The plan was absurdly complicated: jam the tank’s filter with a pebble, cause a mess, and when the dentist (nicknamed “The Butcher”) put them in a bag to clean, they’d launch themselves into the toilet bowl and escape to the ocean.

Dory has short-term memory loss, yet she is often the most capable character. Nemo has a “lucky fin” (a smaller right fin, a congenital injury). Neither is portrayed as helpless; instead, their differences become strengths.