1.
Long Beach, California
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Long Beach is the 36th most populous city in the United States and the 7th most populous in California. It is located on the Pacific Coast of the United States, as of 2010, its population was 462,257. Long Beach is the second largest city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the Port of Long Beach is the second busiest container port in the United States and is among the worlds largest shipping ports. The city also maintains a progressively declining oil industry with minor wells located both directly beneath the city as well as offshore, manufacturing sectors include those in aircraft, automotive parts, electronic equipment, audiovisual equipment, petrochemicals, precision metals and home furnishings. Long Beach lies in the corner of Los Angeles County. Downtown Long Beach is approximately 22 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles, indigenous people have lived in coastal Southern California for over 10,000 years, and several successive cultures have inhabited the present-day area of Long Beach. By the 16th-century arrival of Spanish explorers, the dominant group were the Tongva people and they had at least three major settlements within the present-day city. Tevaaxaanga was a settlement near the Los Angeles River, while Ahwaanga and Povuunga were coastal villages. Along with other Tongva villages, they were forced to relocate in the century due to missionization, political change. In 1784 the Spanish Empires King Carlos III granted Rancho Los Nietos to Spanish soldier Manuel Nieto, the Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Alamitos were divided from this territory. The boundary between the two ran through the center of Signal Hill on a southwest to northeast diagonal. A portion of western Long Beach was originally part of the Rancho San Pedro and its boundaries were in dispute for years, due to flooding changing the Los Angeles River boundary, between the ranchos of Juan Jose Dominguez and Manuel Nieto. In 1843 Jonathan Temple bought Rancho Los Cerritos, having arrived in California in 1827 from New England and he built what is now known as the Los Cerritos Ranch House, a still-standing adobe which is a National Historic Landmark. Temple created a cattle ranch and prospered, becoming the wealthiest man in Los Angeles County. Both Temple and his house played important local roles in the Mexican–American War. On an island in the San Pedro Bay, Mormon pioneers made an attempt to establish a colony. Two years previous Flint, Bixby & Co had also purchased along with Northern California associate James Irvine, to manage Rancho Los Cerritos, the company selected Lewellyns brother Jotham Bixby, the Father of Long Beach. Three years later Bixby bought into the property and would form the Bixby Land Company
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
The X-Files
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The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter, which originally aired from September 10,1993 to May 19,2002 on Fox. The program spanned nine seasons, included 202 episodes, and a film of the same name. Later in 2008, a film was made and preceded a tenth season revival. The series revolves around FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files, early in the series, both agents become pawns in a larger conflict and come to trust only each other and a very few select people. The agents also discover an agenda of the government to keep the existence of life a secret. They develop a relationship which begins as a platonic friendship. In addition to the story arc, Monster-of-the-Week episodes form roughly two-thirds of all episodes. When creating the characters, Carter sought to reverse gender stereotypes by making Mulder a believer. The first seven seasons featured Duchovny and Anderson equally, in the last two seasons, Anderson took precedence while Duchovny appeared intermittently. New main characters were introduced, FBI agents John Doggett and Monica Reyes, Mulder and Scullys boss, Assistant Director Walter Skinner, also became a main character. The first five seasons of The X-Files were filmed and produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, the series later returned to Vancouver to film The X-Files, I Want to Believe as well as the tenth season of the series. The X-Files was a hit for the Fox network and received positive reviews. Initially considered a series, it turned into a pop culture touchstone that tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions and embraced conspiracy theories. Both the series itself and lead actors Duchovny and Anderson received multiple awards and nominations, the series also spawned a franchise which includes The Lone Gunmen spin-off, two theatrical films and accompanying merchandise. The revival premiered on January 24,2016, the X-Files follows the careers and personal lives of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Mulder is a profiler and strong believer in the supernatural. He is also adamant about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and this set of beliefs earns him the nickname Spooky Mulder and an assignment to a little-known department that deals with unsolved cases, known as the X-Files. His belief in the springs from the claimed abduction of his sister Samantha Mulder by extraterrestrials when Mulder was 12
4.
