“Finding Dory,” the forthcoming sequel to Pixar’s billion-dollar hit “Finding Nemo,” is already scientifically inaccurate and it won’t even hit theaters until November 2015.
The sequel will follow Dory — a blue tang fish with short-term memory loss who helped Nemo’s father find him in the 2003 film — as she reunites with her family in California.
This film is already problematic.
While the Paracanthurus hepatus species of ocean-dwelling fish are capable of living up to 30 years in the wild, they typically live just eight to 12 years.
Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), who already showed signs of dementia in the film that came out a decade ago, will be AT LEAST 15 years old by the time the movie comes out in a year and a half — and that is being generous to a woman’s age.
Blue tang — or common surgeon fish as they are also know — are frequently eaten by tuna, bar jacks and tiger fish.
“Finding Nemo” takes place off the coast of Australia in the Great Barrier Reef region, while “Finding Dory” will take place in the ocean off the coast of California.
It is highly unlikely that Dory would have been able to swim from Australia to California without being eaten by a predator or simply dying of natural causes after living for over a decade in the wild.
According to the Encyclopedia of Life, blue tang fish typically reside in the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, Samoa and the Mascarene Islands, meaning that it is highly unlikely that her family originated from halfway across the world in North America.
Should we be perpetuating false ideals about blue tang lifespan and the species’ geographic basis to our country’s children? We think not.
CORRECTION: Pixar has set “Finding Dory” one year after everyone found Nemo, so theoretically speaking, Dory COULD still be alive, thus negating the argument that the film, besides starring talking fish, is scientifically inaccurate.
All of the information about the species Paracanthurus hepatus and its natural habitat, however, are facts.