Fri 16 July 2004 - Mine

Posted in Film — Daniel @ 6:24pm

Some people are having problems believing the seagulls in Finding Nemo were saying “Mine!”. Apart from issues surrounding the operation of the human ear, some have ignored the evidence of how seagulls behave and the context of the dialogue. One person insisted that since they’re Australian seagulls, they must be saying “Mate!”. Yup, ‘cos Australians just say “Mate!” all the time.

So my mate Tony offered to grab a still off the DVD, with the subtitles turned on. And here it is. Thanks mate.

I rest my case. Smug mode on. (Yup, I would have been grumpy if I’d been wrong.)

12 Responses to “Mine”

  1. Ren Says:
    July 16th, 2004 at 7:00pm

    Game. Set. MATCH! Thank you, Daniel and Tony. I shall now smugly point everyone towards this entry.

  2. Fria Says:
    July 16th, 2004 at 8:08pm

    But what if the sub-titlers just heard it wrong?

  3. Andy Says:
    July 16th, 2004 at 8:19pm

    Exactly. Or what if the sub-titler didn’t like Mike? ;)

  4. Charlie Says:
    July 16th, 2004 at 9:20pm

    Those seagulls look remarkably like the penguin in Wallace and Gromit and The Wrong Trousers (at least their head shape…….).

  5. Cam Says:
    July 16th, 2004 at 9:58pm

    Thank the Gods. You’ve brought clarity to a situation that has seen me ridiculed by my workmates since this movie was released.

    First thing Monday, probably during morning tea, I may just produce this evidence to them. Casually. And proceed to stir my coffee smugly.

    Thanks Daniel.

  6. R. H. Says:
    July 17th, 2004 at 1:14am

    Well golly me, a new parlour game:

    ‘Guess What He Said’

    Main Prize: VINDICATION.

    No wonder I hate movies. Can’t stand them.

  7. Daniel Says:
    July 18th, 2004 at 7:35pm

    Fria, yes, subtitlers get it wrong sometimes (see Doctor Who: The Five Doctors, for Tegan introducing herself with the wrong surname). But generally they’d have access to the scripts. And in this case, it ties in with the context of the dialogue, how seagulls behave, and the majority of people’s hearing.

  8. Barrister Usman Bello Says:
    July 20th, 2004 at 3:00am

    I had exactly the same dispute with someone recently. Thanks for providing this!

  9. Rachel Says:
    July 20th, 2004 at 10:13am

    It seems the movie has spawned a whole bunch of people who now like to imitate seagulls the minute they see them… “mine, mine, mine, mine”…

    But here’s a question… Towards the end of the movie, there are some crabs at the end of the sewer line… Do they say “MATE”?

  10. John Dalton Says:
    July 20th, 2004 at 4:36pm

    Damn. I hate being wrong, especially when everyone else around me is right ;)

  11. smoker Says:
    July 28th, 2004 at 1:07am

    first rule here is Daniel is ALWAYS right!

  12. Daniel Says:
    July 28th, 2004 at 7:46am

    Smoker, relax, calm down. Have a cigarette or something :-)
    (See http://www.danielbowen.com/2004/06/18/last-nights-stuff#comments )