Happy Feet
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Happy Feet is a 2006 Australian-American computer-animated musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving and it was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros. Village Roadshow Pictures, and Kingdom Feature Productions and was released in North American theaters on November 17,2006 and it is the first animated film produced by Kennedy Miller in association with Animal Logic. Though primarily a film, the film does incorporate motion capture of live action humans in certain scenes. The film was released in both conventional theatres and in IMAX 2D format. The studio had hinted that a future IMAX 3D release was a possibility, however, Warner Bros. the film’s production company, was on too tight a budget to release Happy Feet in IMAX digital 3D. Happy Feet received generally positive reviews critics, and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was nominated for the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature, a sequel, Happy Feet Two, was released into theaters November 18,2011 to mixed reviews. Every emperor penguin sings a song called a heartsong to attract a mate. If the male penguins heartsong matches the song, the two penguins mate. Norma Jean, a penguin, falls for Memphis, a male penguin. They lay an egg, which is left in Memphis care, while the males struggle through the harsh winter, Memphis briefly drops the egg. As a result, Mumble is unable to sing, but he can tap dance instead, nevertheless, he is enamored with Gloria, a female penguin who is regarded as the most talented of her age. One day, Mumble encounters a group of hostile skua, with a leader who is tagged with a yellow band, Mumble narrowly escapes the hungry birds by falling into a crevice. Now a young adult, Mumble is frequently ridiculed by the elders, after escaping from a leopard seal attack, Mumble befriends a group of Adelie penguins called the Amigos, who embrace Mumbles dance moves and assimilate him into their group. After seeing a hidden human excavator in an avalanche, they opt to ask Lovelace, Lovelace has the plastic rings of a six pack entangled around his neck, which he claims to have been bestowed upon him by mystic beings. For the emperor penguins, it is mating season and Gloria is the center of attention, ramón, one of the Amigos, attempts to help Mumble win her affection by singing a Spanish version of My Way, with Mumble lip syncing, but the plan fails. In desperation, Mumble begins tap dancing in synch with her song and she falls for him and the youthful penguins join in for singing and dancing to Boogie Wonderland
5.
Jaws: The Revenge
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Jaws, The Revenge is a 1987 American natural horror-thriller film. It was the theatrical film to be directed by Joseph Sargent. It is the sequel to Steven Spielbergs Jaws and the fourth. The film focuses on a now-widowed Ellen Brody and her convictions that a shark is seeking revenge on her family, particularly when a great white follows her to the Bahamas. Jaws, The Revenge was shot on location in New England and in the Bahamas, like the first two films, Marthas Vineyard was the location of the fictional Amity Island for the opening scenes. Although preceded by Jaws 3-D, Revenge ignores plot elements introduced in that film, Jaws, The Revenge was panned by critics, with many considering it one of the worst films ever made. While the other three films in the series took around two years to produce, Jaws, The Revenge was made in less than nine months, panned on release, the film was nominated for seven Golden Raspberry Awards. On Amity Island, Chief of Police Martin Brody, the hero of two previous attacks, has died from a heart attack. His wife, Ellen, attributes it to the fear of sharks and she now lives with Brodys younger son Sean and his fiancée Tiffany. Sean works as a deputy and is dispatched to clear a log from a buoy a few days before Christmas. A massive 28-foot great white shark attacks and kills him, sinking his boat in the process, Ellen believes the shark intentionally targeted Sean with a vengeance because of the deaths of the first two sharks. Brodys older son Mike, his wife Carla, and their five-year-old daughter Thea come to Amity for the funeral, at the islands, Ellen meets carefree airplane pilot Hoagie. Mike, along with partners Jake, William, and Clarence, a few days later, they encounter the same shark that attacked Sean. Ellen becomes so obsessive that she starts having nightmares of being attacked by a shark, then she starts getting psychic feelings when the shark is near or attacks. She and the shark have a connection that is unexplained. Jake decides to attach a device to the shark that can track it through its heartbeat, using chum to attract it, Jake stabs the devices tracking pole into the sharks side. The next day, the shark chases Mike through a sunken ship, Thea goes on an inflatable banana boat with her friend Margaret and her mother while Carla presents her new art sculpture. The shark goes for Thea but attacks and kills Margarets mother instead, Thea and Carla are traumatized following the attack
6.
