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Finding Nemo

The movie starts with Nemo’s dad (Marlin) excited about his eggs hatching, when all of his eggs get eaten by a swordfish. Only one egg survives. The egg hatches to be Nemo and has one bad fin. He attends a fish school and goes off. On the way some other kids sneak off and go out of the coral reef. They dare him to go out and touch a boat (the butt) and when he swims out he gets caught by fisherman. They take him and put him in a fish tank where he meets some other fish. Meanwhile back at the coral reef, Nemo’s dad freaks out that his son got caught and goes out exploring. While he does this he meets a fish named Dory who isn’t the smartest. They start looking for nemo. Nemo is trying to get out of the dentist’s aquarium tank with the other fish. He finally escapes after many attempts and is back in the ocean where he finds Dory. Dory gets him to marlin and he is finally with his dad.

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The Ordinary World:

The hero's normal world before the story begins.

Marlin is excited about his new home, waiting for new eggs to hatch, but a swordfish comes and eats his eggs. All die except one. Nemo is anxious to go to school, but Marlin is very protective and doesn’t want anything to harm Nemo. He’s afraid to leave Nemo alone.

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Call to Adventure

The hero is given a challenge, problem, or adventure to undertake.

Nemo adventures out to the “Butt” to to prove that he is brave.

Problem: Nemo is out in the open ocean and is caught by the man in the boat.

Challenge: Marlin is out to rescue Nemo.

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Refusal of the Call

The hero refuses the challenge or journey, usually out of fear

Marlin is afraid to go after Nemo because his is afraid of the open sea.

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Meeting with the Mentor

The hero meets a mentor to gain confidence, advice and

training to face the adventure.

The mentor is Dory. She will help

Marlin learn how to not be afraid,

learn to let go, and let Nemo take

some risk. He must learn to believe

in Nemo.

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Crossing the First Threshold

The hero crosses the gateway that separates the ordinary world from the special world.

Marlin leaves his comfortable

safe zone and swims after Nemo.

He continues to follow the boat,

even in the wide open ocean.

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Tests, Allies, Enemies

The hero faces tests, meets allies, confronts enemies and learn the rules of the Special World.

The fish in the dentist’s tank,

and the pelican are allies.

Darla and the sharks are enemies.

The Whale is the test.

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Approach

The hero has hit setbacks during tests & may need to reorganize his helpers.

Marlin believes Nemo is dead. He tells Dory goodbye and swims away. But, Dory rekindles Marlin’s hope when she finds Nemo. Nemo Also has a setback. He can’t get out of the fish tank and has to replan.

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Ordeal (Part 1)

The biggest life or death crisis

– the hero faces his greatest fear & only through “death” can the hero be “reborn” experiencing even greater powers to see the journey to the end.

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Ordeal (Part 2)

Marlin returns to save Dory from the jellyfish. The jellyfish stings Marlin and he almost dies, but he survives and recovers. He gets help from Crush to make it through the currents. He experiences a rebirth to continue his journey. Marlin also is able to witness how Crush is able to let his son go and take risk when the boy turtles get knocked out of the current.

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Reward

The hero has survived death, overcome his greatest fear and now earns the reward he sought.

Nemo gets out of the tank and his free in the ocean. Nemo. Both Dory and Marlin think he is dead, but

Nemo survives death (from the hands of Darla) Dory helps

him find his dad, who returns when he hears Nemo’s cry.

Marlin and Nemo are united.

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The Road Back (Part 1)

The hero must recommit to completing the journey & travel the road back to the Ordinary World. The dramatic question is asked again.

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Marlin is put to the test to see if he has learned his lesson. Dory is caught in a net and Nemo wants to save her, but Marlin is reluctant to let Nemo go. He finally realized that he must let Nemo grow up and take risks. He must also have confidence in Nemo that he can save Dory. Nemo draws from his lessons in the tank and uses an idea that Gil used to break away from the

net.

The Road Back (Part 2)

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The movie, Finding Nemo, fits perfectly with the steps of The Hero’s Journey. Each part of the movie matches each of the 12 steps. This helped us realize exactly how common The Hero’s Journey is in popular movies.

Conclusion

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