Nemo's Coming of Age

What is a better coming of age movie than Finding Nemo? Not only does Nemo have a coming of age but all the characters in the movie have some sort of growth or change. This movie as a whole is just one big coming of age movie. In Nemo’s case, he quite literally is coming of age in a sense that he starts the movie out as a child.

Throughout the movie, we follow Nemo’s life from the earliest stage, when he is still an egg. We literally watch Nemo grow up. With that we also watch him grow up with just his father. His father is very overbearing and overprotective. This kind of puts a dent in the way Nemo grows up and makes Nemo feel as though he needs to prove himself for his father to give him more freedom. This is where Nemo’s coming of age really starts.

My coming of age started very similarly Nemo’s. Not in the same sense where I had an overbearing father, however my mother was a tad controlling. Typically, most teenagers complain about this and maybe I’m just overreacting, but I just felt like everyone else my age had more privileges. My friends could stay out late and talk on the phone all night. However, I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed to do much, and I wasn’t allowed to hang out in town with my friends. I felt like maybe I needed to prove myself. Just show my mom that if I could be responsible that she would grant me more privileges.

This is comparable to the beginning of Nemo’s story. Like I mentioned earlier Nemo feels as though he needs to prove himself, and if he does things will be different. So, Nemo decides to swim close to the surface. Unfortunately for Nemo, this does not work out in his favor. He ends up being captured by a diver. He is then put in a dentist’s fishbowl, with other fish. The other fish are a big part of Nemo’s coming age. Being there and meeting them really help shape him and give him a different perspective on life. At the end, when Nemo eventually gets found things are different. His father is still strict but it’s different. Nemo also becomes more mature about life among other things.

Nemo’s father also has a notable coming age. Even though he is not a child, I still feel his story is worth mentioning. At the beginning of the story he loses virtually everything, the only thing he really has left is Nemo. He must come back from this great loss. He must learn how to deal with it and become a good father to Nemo. We slowly watch him grow throughout the movie and become a not only a great man but a great father as well. The person who helps him grow the most is one thousand percent, Dory. She teaches him patients among other great qualities that really shape him and help come of age.