In an interview with ET, Ellen DeGeneres revealed the character of Dory, which she voices in "Finding Nemo" and "Finding Dory", to be based on her. Dory, a Pacific regal blue tang who has bouts of short-term memory loss was first introduced in Pixar's Finding Nemo in 2003.
DeGeneres recounts how Pixar animated film writer, director, and producer Andrew Stanton ("Toy Story 3", "Wall-e", "A Bug's Life"), heard her rambling voice on TV and was intrigued at how frequently and effortlessly she veers off topic. Stanton made use of these signature traits of DeGeneres, and the character Dory was born.
DeGeneres also shared that "Finding Nemo" came at a low point in her life. She had just started work on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", but nothing much was happening back then. She realized how Dory's "just keep swimming" attitude was so applicable not just in her current situation, but most especially in trying times during anyone's life. It's a mantra to yourself to keep on pushing, keep on persevering until you lift yourself up from a less ideal situation and move on.
Finding Nemo was a summer blockbuster hit when it was released in 2003. It became Pixar's highest-grossing animated film in the same year, and is currently in the top ten highest-grossing animated films of all time. Since it came out, the character of Dory has become endearing to many that DeGeneres realized the potential for exploring Dory's background. This drove her to push for a sequel. DeGeneres has been hilariously outspoken about her desire for a sequel to Finding Nemo. Finally, on April 2, 2013, she announced on The Ellen Degeneres show that Finding Dory was on board.
As of November 9, 2015, DeGeneres posted the official teaser poster for Finding Dory on her Twitter account. The first teaser trailer was posted the day after. In "Finding Dory", Dory embarks on a journey to find her own family, triggered by a case of "sleep-swimming". While the film is more Dory-centered, it will still feature original characters in the first film like Nemo, Marlin, Gill, and Deb. New characters will also be introduced such as Jenny as Dory's mom, Charlie as Dory's dad, Destiny as Dory's adopted sister who's also a whale shark, Bailey the beluga, and Hank the octopus.
Finding Dory will be released on June 17, 2016.
Join the Conversation