UPDATED – It was announced on September 18, 2013, that Finding Dory‘s release date would be moved to 2016, while The Good Dinosaur would take its originally scheduled November 25, 2015 release date – updated details here.
Twitter has been buzzing about a “sea-quel” to Finding Nemo for some time and today there were many tweets from Disney representatives announcing/confirming the rumored “sea-quel”. According to the official Disney Press Release, we will be back under the sea with the whole crew on November 25, 2015!
BURBANK, Calif. (April 2, 2013) – When Dory said “just keep swimming” in 2003’s Oscar®-winning film “Finding Nemo,” she could not have imagined what was in store for her (not that she could remember). Ellen DeGeneres, voice of the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish, revealed details today about Disney•Pixar’s “Finding Dory”—an all-new big-screen adventure diving into theaters on Nov. 25, 2015.
“I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” said DeGeneres. “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.”
Director and Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton takes audiences back to the extraordinary underwater world created in the original film. “There is no Dory without Ellen,” said Stanton. “She won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world—not to mention our team here at Pixar. One thing we couldn’t stop thinking about was why she was all alone in the ocean on the day she met Marlin. In ‘Finding Dory,’ she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way.”
According to Stanton, “Finding Dory” takes place about a year after the first film, and features returning favorites Marlin, Nemo and the Tank Gang, among others. Set in part along the California coastline, the story also welcomes a host of new characters, including a few who will prove to be a very important part of Dory’s life.
“Finding Nemo” won the 2003 Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature; the film was nominated for three additional Oscars® (Best Writing, Original Screenplay; Best Music, Original Score; Best Sound Editing). It was also nominated for a Golden Globe® Award for Best Motion Picture–Comedy or Musical. In 2008, the American Film Institute named “Finding Nemo” among the top 10 greatest animated films ever made. At the time of its release, “Finding Nemo” was the highest grossing G-rated movie of all time. It’s currently the fourth highest grossing animated film worldwide. The film has more than 16 million Likes on Facebook, and Dory—with more than 24 million—is the most Liked individual character from a Disney or Disney•Pixar film.
DeGeneres’ distinctive comic voice has resonated with audiences from her first stand-up comedy appearances through her work today on television, in film and in the literary world. Her syndicated talk show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” is in its 10th season and has earned 38 Daytime Emmy® Awards. DeGeneres has won 12 People’s Choice Awards and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Comedian for three consecutive years. Additionally, her show won two Genesis Awards and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Talk Show Episode. For her unforgettable turn as Dory, DeGeneres was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
Not only are we excited to see our beloved Finding Nemo characters back on the big screen it will also be exciting to see how much of the original Finding Nemo crew will be working on Finding Dory. With Stanton’s directorial skills, we’re anxious to see who will be the Director of Lighting, who will be the lead animator for Dory, and will Thomas Newman score for Stanton once again – we hope so!
One thing is for sure – we’re thrilled and can’t hear more about this great upcoming feature film!
UPDATED 4/2/13: Ellen DeGeneres announced Finding Dory on The Ellen Show. Ellen mentions in the video clip that this was her first show taping since returning from Australia (fitting as Finding Nemo took place in Australia) and when she announced/confirmed Finding Dory the crowd erupted into applause and cheer. You can still hear the excitement over the web as Finding Dory became a worldwide trending topic within minutes.
“I read the script, it’s fantastic! It’s hilarious and warm…it’s everything that you want it to be. But the thing about those movies – their brilliant and they take a long time to make so it won’t be in theaters until 2015…but in Australia I think that’s tomorrow”. – Ellen DeGeneres
