Nigel is a supporting character in Disney/Pixar's 2003 animated film, Finding Nemo. He is a brown pelican who loves to spend hours in the dentist office window, diagnosing dental problems with his fish friends in the tank.
Nigel was friends with the Tank Gang, and also met Nemo after he ended up joining them (due to being taken from his habitat by the dentist). However, he is usually driven out by the dentist shortly thereafter. Nigel later told Nemo about his dad Marlin's attempt to find Nemo after hearing it from his pelican friends, which gave Nemo a new drive at sabotaging the filter. He is also annoyed by the Seagulls.
Nigel eventually meets Marlin and his partner, Dory, when they end up nearly being eaten by his friend, Gerald, and after discovering who they were, he quickly makes Gerald spit out Marlin and Dory. He tries to explain to them that he knows Nemo, but they attempt to flee as they weren't willing to be eaten by him. However, Nigel helps Marlin and Dory escape certain death by the Seagulls and brings them to the dentist's office. When he, Marlin, and Dory think that Nemo is dead, Nigel takes them to a nearby buoy, puts Dory and Marlin back into the water, and leaves saying, "I'm so sorry. Truly, I am."
Nigel is last seen in the ending credits (apparently after learning Nemo is alive after all). He dives his head into the water, looked at the credits, and wiggled his eyebrows at the audience before pulling his head back up.
Nigel appears as a large puppet in Finding Nemo - The Musical and in the promotion for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, appeared as an animatronic attached to the Sub Bus, and introduced Crush for a traveling version of Turtle Talk with Crush. He also appears as a float in the Mickey's Storybook Express parade with Marlin and Dory in his mouth.
Gallery[]
Disney Fanon Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Nigel (Finding Nemo).
Trivia[]
Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) geographical distribution don't extend to Australia; they are only found in the Americas. The Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) on the other hand is much larger and is white with black wing tips and a large pinkish beak.
During recording sessions, while speaking the lines, "I found his dad!" and "I can't go in there!", Nigel's voice actor Geoffrey Rush was holding his tongue, to give the illusion of a gullet full of water (and fish).
Video Games:Finding Nemo • Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures • Finding Nemo: Escape to the Big Blue • Disney Universe • Nemo's Reef • Finding Dory: Just Keep Swimming • Disney Crossy Road • Disney INFINITY: 3.0 Edition • Disney Emoji Blitz Soundtrack:: Finding Nemo • Finding Dory • Finding Nemo - The Musical Books:Little Golden Book • Disney's Wonderful World of Reading • Big Golden Book • The Art of Finding Nemo • The Art of Finding Dory
Nemo Egg • Let's Name the Species • Just Keep Swimming • Beyond the Sea • O, We're Going Home • What a Wonderful World • Unforgettable • In The Big Blue World • Go With the Flow
