Finding Dory

Plot

Dory, a regal blue tang, lost her parents, Jenny and Charlie, when she was very young. Because of her short-term memory loss, she slowly forgot all about them as she grew up. Eventually, she crossed paths with Marlin, a clownfish searching for his son Nemo after divers took him to Sydney, Australia. A year after that adventure, Dory lives next door to Marlin and Nemo on the Great Barrier Reef.

One day, a memory surfaces: she recalls her parents and that they lived at a place called the "Jewel of Morro Bay, California." Determined to find them, she sets off, with Marlin and Nemo joining her. Their sea turtle friend Crush helps them ride the California Current all the way to California. While exploring the wreckage of a sunken container ship, Dory accidentally wakes up a giant squid, which nearly eats Nemo.

Frightened, she swims off to get help but is caught by workers from the Marine Life Institute. Inside, she is put in quarantine and given a tag, which means she will be sent to an aquarium in Cleveland. There she meets Hank, a grumpy but kind octopus with only seven arms. Hank is terrified of being released into the ocean, so he strikes a deal: he will help Dory find her parents if she gives him her tag.

In another part of the institute, Dory runs into Bailey, a beluga whale, and Destiny, a nearsighted whale shark who was her childhood friend. They used to talk to each other through pipes when they were young. This triggers Dory’s full memory of how she got separated: an undertow current pulled her into the pipes and swept her out to sea. Meanwhile, Marlin and Nemo sneak into the institute with help from two California sea lions and a loon named Becky.

They find Dory, but other blue tangs tell them that her parents left years ago to look for her and never returned. Dory fears they are dead. Then Hank accidentally drops her down a drain, flushing her out into the ocean. There she spots a trail of shells.

She remembers that her parents used to leave shell trails to guide her home. Following the trail leads her to a tire, where she finally reunites with Jenny and Charlie. They explain that they never left the area; instead, they spent years laying down shell trails, hoping she would one day find her way back.

Voice cast

Ellen DeGeneres provides the voice for Dory, a regal blue tang fish dealing with short-term memory loss. The younger versions of Dory are voiced by Sloane Murray, who is the seven-year-old daughter of producer Lindsey Collins, and Lucia Geddes as a teenager. Albert Brooks returns as Marlin, an ocellaris clownfish who is Nemo's overly protective father and Dory's best friend. Hayden Rolence takes over the role of Nemo, a cheerful young clownfish, from Alexander Gould who voiced him in the first film.

Ed O'Neill voices Hank, a grumpy but kind East Pacific red octopus missing one tentacle, earning him the nickname "septopus." Kaitlin Olson plays Destiny, a nearsighted whale shark who was Dory's childhood friend, while Ty Burrell voices Bailey, a beluga whale who has temporarily lost his echolocation after a concussion. Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy voice Dory's parents, Jenny and Charlie. Idris Elba and Dominic West voice the California sea lions Fluke and Rudder.

Bob Peterson voices Mr. Ray, the spotted eagle ray teacher, and Andrew Stanton voices Crush, the green sea turtle. Sigourney Weaver appears as herself, providing the recorded announcements over the institute's public address system. Bill Hader and Kate McKinnon voice Stan and Inez, a kelp bass couple. Alexander Gould, the original Nemo voice actor, now plays Passenger Carl, a delivery truck driver for the institute.

Torbin Xan Bullock voices Gerald, a sea lion who keeps trying to claim a rock from Fluke and Rudder. Katherine Ringgold voices Kathy, a chickenfish, and Bennett Dammann voices Squirt, Crush's son. John Ratzenberger voices Husband Crab (Bill), and Angus MacLane voices Sunfish "Charlie Back-and-Forth." Several actors reprise their roles from Finding Nemo: Willem Dafoe as Gill, Brad Garrett as Bloat, Allison Janney as Peach, Austin Pendleton as Gurgle, Stephen Root as Bubbles, Vicki Lewis as Deb, and Jerome Ranft as Jacques.

Production

Prior to work on Finding Dory, the idea of a sequel to Finding Nemo had been teased since Fall 2003. Ellen DeGeneres said in September 2003 that she was game to dive back in for a sequel. Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich stated in an October 2003 interview that they were not ruling out the possibility of making a sequel. In 2005, Disney planned to make a Finding Nemo sequel without Pixar's involvement, through Circle Seven Animation, a studio Disney announced in 2005 with the intention to make sequels to Pixar properties.

Due to the 2006 acquisition of Pixar by Disney, Circle Seven was shut down without having produced a film. A script for the Circle Seven version was uploaded to the official Raindance Film Festival website; elements included the introduction of Nemo's long-lost twin brother, Remy, and a storyline wherein Marlin is caught and must be saved. In July 2012, Andrew Stanton was announced as the director of a Finding Nemo sequel, with Victoria Strouse writing the script.

That August, Ellen DeGeneres entered negotiations to reprise her role of Dory, and in September, the film was confirmed by Stanton. In February 2013, the press confirmed that Albert Brooks would reprise the role of Marlin.

In April 2013, Disney announced the sequel, Finding Dory, confirming that DeGeneres and Brooks would be reprising their roles. The fictional Marine Life Institute depicted extensively in the film is based on the production team's research trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Marine Mammal Center and the Vancouver Aquarium. Thomas Newman returned to compose the score.

Reception

Finding Dory swam to a worldwide total of $1.029 billion, with $486.3 million from the U.S. and Canada and $542.3 million from other countries. It ranked as 2016’s third highest-grossing film and the fourth highest-grossing animated movie ever. Its global opening of $185.7 million was the sixth-largest for an animated feature, while its IMAX global opening reached $6.4 million. By August 16, ticket sales hit $900 million, and on October 9, the film crossed the billion-dollar mark.

Deadline Hollywood estimated its net profit at $296.6 million. The movie opened with $135.1 million, setting a new record for an animated film’s opening weekend. It also claimed records for the biggest PLF opening ($10.4 million) and Cinemark XD opening ($2.6 million) for an animated title. In IMAX, it earned $5 million from 211 theaters, placing third among animated IMAX debuts behind Zootopia and Toy Story 3.

Did You Know?

• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Finding Dory on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 10, 2019.
• In April 2026, Pixar announced a new short film set in the world of Finding Nemo, titled Loving Dory, with Ellen DeGeneres returning to reprise her role.