The Cleveland Show
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The Cleveland Show is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company as a spin-off of Family Guy. The series centers on the Browns and Tubbs, two dysfunctional families consisting of parents Cleveland Brown and Donna Tubbs and their children Cleveland Brown, similar to Family Guy, it exhibits much of its humor in the form of cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture. The series was conceived by MacFarlane in 2007 after developing the two animated series Family Guy and American Dad. for the Fox Network, the series originally aired from September 27,2009, to May 19,2013, for a total of four seasons and 88 episodes. The Cleveland Show was nominated for one Annie Award, one Primetime Emmy Award, the series was canceled after its fourth season. Cleveland has since returned to Family Guy, accompanied by the rest of the Brown-Tubbs family, Seth MacFarlane initially conceived The Cleveland Show in 2007 while working on his other two animated series, Family Guy and American Dad. The Cleveland Show first appeared on the development slate at Fox in early 2008, under no official name for the pilot, on May 5,2008, MacFarlane and 20th Century Fox Television inked a deal. The pilot was named The Cleveland Show in May 2008, when it appeared on the slate for the 2008–09 television season. Shortly after a report that King of the Hill just ended, leaving air time for The Cleveland Show, MacFarlane and Henry pitched a 22-minute pilot to Fox which aired on September 27,2009, but had been leaked on the internet in June 2009. Even before the episode premiered, the show had already been renewed for a 22-episode second season. After the first season of the aired, it was given the green light to start production. On June 10,2010, less than three weeks into the first seasons summer hiatus, it was announced that Fox was ordering a third season, a fourth season was announced on May 9,2011, just a few days before the second season concluded. Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry and Richard Appel served as producers on the series since the first season. Mike Henry voices two of the main characters, Cleveland Brown and Rallo Tubbs. The voice of Cleveland was developed originally for Family Guy by Henry after being influenced by one of his best friends who had a distinct regional accent. For the voice of Rallo, Henry has stated that he had created the voice over twenty years ago. Sanaa Lathan voices Donna Tubbs, the wife of Cleveland, in developing the character, Lathan said that the producers wanted her to be educated, but to have some edge. Prior to voicing Donna, Lathan had only one other voice credit in a relatively low-budget film entitled The Golden Blaze. In addition to the show, she primarily worked as an actress in such films as Alien vs. Predator, Love & Basketball
7.
Jem (TV series)
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Jem, also known as Jem and the Holograms, is an American animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U. S. first-run syndication. The series is about music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, her band the Holograms, the series was a joint collaboration by Hasbro, Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions, the same team responsible for G. I. The creator of the series, Christy Marx, had also been a writer for the aforementioned programs. The animation for most of the episodes was provided by the Japanese animation studio Toei Doga, the series revolves around Jem, the mysterious lead singer of the rock group Jem and the Holograms. Her real name is Jerrica Benton, and under this name she is the owner and manager of Starlight Music. Jems group, the Holograms, consists of Kimber Benton, Jerricas younger sister, keyboardist, and main songwriter for the band, Aja Leith, guitarist, and Shana Elmsford, who plays the synth drums. Aja and Shana are also friends and adopted foster sisters of Jerrica and Kimber. Shana briefly leaves the group to pursue a career in fashion, at point a new character. The Holograms are aware of Jems secret identity and the existence of Synergy when the series begins, upon her return to the Holograms, Shana becomes the bands bassist. The Holograms have two bands, The Misfits and The Stingers. The Misfits are composed of petulant rich girl Pizzazz and her cohorts, no-nonsense guitarist Roxy and kind-hearted and they are joined later by the manipulative British saxophonist Jetta. The Stingers debut on the season when they hit town. Originally from Germany, the Stingers are composed of lead singer Riot, guitarist/con artist Rapture. The Misfits frequently attempt to upstage Jem and the Holograms endeavors and this rivalry is encouraged and manipulated by their manager and central villain in the series, Eric Raymond, former half-owner of Starlight Music who runs Misfits Music. During the series, Eric Raymond constantly plots to become owner of Starlight Music and get revenge on Jem, Jerrica also deals with a complex and emotionally draining faux love triangle involving her alter identity, Jem, and Rio Pacheco, longtime boyfriend of Jerrica. Rio romantically pursues both women, not knowing they are one and the same, later in the series, Jem is also romantically sought after by Riot, who becomes infatuated with her – adding further complications to her relationships. In the final episode of the series, the Misfits and Jem declare a truce when Ba Nee and her father is found by Jem and the Holograms with the help of Riots father. Riots relationship with his father is mended with the help of Jem, Hasbro hired advertising agency Griffin-Bacal Advertising, the founders of Sunbow Productions, to create the 65-episode animation series
8.
