Name ___________________
Period ___________________
ANIMATION and MUSIC
IN
Finding Nemo
Your assignment today is to watch “Finding Nemo” and listen to how the music parallels
the animation. You will watch for the specific scenes below and describe what is
happening in the music. Is the music fast or slow, is it creating a happy or sad moment, a
chase or conflict. Does it enhance what is happening in the animation? Please use
adjectives (descriptive words) to describe the music. Here are some examples:
Dark, cold, mysterious, joyous, loud, soft, morbid, sad, swift, bubbly, gurgling, light, buoyant,
heavy, dragging, bouncy, smooth, choppy, dramatic, sensitive, weak, strong, bright, excited,
warm, colorful, cheerful, etc…
You should also use musical terms to describe what you are hearing:
Piano (soft), forte (loud), pianissimo (very soft), fortissimo (very loud), crescendo,
decrescendo, glissando, staccato (short and detached),
legato (connected), marcato, accents (emphasize note),
and sfortzando (suddenly louder).
are a few terms you could use?
1. In the opening scene of “Finding Nemo”, Marlin and Coral (the mother and
father) are looking for a home. Using adjectives, describe the mood of the scene
as the music creates it.
2. Soon after, we see and hear the attack of the barracuda, what is happening in the
music now?
3. What happens to Coral? List three adjectives that depict the mood of the music at
this time?
4. How does the music create a sense of excitement when Nemo finally gets to go to
school? What musical elements help to create this? (for example, staccato, forte).
5. What kinds of things do you hear when the diver captures Nemo?
6. Describe the scene when Marlin meets Dori. How does the music affect this
scene?
7. Eventually, Dori and Marlin run into Bruce, the Australian Great White shark –
listen carefully… do you hear low notes or high notes?
8. During the shark chase – the music gradually gets louder, what is the term that
musicians use to describe this? Can you draw this symbol too?
9. When Dori is banging on the door – what kind of instrument do you think is being
used here? Circle one:
Cello
Timpani
Electric Guitar
10. Nemo is swiped up by the diver, and taken to the aquarium in the dentist’s office.
What is the difference between the music you hear when he is in the aquarium,
and the music you hear when we (the audience) is taken out of the aquarium and
are in the office?
NOW THAT YOU ARE REALIZING HOW IMPORTANT MUSIC IS TO
ANIMATION AND BECAUSE YOU ARE ACTIVELY AND NOT PASSIVELY
LISTENING TO THE MUSIC, WATCH AND LISTEN FOR THE FOLLOWING
SCENES.
Nemo’s Initiation
Inside the Whale
Jellyfish
Fishing Net
The Filter
Tank Escape
Sea Turtles- East Australian Current
Reunion
Dori Speaks Whale
HOMEWORK – DUE MONDAY NOV. 10TH
WRITE A THREE PARAGRAPH, DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY WITH 5-8
SENTENCES IN EACH PARAGRAPH.
Paragraph #1 – Describe the scene
Paragraph #2 – What is happening in the music? Is it getting louder or softer, etc...
Paragraph #3 – Why is music important in animated movies? Would the scenes be
effective if we only heard the characters voices?
Be as specific as possible, reread and revise to make sure it makes
sense and that mistakes in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
are cleaned up.