
CONTINUED;

-
Heyl Come back here!
•.. jn the other direction -- back into the harbor. Bernie
hits Ba~ on the head. They raise claw,. Fight.
BEIU'IIE
You let him go!

BERNIE • BAZ
Bey! Heyl Heeeey ••• !
FURTHER DOWN TIIE FIFING

-
Nemo slow,. Tries to get his bearing, .•.

(call• out)
Dad ••. Dad ••• Dad!

... when he hears ,omeone crying. Searches. Looks up.

Swim• in circle• above him around the red buoy'• anchor

chain, visibly fretting and up.set. Nemo swims up to her.
,_
Um, excuse m<>? Are you alright?
oo,,
I don't know where I am ... I don't Jmo,,
what•• going on •.. I think I lost
""""'body, but I •.. I can· t

-
ren18111bar •.• and .•• I ne~ to r<!!llBlnber

It'• okay. It's okay .•. I',n looking tor

s0111eone, too. Beyl We can look together!
llemo gently leads her ""'ay from the buoy.
oo,,
(•niffle)
I"m Dory.

I',n llemo.
Dory stops short.
 128,
CON'l:INUEO;

,
Nemc?
(long beat)
That's a nice name.
llXT, OPEN OCEAN

Marlin sw:ims out to sea towards SCHOOLS OF GRO\/PBRS, nothing

but pain in his eyes.
ABOVll THE SURFACE

A fishing boat rocks with the s=lls. Fishermen cast a large

net into the water,
EXT. IIOIJTH OF THE HARBOR - IIEWW THE SURFACE

Nemo and Dory continue searching. come aero•• another section

-
of piping.

Dad?! Daaaad?I
oo,,
, Dad?! Dad?! Wait a minute. Is it your dad
or my dad?

My dad.

Got it.
(oalls out again)

-
Daaad?! Oaaad?I oaa --

Where are we anyway?

Dory looks at the piping, labeled; "SYDl'l!IT WATER TREATMENT."
She leans in ta read it.
oo,,
Huh? sss.,.sil, •• shiny ... sid, •• Sydney!

OUICK ELll/iH IHSIPE DORY'S MIND• J,...ges of her entire journey

with Marlin fast forward at a blinding rate, building to a
clinla~ until finally ..•

IIE!IO! I!!
•
What?!
 129 •
CONTlNO&H

r
She grab• his face, Squeezes it.

=•
,-
It's youl /U>hl You•re Remo-!

(squished)
Yee! Yes! I'm Remo!

=•
Ob, you're Nemo ... arul -- you were dead?!
I saw you! And then I ... oh ..• here you
are.,.I found you ... you're not do>adl And
your father -- oh -- Your father •••

.., ,,~
My father?! You know my f&ther?l Where is

Dory isn't listenlllg. She•• scanning the water, Instinctively

stopa Wll.dway.

=•
1confident)
This way! De went this way! Quick!
They go racing out of tbe harbor.
OH OUTFLOW PIPE, FAATHER DOWN

Bernie and saz are feasting once again when they hear Dory
and Nemo approach. Claws raise,
OORY 10.S, I
Hey! Ney, hey, heyl
BER>IIE & BAZ
lleeeeeyl lleeee...,eyl

=•
Have you seen "" orange fish swllll hy?
(points to Nemo)
It locks just like him.

~
!gets in her face)
Yeah, I saw him, Blue-y, but I'm not
tellin' you where he went, and there's no
way you' re gonna make me I
 130.
CONTl!IUEO,

Dory frowna. He just messed with the wrong fish.

ON Tllll SU!<l'ACJ::

Baz is thrust out of the waves, lteld up by Dory's fin. Nearby

seagulls, perched on a rack, take nctic,,.

Hine?
Uz acreOlll5. The seagull• come after him,

s==
-
llinel lliru,I Mine, •• I

Al.right! I'll talk! I'll talk! He went to

the fishing grounds I Ahh!
The crab is pulled back under the water Just in time.
=• Fl5HIIIG GROUNDS, llNDHRWA'!'llR

Karlin joins the ,chools of groupers, flowing out into deeper

--,
waters. Numh. Not caring where he is going, He bUlllf"' into one
' of them.

