As a marine biology hobbyist I ADORE the fact that all the spire denizens are planktons. Please enjoy some funky fellows:
crab zoea
young medusa-stage jellyfish (same life stage as the familiar jellies in Inkopolis and Splatsville, presumably fresh off the ephyra stage of growth)
amphipod or lobster larva
ostracod
a young pteropod, most likely (sea angels are part of this group!)
I think this weird-horse-looking one is supposed to be an oceanic water flea? I'm the most stumped on this dude
And of course our lucifer shrimp Cipher!
Now I can't find any photos online, but throughout various levels of Side Order I also noticed jellyfish ephyra and polyps, and nematodes or perhaps larval flatworms? Even baby cephalopods are considered plankton! (iykyk)
Plankton are often the most basic trophic level in marine environments, providing stability and order to the ecosystem; if there's an imbalance in their population, that causes a butterfly effect among many other types of sealife. They're the perfect choice for Marina's Memverse.
"In the interplay of different characters, we used to be close. As changes unfold, I'm ready to stand guard and prevent any drift. Despite transformations, remember this: you'll always be part of the fabric of my friendship."
you know what, since we've been talking about how annoying it is when people react like "what drugs were they on when they wrote this 🤪" when someone is creative, i just wanna say
everyone who says "HOW IS THIS A KIDS' MOVIE 😱😱", when a kids' movie is a little bit out of the box and features dark or deep imagery and meanings, owes me one thousand euros