Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo is released in 2003 by Pixar Animation Studios. It captures the heart and love of anyone who watches the determination of a father’s quest to rescue his son. In the midst of chaos, the father befriends another fish; and together, they come to realize their inner strengths to overcome any obstacles.

The story begins with a Clownfish named Marlin finding a new home with his pregnant wife in the colorful and warm tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Tragedy strikes when his wife and all but one child, Nemo, are killed in an attack by a dangerous sharp-toothed fish. This major life event, a potentially disturbing, troubling, or disruptive situation that significantly impacts one’s lives, affects Marlin greatly because almost everyone in his family is killed. Furthermore, since Marlin actually witnesses his wife’s and children’s death, he suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder, which is a disabling condition resulting from personally experiencing an event that involves actual or threatened death or from witnessing such an event of a family member. This is characterized by Marlin’s extreme caution and fear of every minute of every day for the safety of his son.

When Nemo starts the first day of school, Marlin has great fear (a realistic response to a threatening situation) and anxiety (which according to Freud is an unconscious conflict between the id’s and superego’s desires regarding how to satisfy a need, with the ego caught in the middle; hence, the ego’s solution to this conflict is to create a feeling of anxiety) for Nemo because he is greatly fearful of the ocean and its unpredictable risks. Marlin’s extreme attachment (a close, fundamental emotional bond that develops between the parent and child) towards Nemo can be seen when the father becomes so obsessed by fear that he follows his son on a field-trip on his first day of school. Nemo, embarrassed by his father’s over-protective nature, swims to a boat as a dare to prove to...