The Powerpuff Girls
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The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. The girls are called upon by the towns childlike and naive mayor to help fight nearby criminals using their powers. McCracken originally developed the show in 1992 as a short entitled Whoopass Stew. while in his second year at CalArts. Following a name change, Cartoon Network featured the first Powerpuff Girls pilots in its animation showcase program What a Cartoon. in 1995 and 1996. The series made its debut as a Cartoon Cartoon on November 18,1998. A total of 78 episodes were aired in addition to two pilot shorts, a Christmas special, and a feature film, in addition, a tenth anniversary special was made in 2008. A CGI special was made in 2014 without McCrackens input. The series has been nominated for six Emmy Awards, nine Annie Awards, spin-off media include an anime, three CD soundtracks, a home video collection, and a series of video games, as well as various licensed merchandise. The series has received positive reception and won four awards. On June 16,2014, Cartoon Network announced that the series would be rebooted, the show revolves around the adventures of three girls with superpowers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. The plot of an episode is usually some variation of standard superhero and tokusatsu shows, with the girls using their powers to defend their town from villains. Episodes often contain references to older pop culture. The cartoon always tries to keep different ideas within each episode with some small tributes and parodies thrown in, the show is set mainly in the city of Townsville, USA. Townsville is depicted as a major American city, with a cityscape consisting of major skyscrapers. In the original pilot, the substance was a can of Whoopass. The three girls all have oval-shaped heads, abnormally large eyes, stubby arms and legs, and lack noses, ears, fingers, necks and they wear dresses that match the colors of their eyes with black stripes, as well as white tights and black Mary Janes. The closing theme to the cartoon offers a description of the three Powerpuff Girls personalities, Blossom, commander and the leader. Bubbles, she is the joy and the laughter, Buttercup, she is the toughest fighter
9.
Cat Grant
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Catherine Jane Cat Grant is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. Introduced as a love interest for Clark Kent, her character added a new dimension to the Clark/Lois Lane/Superman dynamic. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Jerry Ordway, Cat Grant first appeared in Adventures of Superman #424 as a gossip columnist for the Daily Planet, Cat Grant arrives in Metropolis taking a position at the Daily Planet. She is well known for her syndicated column, which until this point was written in her native Los Angeles. Recently divorced from Joe Morgan, a husband who had driven her to drink, Cat was now a mother with a young son named Adam Morgan, trying to get a fresh start. Cat is instantly attracted to Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen in turn is attracted to Cat, but she seems to either not notice or not care. Her behavior around the office upsets both Lois and Perry White at different times, feeling that she needs to prove to Perry, Clark, and Lois that she can be a real reporter, Cat goes undercover at Galaxy Broadcasting to help Clark expose Morgan Edges links to Intergang. Following this she needs a bodyguard and Jose Delgado takes the job, the two become romantically linked, but Jose is resented by Cats son Adam, who still hero-worships her ex-husband, Joe Morgan. Cat joins TV station WGBS for real, and becomes an on-air reporter, Superman gives Cat an interview on her show, which is cut short by the rampage of Doomsday. Later, Cat is on the covering the events of Supermans battle with Doomsday live on television. Cat continues to work to the Daily Planet while she works at WGBS. By this time, Cat has earned the respect and friendship of Lois Lane, Cat also gets Jimmy Olsen hired by WGBS and works closely with him there. Cat later becomes WGBS station manager, there are rumors that she got the position thanks to a relationship with Morgans father Vinnie Edge, her new boss who sexually harasses her constantly. Cat ends the rumors at WGBS when she has Edge charged with sexual harassment, Vinnie Edge is removed from the board of WGBS, and Cat is given his position. Cats son, Adam, is one of children abducted by the Toyman. Cat deals with the loss by focusing on her work, when the Justice League of America unveils a new roster, various members of the press are invited to the JLA Watchtower in order to cover the story. Cat receives an invitation, but is apparently incapacited offscreen by Catwoman, during Lex Luthors tenure as President of the United States of America, Cat serves as White House Press Secretary. Following President Luthors impeachment she returns to her hometown of Los Angeles, Cat returns to Metropolis following new developments about Toymans involvement in the death of her son
10.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