Hey! Look cut I

_,,
I'm sorry. Just trying to get h0111e.

NEIIO (O.S.)
(distant)
Dad! Dad ••• l

Harlin •naps out of his trance. T'urns around, ••

Off in the diatanoe, N'""" ,wi.m.s toward• him. Karlin, At
first, thinks it'• a mi.rage, ••

DA<ldy!

NelllO?!
 131.
CONTINUED;

.•. until Dory suddenly appears. lt's for real.

oo,,
Neroo"s alive!
_,,
Doryl Nemol
The three race towards each oth8r.

Daddy!
_,,
NEMO ! ! I',. cOllling Nemo !

Father and son collide. Twnble out of the school.

Dory looks on, be0?11ing with JOY, when a schools of fish swim
past her in th" opPQsits direc,tion. Shs looks back.
A 11\/GlC FISHING m:,r

.~-
moves ominously towards her, scooping up groupers as it goes •

'l'urn aroundl •.• You're going the wrong

way! ••• Go back\ •.•

(screams)
=•
LOok out!
Dory, Harlin and Nemo collide with the !l'laSS e)<Odus of
groul""'s. We lose sight of all three.
ON THE SURFACE
Tl!ll FISHING BOAT WINCH reels up the line.
UNDERIIATER

The net begins to rise, taking hUruire<ls of ..::reaming fish

with it. Out of the swarm of groupers that were not caught
l'lllrlin and Nemo appear, still holding onto one another.
OORi (O.S.)
HELP) l i!AMM,Ll,LP,'l I

They look up to see the net taking Dory to the surface.

DORY! I
 132.
CON'rllllreD;

Come onl
Father and son swim to the net. Dory is mashed against the
netting, but is very quickly sucked into the mo!, of fish.

oo,,
HELPI IIEL!') Get us out -- J
_,,
No, no, no! Dory)

-
Nemo studies the net. Thinks fut, ••

oad, I know what to do!

.•. Without hesitation, N@mO swims straight into the net; he

is smaller than the holes, Marlin grabs bis tail. Tries to
pull hill! back out.

-_,,
Memo! NO!

We have to tell all the fioh to swill! down

to,gether.

-
Get out of there, now!

I know this will workl

_,,
-
No, I am .rutt gonna lose you againl

Dau:!, there's no time! It's the only way

we oan S"Ve Dory.

-
Harlin oatohes himself, reali1ee what he's doing.

I can do this.
Harlin stares in his son's eyee, Nothing but confidence.
_,,
You'r,, right. I know you can.
 133.
CONTINUED,

' He lets go. Neino p0ke• his little fin out of the net.

Lucky finl
,-
They high five.
_,,
-
NOW, go I Hur:ry j

Tell all the fish to swim down!

_,_
Nano disappears into the fish. "arlin looks at all the
scream.i.ng groupers in front of hUO.

...,111) You heard my sonl Come on!

IIISIDE THE NET

Nemo weaves through the writhing mass. ~inde Do:ry, frightened

-_,_
and disoriented.

' Do:ryl we have to tell everybody to --

BACK OUTSIDE

sw:iio down together! Do you uoderetand

what I'm saying to you?! Sw:iio dmml
ON THE S\IIIFl\CE

The tOp of the net b..eako the surfaoa of the ocean.

INSIDE THE NET

NEMO/DOR'!-
Eve:rybody, swim down! Come on, you have
to swim down! swim dcwn, okay'?

_,_
BACK !INDERWATER

The groupers begin to catch on to "arlin's instructions.

Down! Sw:iio down!

ON THE SURFACE
' The winch continues to pull up the net.
 134 •
CONTINUED:

r UNDRRl'iATKR

_,,
SWim down! Swim down!

