Though Pixar's got a lot of films on its slate, Finding Dory may be the most anticipated out of all of them. The film's got a massive fanbase and following, it was loved by critics, and unlike, say, the Toy Story franchise (which is also getting a sequel- the upcoming Toy Story 4), the Finding Nemo franchise hasn't already been run aground with a few too many sequels.
All of that makes Finding Dory a potential huge winner for Pixar. And if that's the case, it may make sense for Pixar to start building hype for the film earlier than they usually do. Finding Dory doesn't release for over a year, and right now Pixar is throwing all of their weight around trying to promote Inside Out, their latest film. But a touch of marketing- and a touch of hype- for Finding Dory could be for everyone's benefit.
For one, Pixar's been in a little bit of a slump lately. It's not like they're producing bad movies or anything- their last few have been quite good. But they haven't been good enough to match the level of earlier Pixar classics like Up, Toy Story or Ratatouille. Movies like Brave or Monsters University have been solid, but nothing that'll be remembered ten years from now. Finding Nemo is a movie people still remember ten years from its release (the film was originally released in 2003, so it's been 12 years already). Some early ads could build on that long-lasting love.
There's also the matter of Nemo. It's already been confirmed that Nemo's dad, Marlin, will be playing some kind of role in Finding Dory (though it's not clear what kind of role that is). But what about Nemo? Will he feature in the film- and, if the movie does in fact take place years after the first, will Nemo be all grown up? Will he have a whole school of children all his own? It's just speculation for now, but it's hard to imagine Pixar would do an entire Finding Nemo spin-off without actually including Nemo in there somewhere.
Finding Dory will premiere on June 17, 2016.
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