Directors Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane are starting to roll out a few new teases for their upcoming animated film Finding Dory. Those teases include all-new images that reveal the animated animal cast of the Finding Nemo sequel. However, this time around it won't just be a few fish in the sea since Dory will be joined by an expanded oceanic cast. You can get your first look at some of those new furry and fishy faces below thanks to USA Today.
Returning characters include Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), of course, Marlin and his son Nemo (voiced by the returning Albert Brooks and newcomer Hayden Rolence), Bob Peterson as Mr. Ray, and Stanton himself as Crush the super-chill sea turtle. New additions include Dory's fish parents, Charlie and Jenny (voiced by Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton); a beluga whale named Bailey (Ty Burrell); a whale shark called Destiny (Kaitlin Olson); and the curmudgeonly octopus Hank (Ed O'Neill). You can see them all in action when Finding Dory opens June 17, 2016. Check out the new and old faces alike below, along with more about the film from Stanton.
Stanton shared plenty of insight about the film, including where and when you might see certain characters:
Stanton further explains the additional critters that are sure to become audience favorites in Finding Dory:
"The ocean is teeming with literally millions of species. People don’t want to feel like they just spent the movie in a pond. There are just certain species of animals or fish that are fun to watch in real life and you can’t help but to throw a character on them. If they can find a home in Dory’s story, great. It’s a win-win."
Disney shared more on the return of these two tubular turtles:
CRUSH (voice of Andrew Stanton) and his SQUIRT (voice of Bennett Dammann) just might be the coolest turtles in the ocean. They’re always happy to lend a flipper to a fish in need. Cruising the ocean for more than a hundred years definitely has its advantages.
The sea lions seen above are Rudder and Fluke, voiced by The Wire co-stars Dominic West and Idris Elba respectively. Stanton apparently wanted them to sound like East London gangsters, which explains the casting and, as a bonus, sounds just delightful. Here's how Stanton explained it:
"Idris and Dominic are well-trained, dramatic, Shakespearean actors, but they can do comedy like nobody’s business. They just ran with it. They played jolly and lazy really well. But the truth is, I really wanted to witness a Wire reunion. So we got them together."
Disney elaborates:
FLUKE (voice of Idris Elba) and RUDDER (voice of Dominic West) are a pair of lazy sea lions who were rehabilitated at the Marine Life Institute. Marlin and Nemo find them snoozing on a warm—and highly coveted—rock just outside the center. These sea lions really enjoy their down time and would rather not be bothered mid nap—but their bark is far worse than their bite.
Why otters though?
"The truth is, otters are quite vicious. But no one wants that to be true. So we didn’t follow that. The otters ended up being more successful as cute creatures that just stare at you. We knew the effect they have on people."
MR. RAY (voice of Bob Peterson) is the tune-loving teacher from the reef, who takes Nemo’s education—and that of his fellow undersea students—very seriously. Nobody enjoys Mr. Ray’s class more than Dory, who serves as his cheerful, albeit unnecessary, teacher’s assistant during their illuminating field trips.
MARLIN (voice of Albert Brooks) may have traveled across the ocean once, but that doesn’t mean he wants to do it again. So he doesn’t exactly jump at the opportunity to accompany Dory on a mission to the California coast to track down her family. Marlin, of course, knows how it feels to lose family, and it was Dory who helped him find Nemo not so long ago. The clownfish may not be funny, but he’s loyal—he realizes he has no choice but to pack up his nervous energy and skepticism and embark on yet another adventure, this time to help his friend. One year after his big overseas adventure, NEMO (voice of Hayden Rolence) is back to being a normal kid: going to school and living on the coral reef with his dad and their blue tang neighbour, Dory. His harrowing adventure abroad doesn’t seem to have sapped his spirit. In fact, when Dory remembers pieces of her past and longs to take off on an ambitious ocean trek to find her family, Nemo is the first to offer his help. He may be a young clownfish with a lucky fin, but Nemo wholeheartedly believes in Dory. After all, he understands what it’s like to be different.
JENNY (voice of Diane Keaton) and CHARLIE (voice of Eugene Levy) would do anything for their only child, Dory. They celebrate and protect her, striving to arm her with the skills she’ll need to navigate the world with a faulty memory. Jenny may appear cheerful and a little flighty—but she’s a protective mother and a smart role model. Charlie likes to joke around, but nothing is more important to him than teaching his memory-challenged daughter how to survive.
Not all of the characters will have traditional speaking roles, like Becky the ocean loon who crosses paths with Marlin:
"Loons are the seagulls of this movie."
Disney provided more info on this new character:
BECKY (voice of Torbin Bullock) is an offbeat, kooky loon who takes a liking to Marlin. Although she inspires little confidence—especially from a certain, skeptical clownfish—she might be smarter than she looks.
DORY (voice of Ellen DeGeneres) is a bright blue tang with a sunny personality. She suffers from short-term memory loss, which normally doesn’t upset her upbeat attitude—until she realizes she’s forgotten something big: her family. She’s found a new family in Marlin and Nemo, but she’s haunted by the belief that someone out there is looking for her. Dory may have trouble recalling exactly what—or who—she’s searching for, but she won’t give up until she uncovers her past and discovers something else along the way: self-acceptance.
DESTINY (voice of Kaitlin Olson) may be a clumsy swimmer, but she has a big heart. She has a big everything, actually—whale sharks are the biggest fish in the sea. Destiny resides in the Marine Life Institute, where one day an oddly familiar blue tang named Dory falls into her pool. Destiny is admittedly embarrassed by her obvious lack of grace, a product of poor eyesight, but Dory thinks she swims beautifully. And Dory is delighted to learn that her supersized friend speaks whale, too.
BAILEY (voice of Ty Burrell) is the Marine Life Institute’s resident beluga whale who is convinced his biological sonar skills are on the fritz. The good news—or bad news, depending on who you ask—is that doctors at the MLI can’t seem to find anything wrong with him. Bailey’s flair for the dramatic never ceases to push his neighbor’s buttons: whale shark Destiny can’t seem to get through to him, no matter how hard she tries. Maybe he’ll listen to new friend Dory, who seems to be full of crazy ideas.
HANK (voice of Ed O’Neill) is an octopus. Actually, he’s a “septopus”: he lost a tentacle—along with his sense of humor—somewhere along the way. But Hank is just as competent as his eight-armed peers. An accomplished escape artist with camouflaging capabilities to boot, Hank is the first to greet Dory when she finds herself in the Marine Life Institute. But make no mistake: he’s not looking for a friend. Hank is after one thing—a ticket on a transport truck to a cozy Cleveland facility where he’ll be able to enjoy a peaceful life of solitude.
For more on Finding Dory, be sure to check out some of our recent coverage below:
- New ‘Finding Dory’ Trailer Swims into Unfamiliar Territory
- ‘Finding Dory’ Posters Ask Audiences to Play Hide-and-Seek
- ‘Finding Dory’: New Teaser Shows Ellen DeGeneres’ Friendly Fish in Familiar Waters
- ‘Finding Dory’ Image Reveals Two New Friendly Fishes
- ‘Finding Dory’ Trailer Reveals the Highly Anticipated Pixar Sequel
- First ‘Finding Dory’ Poster Swims Online