# Seagulls in 'Finding Nemo' **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107 "2004-01-26T04:32:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107/21 "2004-01-28T06:21:30Z")
> [@WILLASS](#): > > Thanks, I don’t have the DVD (nor will I probabley ever have it) but i’ll take your word for it. We both figured that each explanation was reasonable, ‘mine’, because they always want stuff and they are greedy or ‘mate’ because they are Australian and the way they say mine and mate is quite similar in OZ ie. they kind of say ‘mite’ like that. Well thanks guys… While your explaination is rational, you have to bear in mind that this is a G-rated movie geared towards kids preschool and up. The last thing disney wants is a lawsuit from parents whose kids wanted to know what “mate” meant. ---
**Author:** ![bluddy\_bloodnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@bluddy\_bloodnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluddy_bloodnut)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107/22 "2004-01-28T11:09:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Thanks, I don’t have the DVD (nor will I probabley ever have it) but i’ll take your word for it. We both figured that each explanation was reasonable, ‘mine’, because they always want stuff and they are greedy or ‘mate’ because they are Australian and the way they say mine and mate is quite similar in OZ ie. they kind of say ‘mite’ like that. Well thanks guys… Have you been to australia? We really dont say mate like that, not even those kooky queenslanders. We tend to really accentuate the a. And yeah, Finding Nemo…love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107/23 "2004-01-28T12:25:23Z")
> [@bluddy\_bloodnut](#): > > Have you been to australia? We really dont say mate like that, not even those kooky queenslanders. We tend to really accentuate the a. And yeah, Finding Nemo…love that movie. Hmmm, maybe not in your part of Australia, but I hear a lot of Australians say “mate” sounding almost exactly like those seagulls, particularly if they are Greek Australians or are imitating Greek Australians. > [@elfkin477](#): > > While your explaination is rational, you have to bear in mind that this is a G-rated movie geared towards kids preschool and up. The last thing disney wants is a lawsuit from parents whose kids wanted to know what “mate” meant. Mate means “friend” in this context. Only animal documentaries use the word “mate” in the way you are thinking :). ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107/24 "2004-01-28T15:30:32Z")
[http://www.dailywav.com/1103/mine1.wav](http://www.dailywav.com/1103/mine1.wav) At first it does sound like “mate” - it’s a common expression, so it just sticks in the brain. Though it’s clear it’s “mine” for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107/25 "2004-01-30T00:07:32Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > [Mine! Mine! Mine! | The Daily .WAV](http://www.dailywav.com/1103/mine1.wav) > > At first it does sound like “mate” - it’s a common expression, so it just sticks in the brain. Though it’s clear it’s “mine” for the most part. Yeah, I’d actually been told by someone else that they say “mate” before I saw the movie so I was always going to hear it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107/26 "2004-01-30T02:54:13Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Ahh! I’d wondered who this “Mike” fellow was that the seagulls kept going on about. I heard it that way myself at first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seagulls-in-finding-nemo/226107.md?page=1)