An animated reef · Pixar · 2003
Nothing was filmed on the reef. The water was studied in Hawaii and at Monterey, and the studio moved to Emeryville the same year. Dive down through eight places, from the first idea to the rides built after.
Home water
Two real places carry the story: a reef off Queensland and a harbour in Sydney. Both are drawn settings.
Pixar’s page for the film places Nemo’s home in the Great Barrier Reef.
The clownfish couple live on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. A promotion offered a trip for four to Sydney with a visit to the Great Barrier Reef.
Queensland used the film to attract holidaymakers. Researchers at James Cook University studied what the film did to fish sales.
The whale expels Marlin and Dory into Sydney Harbour.
The dentist’s office, Philip Sherman’s, is in Sydney. Marlin and Dory wake in the East Australian Current.
Wikipedia’s reference list includes a Sydney Morning Herald article of 11 February 2003 headed “Sydney ignores Nemo”.
The dive
The levels follow the order the film was made and carried on. Slide down; the water darkens and each level opens one place.
The first idea · Where it was made
In 1992 Andrew Stanton visited Marine World and felt the underwater world could be done beautifully in computer animation.
The park is in Vallejo, California, and opened there in 1986.
It has been Marine World, Marine World Africa USA, The New Marine World Theme Park and Six Flags Marine World (1999 to 2006); it is now Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
A working theme park, now called Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. The photograph is its entrance.
Level 1 of 8. Slide down to descend.
1 of 8 levels reached · 1 where it was made · 0 where it is set · 0 rides
Drawn, not filmed
It is an animated film, so the reef and the harbour are settings only. Switch between what the story says and where the crew went.
The clownfish couple live on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.
The whale expels Marlin and Dory into Sydney Harbour. Marlin and Dory wake in the East Australian Current.
The dentist’s office, Philip Sherman’s, is in Sydney.
Surface
Marine World, the aquarium, the two rides and the harbour are open to visit, and the reef is a boat or air trip from the Queensland coast. Pixar’s campus is a working studio, seen from the street, and Hawaii is named without a site, so neither is pinned.
6 places you can visit in California, Florida, Queensland and Sydney, plus Pixar’s campus and Hawaii, which are not pinned.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A marine area off the Queensland coast, reached by boat or air from the coast. Check an operator for what is on offer. The film is animated, so nothing was shot here.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. An open harbour with public foreshores and ferries. The photograph shows the Opera House and Harbour Bridge; Wikipedia names neither landmark in connection with the film.
Where it is set · Off the Queensland coast, Australia
Pixar’s page for the film places Nemo’s home in the Great Barrier Reef.
A marine area off the Queensland coast, reached by boat or air from the coast. Check an operator for what is on offer. The film is animated, so nothing was shot here.
Where it is set · Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
The dentist’s office, Philip Sherman’s, is in Sydney.
An open harbour with public foreshores and ferries. The photograph shows the Opera House and Harbour Bridge; Wikipedia names neither landmark in connection with the film.
Stay
A hotel a short walk from the park where the Nemo submarines run.
Anaheim
On its own page the hotel is a short walk from Disneyland Park, where the Nemo submarines run. No prices were shown. Pictured: the ride sign, 2016.
Check roomsGo there
An aquarium, a ride, a harbour cruise and reef trips.
Cannery Row, Monterey
The aquarium where a Finding Nemo crew spent a day with a scientist. Its visit page listed adult admission at $65 on 28 October 2026; check dates and hours before you go. Pictured: Cannery Row, 2009.
Plan a visitDisneyland, Anaheim
The Tomorrowland ride on Disneyland’s own page. It needs a park ticket; check the page for hours. Pictured: the ride sign, 2016.
See the rideSydney Harbour
Live marketplace results for harbour cruises. Check each route and what it passes. Pictured: the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, 2023.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursGreat Barrier Reef
Live marketplace results for reef trips from the Queensland coast. Check each operator’s route and season. Pictured: Flynn Reef, 2010.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
Nothing dated for the film is listed at these places now.
No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
8 of 8 places · 8 of 8 stories
Off the Queensland coast, Australia
Pixar places Nemo’s home in the Great Barrier Reef; the clownfish live on its edge.
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
The whale expels Marlin and Dory into Sydney Harbour.
1001 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo, California
Andrew Stanton, at Marine World in 1992, sees that the underwater world could be done in computer animation.
Hawaii; no island or site named
Staff go to Hawaii in 2000 to study water and sea life; the footage helps describe conditions above and below the surface.
Cannery Row, Monterey, California
Dylan Brown and seven other crew members spend a full day at Monterey Bay Aquarium with a scientist.
1200 Park Avenue, Emeryville, California
The studio moves to Emeryville and opens there in November 2000.
Tomorrowland, Disneyland, Anaheim, California
The Nemo ride opens at Disneyland in June 2007, where the 1959 Submarine Voyage ran until 1998.
EPCOT, Walt Disney World, Bay Lake, Florida
EPCOT’s Living Seas pavilion is rededicated with Nemo and friends in January 2007.
Places to stay
A notable hotel in San Francisco.
San Francisco · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
A notable hotel in San Francisco.
San Francisco · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
Where John Milton Thompson died.
41 Tunnel Road, North Oakland, Berkeley, 94705 · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
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Links go to each venue’s or organiser’s own site. Check dates, access and availability there before you go.
Every place in Finding Nemo leads somewhere else.
