- “ You think you can do these things, but you just can't, Nemo!”
- ―Marlin snaps at Nemo
Marlin is the protagonist of Disney/Pixar's 2003 animated film, Finding Nemo and the tritagonist of its 2016 sequel. He is the widower of Coral and father of Nemo and 399 unborn clownfish.
Background[]
Personality[]
Marlin was initially a very playful, happy and easygoing clownfish, as seen through the interaction with his wife, Coral. He was shown to be slightly lazy, as he wanted to name half of his children Marlin Jr. and the other half of his children Coral Jr. However, he was also shown to be very brave, as he attempted to defend his wife against the barracuda who sought to eat his children and his mate but was ultimately repelled and knocked unconscious and into the sea anemone before he could do anything. This protected him, but also cost him his entire family, with the exception of Nemo, who was left with a crack in his egg, which resulted him in having a tiny right fin.
From this moment on, Marlin became overprotective, neurotic, paranoid, worrisome and pessimistic, as he made several practices and conditions for Nemo and himself to follow to make sure they were protected and safe. He was especially paranoid and neurotic about any potential danger that could occur to Nemo, and as such, rarely left Nemo alone due to the traumatic experience of losing the rest of his family to a barracuda attack, and not wanting the same thing to happen to Nemo. However, this overprotectiveness is what put somewhat of a strain on his relationship with his son, as Nemo felt suffocated and oppressed by it.
He also initially seems to be very serious, as shown when he couldn't tell a proper joke to some of Nemo's classmates' parents because he kept explaining obvious aspects of the joke, causing him to be considered unfunny despite the apparent notion that all clownfish were supposed to be funny, which became a recurring gag throughout the movie as others state, "He's not very funny for a clownfish".
During his journey, Marlin was on the verge of losing Nemo, the only family he had left, and was rushing as fast as he could to save Nemo. This caused him to have little patience for Dory's antics and other distractions.
However, despite these qualities, Marlin has proven to love his son more than anything and anyone in this world, and it is this love that fuels his determination, strength, courage and bravery as he journeyed throughout the sea to find his son after he is kidnapped by humans. Marlin overcame these obstacles with bravery and courage not seen in his previous behavior to recover the person he loved most in the world despite the odds being against him.
Throughout the journey, he makes several friends and begins to understand that he should have given Nemo more freedom, particularly through his interactions with Dory and Crush because, as Dory states, "You can't never let nothing happen to him, because then nothing will happen to him", meaning if Marlin will never let Nemo grow up and get out in the world, he is never able to live life to the fullest.
He also begins to enjoy himself more throughout his journey, and slowly sheds his serious side, as shown when he had fun when he competed with Dory in racing to see who could get out of the jellyfish valley first and finally managed to have fun with his son Nemo by the end of the film.
Finding Nemo[]
Marlin's emotional baggage has a tendency to cloud his judgment. During his journey to save his son, Marlin must learn to put the past behind him, lighten up and rethink his promise to "never let anything happen" to Nemo.
Finding Dory[]
Dory is on a mission to the California coast to track down her family, and Marlin and Nemo are there to help her. Marlin, who of course knows how it feels to lose family, realizes he has no choice but to pack up his nervous energy and skepticism and embark on yet another adventure, this time to help his friend in need.
Gallery[]
