Film Theory: Finding Nemo Doesn't Have A Happy Ending...

Moving through to depression, there’s no clearer scene for Marlin’s intrinsic sadness than when he’s finally confronted with Nemo’s dead body - even if for narrative purposes, Nemo was faking at the time. At the dentist when planning his escape, Nemo acts as if unconscious so as not to be taken by the dentist’s niece, and gets flushed in the process.

It’s interesting that the first encounter Marlin has with his son after his disappearance is that of seeing him dead, a brief moment of lucidity that shocks him into true sadness. Marlin’s outward appearance is clearly that of a man suffering even before this moment though - he’s as tired looking as a fish can get and thoroughly melancholic, the only thing driving him is potentially seeing his son once more - and it results in the ultimate break when he is confronted with the truth of his death.

Marlin’s acceptance then goes through two stages. One, where his son is dead and he chooses to leave Dory, allowing her to forget and in turn, symbolise his own moving on from Nemo’s death - and two, where Nemo returns and Marlin is reunited with his son.