ON THE SURFACE

N<!DIO and Dory are pulled out of the water. They flap about,
gasping for air.
BACK UNDERIIATER
_,,
Don't give up. Keep swi=ing! ~ust keep
swimlningl
ON THE NET PULLEY

Tension. It stalls. Tlte ruet begins to move bank down ...

UNDERWATER

That's it!
ON THE SURFACE

-
Slowly, steadily, Nemo and oory are pulled back underwater •• ,

It's working!
The fishern,an rush to the side of the boat, looking
incredulous at the sinking net,

All the fish join Ill, swllmlling against the line.

GROUPERS
Keep swl.Jnmingl Ke<>p swiimning!
_,,
Just keep swilm.ing! Keep swiimning!
Nemo and Dory push their way to the front. Face to face with

-
Marlin.

come on, Dad!

=w
You're doing great, son!
 135.
CONTINUED,

-_,,
(to nearby grouper)
That's ,ny dad!

Coine on, let'• get to the bottom! Keep

swllm!U.ng !

GROWERS
~.· . .••.'
••• Keep Q~imming

(sings)
=,
Ju•t keep swimming, just keep swilrmung!
_,,
Almost there! Keep swiJrmtJ.ng!
ON T!Ili SURFACE

The fishing l>o<lt otarts to tip over ...

UND.ERIIATER
They're almost to the ocean floor •.•
'
Gl<O\/FERS
••• Keep swimming!
ON Tire BOAT

The WINCH MOTOR 011\0kes. The fisherman leap back as the IIINCH
llRRAKS OFF, and plungea into the water. The l>o<lt kicks back,
righting itself.
BACK UNDERIIATER

The line goes slack and unraVt!lS. The net strikee the sandy
hottoo,. Fish pour out, Jubilant. Marlin fights against the
retreating mob. Collides with Dory.
oo,,
_,,
Dory!! llhere'a N""'°?
!leaving through the fish, Marlin and Dory search,
oo,,
!points)
' There I
 136.
CONTINUED:

Nemo is barely vis:l.ble underneath the Tl\NGLED FISHING NET,

piled oo the ocean floor.
_,,
(Gasp! Oh no. N8111C!
They race dowo to hi.m. rush the heavy net off. Nemo groans.

FLASHBACK - SIX l'EA!lS AGo

MARI.Ill (O.S.)
It's okay ••• Daddy•s here. Daddy's got
you.
Marlin's fin gently cradles the EGG. Turns it over. The other
side is sc»rred but intact.

FRESl!NT

-
Nemo's eyes flutter open. A weak smile of recognition.

(Cough) Daddy?
-rn

--m
oh, thank goodness.

Dad., .I don't hate you.

Oh, no •• ,no. I'm -- I'm so sorry, Neino.

N"""' offers his little fin. Marlin reaches out. Touches it.
Sl!liles ...
_,,
Hey, guess what?

What?
_,,
Sea turtles. I met one. And he was lSO
years old.

150?
 137.
CO>!TINIIED;

Yep,
_,
'Cause Sandy Plankton said they only live
to be 100.
Beat.
_,,
Sandy Plankton? Do you think I would
cross ttle entire ocean and not know as
much as Sandy Plankton? Ne was 150, not
100. Who is this Sandy Plankton that
knows everything wrongl What else did he
tell you1 It's wrong •• ,
Nemo giggles.
CROSS DISSOI.\IE TO;

111'1'. l\fiEMONE HOME - NEEKS LllTe!!

M upohot of the ERIG!iT IIOR!IING SUN frc,m underceath the

water's rippling surface. Mulin sticks his head into friOl!le.

-rn
Ti,ne for school! T,...., for school!

Marlin jumps on a sleeping Nemo, The boy groans awake.

_,,
Get up! Let's go! Let's go!
EXT. CIIL DE SAC CO!tRIDOR - MOMENTS LATER

Harlin and Nell>'.) race through the coral, laughing.

_,,
-
I"m gonna win!

Oh, no you"re not!

