'Finding Nemo' Swims to Success (May 30)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Pixar Animation Studios did it again with the (catch and) release of Finding Nemo which was made with $94 million. The animated movie made ten times that amount. It became the highest grossing animated movie at the time of its release on May 30, 2003.

2003 – Nemo is Found

A large group of fish and sea creatures — *Finding Nemo (TVDB)*

After years of success from films such as Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, it’s no surprise that Finding Nemo received a 99 percent “fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes when it opened in theaters on this day. Directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, the computer-animated film was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.

When a young clown fish with a weak fin becomes lost at sea, his father will do anything to keep him safe. The film featured the voices of Albert Brooks as the over-protective father Marlin, Ellen DeGeneres as the short-term memory-stricken Dory, Alexander Gould as Nemo and Stanton himself playing Crush the sea turtle. Barry Humphries played Bruce, a great white shark inspired by Jaws who held regular support group meetings where the mantra was, “Fish are our friends. Not food.”

As with other films that features animals like 101 Dalmatians, Nemo prompted a huge interest in clown fish and home aquarium purchases tripled. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won for Best Animated Feature, the first for Pixar.

As of 2024, Finding Nemo has become the best-selling DVD of all time with over 38.8 million copies sold in the U.S. The sequel, Finding Dory, was released on June 17, 2016, with similar success.

1907 – Hersheypark Opens

Early days of HersheyPark — Early days at Hersheypark (Wikimedia Commons)

Milton S. Hershey, the founder of the Hershey Chocolate company, purchased land near Union Deposit, Pennsylvania to develop a park to be used exclusively for his employees.

According to the chocolate-maker, the public was invited to visit Hershey Park on Memorial Day in 1906. The festivities included a baseball game (Hershey’s team defeated the Crescent Club of Harrisburg by 13-1 by the way), live music performed by the Hershey band and other activities.

The first amusement ride constructed on the park grounds was the Allen Herschel carousel built in 1908. A miniature railroad was built next in 1910 (which continued to run through 1971) and bumper cars were added in 1926. The oldest attraction still in operation at the park is the 1945 carousel.

Today, what is now known as HersheyPark, the theme park stretches 121 acres and features 70 attractions (including 15 roller coasters), Boardwalk water park and ZooAmerica.

The view of HersheyPark in 2013. *(Wikimedia Commons)*

1908 – The Voice of Bugs Bunny is Born

Bugs Bunny and Mel Blanc — Bugs Bunny and his voice, Mel Blanc (Wikimedia Commons)

Many of our beloved animated friends would not be so enduring to us if it wasn’t for Mel Blanc, “the man with a thousand voices.” Born on this day in 1908, Blanc spent the bulk of his years giving voice to Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Conzales, the Tasmanian Devil, Barney Rubble, Mr. Spacely, Woody Woodpecker and many others. Those characters have lived on since Blanc passed away in 1989, but they have never sounded quite the same since.

In 2012, Warner Bros. took the audio recording of a 1950’s children’s album that was voiced by Blanc to help voice the Daffy Duck short, Daffy’s Rhapsody. It was as if he never left.

2023 – Hot Wheels: Grownups Playing with Toys

Hertrech Eugene Jr., Rutledge Wood and Dalal Elsheikh standing in front of two life-size Hot Wheels cars — Hertrech Eugene Jr., Rutledge Wood and Dalal Elsheikh *(TVDB)*

Created in 1968, Hot Wheels is the most popular toy in the world. According to Mattel, about 16 of these mini die-cast cars are sold every second across the globe. Many adult collectors of these cars first collected them as kids, and it was those people that NBC wanted to reach for Hot Wheels: The Ultimate Challenge.

Airing on this day in 2023, this 10-episode competition show gave superfans a chance to build a life-size version of their favorite Hot Wheels car. It had a great premise, but it had a few bumps in the road.

Hot Wheels: The Ultimate Challenge was hosted by TV personality and car aficionado Rutledge Wood along with a car culture influencer Hertrech Eugene Jr. and Ford designer Dalal Elsheikh. Instead of focusing a lot on transforming a real car into a Hot Wheels, the show with awkward banter and silly “funny” moments. Special guests like Terry Crews, Anthony Anderson, Sung Kang, Jay Leno, Joel McHale and WWE star Big E didn’t add much to the show either.

The winner of each episode took home $25,000. Arushi Garg was the first and only finale winner. He got an additional $50,000 and the honor of having his design, the Jaipur Jewel, made into an official Hot Wheels die-cast car.