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Final Fantasy, The Spirits Within is a 2001 American computer-animated science fiction film directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series of role-playing video games. It was the first photorealistic computer-animated feature film and remains the most expensive video game-inspired film of all time and it features the voices of Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Ving Rhames, Peri Gilpin and Steve Buscemi. Aki and Sid must fight against General Hein, who wishes to use violent means to end the conflict. Square Pictures rendered the film using some of the most advanced processing capabilities available for film animation at the time, a render farm consisting of 960 workstations was tasked with rendering each of the films 141,964 frames. It took a staff of 200 about four years to complete The Spirits Within, Square intended to make the character of Aki Ross into the worlds first photorealistic computer-animated actress, with plans for appearances in multiple films in different roles. The Spirits Within debuted to mixed reception, but was widely praised for the realism of the computer-animated characters. Due to rising costs, the film exceeded its original budget towards the end of production, reaching a final cost of $137 million. The film has been called a box office bomb and is blamed for the demise of Square Pictures, in 2065, Earth is infested by alien life forms known as Phantoms. By physical contact Phantoms consume the Gaia spirit of living beings, killing them instantly, the surviving humans live in barrier cities, areas protected by an energy shield that prevents Phantoms from entering, and are engaged in an ongoing struggle to free the planet. It is revealed that Gray was once involved with Aki. Upon returning to her city, Aki joins Sid and appears before the leadership council along with General Hein. However, this revelation leads Hein to incorrectly conclude that she is being controlled by the Phantoms, Aki and the Deep Eyes squad succeed in finding the seventh spirit as Akis infection begins to worsen and she slips into unconsciousness. Her dream reveals to her that the Phantoms are the spirits of dead aliens brought to Earth on a fragment of their destroyed planet, Sid uses the seventh spirit to bring Akis infection back under control, reviving her. To scare the council into giving him clearance to fire the Zeus cannon, though Hein intended that only a few Phantoms enter, his plan goes awry and legions of Phantoms invade the entire city. Aki, Sid and the Deep Eyes attempt to reach Akis spaceship, their means of escape, Hein escapes and boards the Zeus space-station where he finally receives authorisation to fire the cannon. Sid finds the spirit at the crater site of the alien asteroids impact on Earth. He lowers a shielded vehicle, with Aki and Gray aboard, just before they can reach it, Hein fires the Zeus cannon into the crater, not only destroying the eighth spirit but also revealing the Phantom Gaia. Aki has a vision of the Phantom home planet, where she is able to receive the spirit from the alien particles in herself
11.
Finding Dory
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Finding Dory is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Angus MacLane, the screenplay was written by Stanton, Finding Dory focuses on the amnesiac fish Dory, who journeys to be reunited with her parents. The film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 8,2016, upon release, the film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the second Pixar film to cross this mark after 2010s Toy Story 3. The film set records, including the highest-grossing animated film opening of all time in North America. Dory, a Regal blue tang, gets separated from her parents as a child, as she grows up, Dory attempts to search for them, but gradually forgets them due to her short-term memory loss disability. In the flashback of the film, after accidentally running into Marlin. One year later, Dory has joined Marlin and Nemo on their reef, one day, Dory has a flashback and remembers that she has parents. She decides to look for them, but finds her memory problem an obstacle and she remembers that they lived at the Jewel of Morro Bay across the ocean in California. With the help of Crush, a sea turtle friend, they ride a water current to California, upon arrival, Dory accidentally awakens a squid, who immediately pursues them, almost devouring Nemo. Marlin berates Dory for endangering them and her feelings hurt, Dory travels to the surface to seek help and is captured by staff members from the nearby Marine Life Institute after getting entangled in six pack rings. Dory is placed in the section and tagged. There she meets a grouchy but well-meaning octopus named Hank, Dorys tag shows that she will be sent to an aquarium in Cleveland. Due to a traumatic ocean life, Hank wants to live in the aquarium instead of being released back into the ocean, Dory subsequently has flashbacks of life with her parents and struggles to recall details. She finally remembers how she was separated from her parents, she overheard her mother crying one night, left to retrieve a shell to cheer her up, Marlin and Nemo attempt to rescue Dory. With the help of two sea lions named Fluke and Rudder and a common loon named Becky, they manage to get into the institute. Other blue tangs tell them that Dorys parents escaped from the institute a time ago to search for her and never came back. Hank retrieves Dory from the tank, accidentally leaving Marlin and Nemo behind and he is then apprehended by one of the employees and unintentionally drops Dory into the drain, flushing her out to the ocean. While wandering aimlessly, she comes across a trail of shells, remembering that when she was young, her parents had set out a trail to help her find her way back home
