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Disney•Pixar’s “Finding Dory” finds Dory living happily in the reef with Marlin and Nemo about a year after their life-changing adventure. When Dory suddenly remembers that she has a family out there who may be looking for her, she recruits Marlin and Nemo for a life-changing adventure across the ocean to California’s prestigious Marine Life Institute (MLI), a rehabilitation center and aquarium.
In the effort to find her mom and dad, Dory enlists the help of three of the MLI’s most intriguing residents: Hank, a cantankerous octopus who frequently gives employees the slip; Bailey, a beluga whale who is convinced his biological sonar skills are on the fritz; and Destiny, a nearsighted whale shark.
“It’s amazing to me that Dory has resonated with people so much,” says Ellen DeGeneres, who lends her voice to the funny fish whose motto “Just Keep Swimming” has inspired and motivated audiences worldwide. “Dory was such a big part of ‘Finding Nemo’ that it makes sense that people might wonder about her journey. We want to see how it worked out for her. Are Marlin and Nemo her family now? Does she have a family and will she ever remember them?”
At the recent press conference, the voice cast from Finding Dory gave us an insight on their characters and what this movie means to them. Watch the video below of the full conversation.
Director Andrew Stanton is always on the lookout for a new story. His imagination has taken him under the sea and beyond the stars, but this time, a character from his past unexpectedly swam straight into his subconscious. “I realized that I was worried about Dory,” he says of everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang. “The idea of her short-term memory loss and how it affected her was unresolved. What if she got lost again? Would she be OK?”
“Finding Dory” reveals that Dory has a loving mom and dad who dote on their daughter, patiently helping her manage her short-term memory loss. “They don’t try to change her,” says Stanton. “They just want to help her own who she is. Being a parent and seeing my kids grow up and enter the world, I realize that kids are all born with certain temperaments, flaws, quirks—and it’ll always be who they are. You probably spend most of your time as a parent worrying about those things, too—you don’t lose sleep over the things they do well. The best quality I could give Dory’s parents is that they never doubt her.”
Adds producer Lindsey Collins, “Dory seems so happy, but she was never really grounded until she met Marlin. Their happenstance meeting and subsequent friendship marked the first time since she was a kid that she had a family.”
“The story is really about Dory finding herself—in every way,” says Stanton. “She’s compelling and vulnerable and has yet to recognize her own strengths.”
Watch Producer Collins and Director Stanton in the full video below why it took 13 years to make this movie.
Directed by Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL•E”) and co-directed by Angus MacLane (“Toy Story OF TERROR!”), the film is produced by Collins (co-producer “WALL•E”) and executive produced by John Lasseter. Victoria Strouse (“October Road”) wrote the script with Stanton. With music by veteran composer and longtime Stanton collaborator Thomas Newman (“Bridge of Spies,” “WALL•E,” “Finding Nemo”), “Finding Dory” is now playing in theaters.
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