- "God and my country! Independence!"
- —Nemo's last words
Captain Nemo is a major anti-heroic character from Jules Verne's Vingt mille lieues sous les mers (French: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) and its 1954 live-action Disney adaptation. While an Indian character in the book, he was white-washed in the film where he was portrayed by James Mason and in the Disney Parks he is voiced by Pete Renaday.
History[]
Biography[]
Origins[]
Captain Nemo's true name and origins are unknown but he appears to be European and though he has an English actor, it is unlikely for him to be British due to his hatred of the nation. At some point, the British Empire had him arrested and sent to the penal-colony of Rura Penthe where he and many other prisoners were enslaved by the British. Nemo had a wife and child who were captured and tortured to death by the British for an unknown crime. Nemo lead an escape from Rura Penthe where he and his fellow prisoners found safety on the South Pacific island of Vulcania where they studied sciences.
Nemo and his men would create the victorian submarine The Nautilus, a vehicle powered by a nuclear-reactor. Nemo would pilot the Nautilus with his crew in relative peace but they would also use it to destroy British ships and the vessels of colonists due to their hatred of imperialism, colonialism and the British. At some point, he created a fleet of smaller Nautiluses known as, The Nautilus XIII which he used to travel under the Polar Ice Caps where he may have found ruins of Atlantis along with a sea-serpent and mermaids. Nemo wrote a book on this expedition known as, "The Polar Voyage".
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea[]
In 1869, they sank a whaling-ship called The Abraham Lincoln which attacked the submarine, believing it to be a sea-monster. From the wreckage, Nemo saved Canadian harpooner Ned Land, French natural scientist Professor Pierre Aronnax, and Aronnax's servant Conseil.
Nemo would befriend these stowaways, going on adventures with them such as fighting a Giant Squid. When the crew returned to Vulcania however, they found it occupied by a European military. Not wishing to let the imperialists use his inventions for themselves, he planted a bomb (possibly of nuclear origin) and blew up the island. In the conflict, Nemo was shot in the spine by a soldier and the Nautilus was badly damaged causing it to sink as Nemo died.
The Mysterious Island[]
Through unknown means, Nemo survived the Nautilus' sinking. Throughout 1970 to 1872, Captain Nemo invented, "Terravators" and subterranean vehicles to explore and document the subterranean ecosystems deep below Vulcania. In 1873, Nemo re-mapped the island of Vulcania. Nemo also designed a new line of smaller victorian submarines known as the sub 157 "Neptune". These submarines were used to explore the waters around the island such as the ship's graveyard of, "Kraken Reef" and what appeared to be Atlantean ruins inhabited by inhuman, aquatic humanoids with glowing crystals.
Nemo would eventually die and his ghost seemingly haunted the Nautilus, being seen in the reflection of his pipe-organ.
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Skipper Canteen[]
Within the Skipper Canteen is a map of, "Legendary Beasts of the Mediterranean" by Captain Mary Oceaneer which depicts the Nautilus being attacked by the Giant Squid. In the library of the Skipper Canteen is a book titled The Polar Voyage by Captain Nemo. The name of this book alludes to the defunct Fantasyland attraction 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage where the Nautilus found Atlantean ruins under the North Pole in a voyage tributing the passage of the USS Nautilus.
There are also various Tomorrowland, Discoveryland, and Discovery Bay mythos characters referenced in the restaurant including Captain Brieux, the Timekeeper, Tom Morrow, Jason Chandler, L.C. Clench, the Dreamfinder and Buzz Lightyear.
Trader Sam's[]
Both Trader Sam's bars feature a drink called, "The Nautilus" which is served in a mug resembling the Nautilus submarine.
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar[]
Asides from his voice, Nemo is not depicted in this bar. He is however indirectly referenced by Trader Sam owning a copy of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a photograph of Ned Land along with a harpoon gifted to Sam by Land with a message saying, "Sam, This comes with a whale of a tale! -Ned".
