(PCM) When Pixar released Finding Nemo in 2003, the animated feature about an anxious clownfish, Marlin, on the hunt to find his son, Nemo, with the help with an endearingly forgetful fish, Dory, became an instant classic.
When news broke in 2012 that a sequel to Finding Nemo was in the works, the excitement was palpable. Then in 2013, Disney announced that the sequel would be titled Finding Dory and would star returning stars Albert Brooks as Marlin and Ellen Degeneres as Dory.
After campaigning for a sequel for some time, Ellen made an announcement on her show expressing her excitement at Disney’s official announcement, saying:
“I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time. I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating Toy Story 16. But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is—it’s got a lot more Dory.”
Finding Dory, originally scheduled for a November 25, 2015 release, is now slated to swim into 3D/2D theaters nationwide starting June 17, 2016 with Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur taking its original release date.
In an interview with Collider‘s partner site, Omlete, Jim Morris, President of Pixar, divulged that Finding Dory, picking up about a year after Finding Nemo, follows Dory as she goes on the hunt to find her parents and discover her origins.
Dory, Marlin, and the Tank Gang are all returning for the sequel with several additions to the loveable cast. Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton star as Dory’s parents. Willem Dafoe, Dominic West, Ty Burrell, and Idris Elba star alongside Ellen Degeneres and Albert Brooks as well.
Morris explained the setting of the Finding Dory, which strays from the first film’s wide open ocean setting, saying: “The movie will be mostly set at the California Marine Biology Institute, a huge complex of sea life rehabilitation and aquarium, where Dory was born and raised. We will get to meet new characters, like an octopus, sea lions, a beluga whale, among others.”
After screening Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s scathing documentary, Blackfish, which investigated the abusive treatment of killer whales at the hands of Sea World, Pixar changed the ending of Finding Dory as well as the setting, originally an aquatic park.
Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton returns to helm the sequel written by Victoria Strouse (New Best Friend).
The post Pixar’s “Finding Dory” Releases Plot and Setting Details also appeared on PCM Reviews.