Pixar's FINDING DORY: New Image, Casting, Character Details, and Story Info

The presentation for Pixar's Finding Nemo sequel, Finding Dory, was a huge hit at D23 Expo. It might have been the animated film project that fans were most excited about. When Ellen DeGeneres showed up to talk about the movie she got a cheering standing ovation from the audience. 

During the panel, it was also announced that Ed O'Neill (Modern Family) would voice an octopus named Hank; Ty Burrell (Modern Family) is taking on the role of a beluga whale named Bailey; and Kaitlin Olson (Always Sunny in Philadelphia) will play a character named Destiny. These actors will join Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory's mom and dad, and Albert Brooks, who is reprising his role as Marlin. 

When talking about the film, director Andrew Stanton thought the story was a “closed circuit,” but then he started thinking about Dory's short-term memory problems and that led to his idea for the sequel. He explained:

“I wanted to know that if this charming forgetful fish ever got lost again, that she would be okay, that she would find her way home. And at the end of Finding Nemo, I wasn’t confident about that. So that’s when I knew I had another story.”

The story follows Dory as she embarks on a journey to find her mom and dad. This leads her to an ocean sanctuary facility where wounded animals are treated before they are re-released into the wild. It's here that she meets lots of new characters like O'Neill's octopus, who is missing a leg, and Burrell's character, who thinks he has suffered a head injury because of the big bump on his head that is supposed to be there. 

The studio went on to screen a couple of great clips from the film, and there's no doubt that this is going to be at least as good as the first movie. 

The first clip focused on having trouble remembering something very important. She quite can't figure it out, and Marlin (Brooks) tells her to sleep on it and they can talk about it in the morning. While she is sleeping on it, she starts to talk in her sleep saying, “Don’t cry, Mommy, don’t cry. Oh no…” Nemo wakes up to find her sleep-swimming, as she is swimming against a piece of coral she is saying, “The jewel of Monterey, California.” Nemo and his father sleep with her the rest of the night to make sure she doesn't get away. When Dory wakes up in the morning she says, “I don’t remember what I remembered, but I remembered that I remembered something.” 

Nemo tells his dad, “Dory’s instincts are telling her to go home,” and as she stares into the vast ocean, she remembers what is so important and exclaims, “My Mom, my Dad. I have a family. They don’t know where I am!” It's from there that she embarks on a journey to Monterey, California, which is way across the ocean. Of course, Marlin doesn't like the idea of leaving and at first tries to talk her out of it. Dory tells him, “All I know is that I miss them. I really, really miss them. Do you know what that feels like?” Of course, he does! So Marlin gives in and agrees to help her. Nemo asks, “Dad, you can get us all the way across the ocean, right?” Marlin replies, “No, but I know a guy.”

The second clip features a scene between DOry and O'Neill's octopus Hank, which is pictured above. Dory is accidentally picked up by workers at the ocean sanctuary facility. She’s then tagged by workers, and Hank sneakily works his way across the room to her using his camouflage skills. He explains to Dory that the reason she has been tagged was because she was going to be transported to an aquarium in Cleveland. Hank wants the tag because he wants to take her place on the transport. He makes it very clear that he does not want to be released back into the ocean. There's a lot of fun banter between the two characters, but in the end he is going to help her find her parents, and in return she is going to give him her tag. 

If you're a fan of Finding Nemo, you're going to love what they are doing with Finding Dory. It looks like it's going to be a great sequel!

Ellen DeGeneres (“The Ellen DeGeneres Show”), the voice of everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, took a dip with D23 EXPO attendees this afternoon, celebrating Disney·Pixar’s upcoming film “Finding Dory.” Joining DeGeneres on stage this afternoon were Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family”), who lends his voice to Hank, a cantankerous octopus; Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”), the voice of Bailey, a misguided beluga whale; and Kaitlin Olson (“Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), who voices Destiny, a kind-hearted whale shark. Oscar®-winning director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL•E”), co-director Angus MacLane and producer Lindsey Collins (co-producer “ WALL•E”) offered new details of the all-new story, which reunites Dory with friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale? Also featuring the voices of Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy.

Finding Dory swims into theaters June 17th, 2016. 

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