Trader Sam's Grog Grotto[]
The menu descriptions by Skip Dockmonkey mention Trader Sam having travelled to Vulcania in pursuit of his drink recipes. Framed on the wall is a portrait of the Nautilus XIII on Vulcania and the mounted arm of the squid which sank the Nautilus. The diving helmet of one of Nemo's crew-members appears behind the bar-counter.
Other connections[]
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort[]
The menu descriptions for the Trader Sam's Nautilus state the submarine used to frequent the titular village's waters.
Jungle Cruise[]
The original Jungle Cruise was largely created by Harper Goff and Bob Mattey, both of whom also worked on the film version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In development, it was planned for the Giant Squid to appear as a creature on the Jungle Cruise. In Walt Disney World's Jungle Cruise is a piece of luggage from Castaway Cay, a real-life resort which features a sunken Nautilus XIII.
Tropical Hideaway[]
Referenced in the Tropical Hideaway is Jason Chandler who would have salvaged the Nautilus in the unbuilt Disneyland expansion Discovery Bay.
Other appearances[]
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (walk-through attraction)[]
In this defunct attraction, guests were taken on a tour of the Nautilus.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage[]
This attraction had guests embark on the Nautilus XIII from Vulcania with Nemo as their captain.
Les Mystères du Nautilus[]
Nemo's ghost appears in this attraction, playing pipe-organ.
Mysterious Island[]
This area of Tokyo DisneySea is themed to Vulcania.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (dark-ride)[]
Nemo's voice guides guests in miniature submarines throughout this attraction.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth[]
Differences from book[]
Biography[]
Prince Dakkar was an Indian prince whose family and people were oppressed by the British Empire and East-India Trading Company. Dakkar's parents participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 only to be killed by the British in the process. It is implied that Nemo also had a wife and child who were likewise murdered by the British empire. Due to these losses, Nemo fell into a deep depression with an absolute hatred for imperial powers.
Dakkar subsequently rebuked humanity and used his inheritance to create the world's first known submarine The Nautilus and isolate himself from the world under the alias of, "Captain Nemo"; Nemo being derived from the latin, "No man" as an allusion to a similar moniker adopted by Ulysses in The Odyssey. Nemo would dock the Nautilus on the isle of Vulcania in the South Pacific, an island with unique (bordering paranormal) biology.
Nemo would pilot the Nautilus with his crew in relative peace but they would also use it to destroy British ships and the vessels of colonists due to their hatred of imperialism, colonialism and the British; sometimes even getting involved in political-affairs such as the Cretan Revolt and Battle of Vigo Bay. Amongst Nemo's creations were advanced scuba-suits used by himself and his men to explore the ocean-floor.
In 1866, the Nautilus sank a whaling-ship called The Abraham Lincoln which attacked the submarine, believing it to be a sea-monster. From the wreckage, Nemo saved Canadian harpooner Ned Land, French natural scientist Professor Pierre Aronnax, and Aronnax's servant Conseil. Nemo went on many adventures with the three before the would come to be horrified by Nemo despite appreciating, sympathizing and caring for him. These adventures ended when the Nautilus was sucked into the Moskstraumen maelstrom off the coast of Norway with Nemo saving the lives of the three but disappearing within.
Nemo and the Nautilus escaped and returned to Vulcania where they made port in Dakkar Grotto. However, Nemo died on the voyage from unknown natural causes. The crew of the Nautilus used the submarine as a tomb for Nemo, giving him his last-rites before submerging the vessel in the harbour. Both the submarine and Nemo's corpse were destroyed when the isle's volcano erupted.
Assorted[]
- In the books, Nemo was an Indian man while he's a white European in the films.
Trivia[]
- Prince Joachim's submarine in the Jungle Cruise film might be a tribute to Submarine Voyage.
- Nemo's inclusion in the Jungle Cruise franchise is somewhat ironic as due to his well documented hatred for colonialism and British imperialism, he would likely hate most major Jungle Cruise characters such as those of the Jungle Navigation Company or Society of Explorers and Adventurers if not outright attempt to kill them.