-_,,
They zoc,m into the schoolyard. Nemo wills.

I dtd it! Waohaol

Aw! My cwn son heats me!

 138.

,
EXT. BCHOOLYIIRD

Mr. Ray leads up the children for achocl.

HR. RAY
Clill'lb aboard, explorers!
Marlin io telling " joke to the three fRthers (Bob, 'l'ed ,md

-w
Phil), who hang on his every word.

•.. so just then, the""" cucumber looks

over to the mollusk and 5aya ••• With
fronds like these, who neect,; anemones 11
The fathers laugh as if it's the funniest joke eV@r told.

Nemo and squirt (the sea turtle) board Mr. l\Ry.

HR. RAY

-
W@ll hello, Nemo! Who's this?

Exchange student!
SQUIRT
I'm from the B.A.C., dude!

HR. RAY
Sweet,

!IBMO/SQUIRT
:rotally.
The fathers are still reeling from Marlin's joke.
oo,
(chuckling)
But seriously, Marty
(completely sober)
Did you r""lly do all the U,ings you say
you did?
BRUCE 10.S.)
Uh, pardon 1118.
An ominous sMdow looms o""r them. The fBthers look up at
Bruce, Anchor and Chum flcating above them.

, Hello.
Phil inks hinself.
 139.
CONTINUED;

BRUCE
Don't be alar,ned,
ANCHOR
we just wanted to make aure that our
neweat meraber got home safely.
The sharks part to reveal Dory. She awima down to Marlin,
oo,,
Thanks, guysl
~oc,
Well, we'll see you next week,
,~,
Reep up with the progr"'1>, Dory!
ANCHOR
Re110e,nber fish are friends,.,
-,
•.• not food! Bye!
II:<. Ray lifts off.

MR. RAY
Hold onl Here we go! Next stop,
knowledge!
_,,
Bye, son! Have fun!

Bye, dad!
(to II:<. Ray)
Ohl II:<. Ray? Wait! l forgot SOl'llethingl
Ray pauses. Nen\O races back to his dad. Sl11111S ioto him,
II:<,
hugging hi.Jn hard.

-m

,_
l love you too, aon.
Beat.

Uh, dad, you can let go now.

 140.
CONTINUl!IDc

' -m
Sorry, Now go have= adventure.
Nemo rejoins Jo!r, Ray, The kids yell goodbye. Marlin and Dory
wave hack.

SOUIRT
Goodbye! See you later, dudesl
DORY
!lye, Elmo!

=•
-
Nemo! Bye Nemol

See you after sohool, Dory! Bye dad!

Marlin watobes his son slowly disappear into the empty blue
void, Content. Hopeful. Anything could be out there.

Bye son.
'
FADE QOT.

THE ENll

'
' 141.
CONTINU!ID;

EHD CREDITS

About halfway tl\rough the credit rol.l WE CUT :ro ••.

INT. TANII - MORNlllG

CLOSE ON 11ll< IIQIIA SCUM 2003

DENTIST {O.S.)
lla.rbara?

RECEPTIONIST (O.S.)
Uh-huh?

The dentist !>olds the Aqua Scum in his hands.

DENTIST
I don't understand it. Here this thing
nas a lifetillle guo.rantee and it breaks. r
had to clean the tank myself. Take all
the fish out, put •,am in bags, and --
He gesture• over to "tl!e tank. The counter tap is empty with
only a TRAIL OP WATER leading to the open wind,,.,.

DENTIST
Where'd the fi•h go?
We hear car honks front outside.
EXT. IIARllOR, EDGE OF TBE ROAD
MoJ:e l>onking, The ta.nlr. fish all float in individual bags on
the water's surface by the SEA WALL all except for Peach.
GILL/TANII GANG

-~
Come on, Peach! ••• You can do it! ... Just a
little fartherl ... That's it! .. ,

That's the shortest red light I've ever

seenl

Peach drops off "the sea wall into the harbor, l'he gang
cheers! Then alawly quiet down.
Beat.

Now \Ohat7