Disney has officially announced that Finding Dory , a sequel to the 2003 hit animated film Finding Nemo , will be released in theaters November 25, 2015.
Ellen DeGeneres will be reprising her role as Dory , a forgetful but well meaning regal blue tang who helps clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) search for his lost son, Nemo (Alexander Gould). Brooks will also be reprising his role, but Gould will likely be recast.
DeGeneres said she had been waiting for the day the sequel would finally come to fruition for a very 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,” DeGeneres said in a Disney press release . “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.”
Andrew Stanton, who directed the first film, will also be returning for the sequel . Stanton said, “There is no Dory without Ellen. She won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world — not to mention our team here at Pixar.”
Stanton added that one thing that the Pixar team had in mind while they were working on Finding Nemo was the question of why Dory was by herself when she first met Marlin. It turns out that Dory was every bit as lost at the titular character.
“In Finding Dory , she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way,” Stanton said.
Finding Dory takes place one year after Finding Nemo and will feature some favorites from the original including the Tank Gang. Part of the film will take place along the California coastline , quite a ways from the Great Barrier Reef where the first film took place.
Finding Nemo was the second highest-grossing film the year it came out and was the highest-grossing G-rated film of all time until Toy Story 3 was released. It is also the third highest-grossing animated film and the best-selling DVD of all time.
Are you excited for Finding Dory ?