Ellen DeGeneres' 'Nemo' sequel, 'Finding Dory,' set for 2015

Ellen DeGeneres’ ‘Nemo’ sequel, ‘Finding Dory,’ set for 2015

By Steven Zeitchik

April 2, 2013 12 AM PT

Disney is plunging back into familiar waters, announcing a November 2015 sequel to “Finding Nemo” titled “Finding Dory.”

Enthusiasts of the 2003 finned favorite will recall Dory as the friendly, slightly amnesiac tang voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, who’ll return to voice the title character. News of a sequel had been known for some time, but the announcement Tuesday clarifies the focus, title and release date (exact day, Nov. 25). Andrew Stanton, who directed the 2003 hit-cum-animated-Oscar winner, is returning behind the camera.

The sequel will bring back other favorites, including clownfish Marlin and son Nemo, and will be set about a year after the end of the first movie, according to Disney. Part of it will be set on the California coast. The original, which featured Marlin searching for kidnapped son Nemo, culminated on the Australia coast.

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Executives no doubt hope the “Nemo” franchise returns some of Pixar’s box-office luster. Though its recent movies have been successes, they haven’t matched the muscle of some of its earlier films. The 2012 Pixar pic, “Brave,” and 2011 entry, “Cars 2,” come in as the last two of 13 movies on the domestic box-office chart when adjusting for inflation.

The new “Nemo” movie will mark the latest sequel for Pixar, which after eschewing them for years has lately dabbled in them; “Monsters, Inc.’ follow-up ‘Monsters University” is next up in June.

Since “Nemo” hit, DeGeneres has focused on her TV talk-show career — she hasn’t starred in a feature or voiced an animated character since “2003.” Stanton had a rocky transition to live-action films when his sci-fi adventure “John Carter” bombed last year.

DeGeneres offered a quip to accompany the news. “I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” she said. “I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating ‘Toy Story 16.’ ”

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Steven Zeitchik

Steven Zeitchik is a former Los Angeles Times staff writer who covered film and the larger world of Hollywood for the paper from 2009 to 2017, exploring the personalities, issues, content and consequences of both the creative and business (and, increasingly, digital) aspects of our screen entertainment. He previously covered entertainment beats at Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, has contributed arts and culture pieces to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times and has done journalistic tours of duty in Jerusalem and Berlin. While at The Times he has also reported stories in cities ranging from Cairo to Krakow, though Hollywood can still seem like the most exotic destination of all.