Losing Nemo: Disney Pulls Plug on Fish

Losing Nemo: Disney Pulls Plug on Fish

By Ben Hellman

Staff writer

ROCKPORT � Nemo may prefer a dry Rockport, but the large corporations that own him would prefer he remain silent on the issue.

Disney/Pixar yesterday pulled the bathplug on Rockport native and filmmaker Andrew Stanton’s plan to give liquor opponent Keep Rockport Dry the rights to the young clown fish, a main character in the Academy Award-winning animated film, “Finding Nemo.”

Stanton had just OK’d the final versions of advertisements of Nemo advising residents to “Keep Rockport Dry” when Disney/Pixar ended the deal.

“He didn’t have a right to give us Nemo,” said Kate Craig of Keep Rockport Dry. “We have Andrew Stanton and that’s what’s important.”

No one answered in Disney’s press office when the Times called last night.

Stanton continues to support Keep Rockport Dry. In an interview with the Times yesterday, before Disney/Pixar made the decision, Stanton said he wanted to preserve the town he grew up in.

“(Rockport) can’t get any safer and can’t get any more benign,” Stanton said. “You don’t want to taint that. You don’t even want to jeopardize it in theory.”

Stanton said he did not think there would be trouble allowing the group to use the character Nemo because no one was profiting from it.

Mike Pardee, president of A Better Choice for Rockport, the group supporting liquor sales, said he did not think Nemo would have made a difference in the election.

“I think Rockporters will make up their own mind,” Pardee said.

Stanton’s parents, Ronald and Gloria Stanton, live on King Street and support Keep Rockport Dry. Stanton said he returns to Rockport every year with his children and is surprised how little it has changed. Stanton said when he describes Rockport to outsiders they say it sounds like a “fairy tale.”

“Finding Nemo” is about a young clown fish who gets lost and ends up in a dentist’s office aquarium before being reunited with his father.

Stanton threw Cape Ann and Rockport references into the movie. The dentist’s office in the film is based on Stanton’s childhood dentist, Sam Ina of Manchester.

There is a painting of Motif No. 1 on one of the walls and a lamp includes Thacher Island’s twin lights.

Stanton has been a co-writer, co-director, executive producer and story artist on all four of Disney/Pixar’s previous features: “Toy Story” (1995), “A Bug’s Life” (1998), “Toy Story 2” (1999) and “Monsters Inc.” (2001).