It's been hit-and-miss territory thus far when it comes to Pixar sequels. On one hand, there are the two Toy Story sequels, both of which carry on the studio's lineage of heady, adult thematic ideas that have given new classics like WALL-E, Ratatouille, Up, The Incredibles, and, of course, the original Toy Story. Similar fascination can be found in their lesser yet still quite strong features, from Inside Out and A Bug's Life to Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc., but are not found in the two most recent sequels from the studio, Monsters University and Cars 2; for what it's worth, the original Cars wasn't particularly notable for much more than vocal turns from George Carlin and Paul Newman.


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Image via Disney

So, the possibility of Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo, being a dud is almost exactly 50/50. The promising first trailer has me on the side of this being more of a Toy Story situation, and the latest teaser for the film, which focuses on Ellen DeGeneres' titular fish, also tips me in the direction that Finding Dory will end up being far more inventive than Cars 2 and a bit more genuinely funny than Monsters University. We won't know for sure until this summer - June 17th, to be exact - where this will all settle but, in the meantime, you can check out the new teaser trailer right below:


Here's what we found out about the sequel at D23 last August:

DORY DIVES IN — Ellen DeGeneres (“The Ellen DeGeneres Show”), the voice of everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, took a dip with D23 EXPO attendees this afternoon, celebrating Disney·Pixar’s upcoming film “Finding Dory.”

 

Joining DeGeneres on stage this afternoon were Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family”), who lends his voice to Hank, a cantankerous octopus; Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”), the voice of Bailey, a misguided beluga whale; and Kaitlin Olson (“Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), who voices Destiny, a kind-hearted whale shark. Oscar®-winning director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL•E”), co-director Angus MacLane and producer Lindsey Collins (co-producer “WALL•E”) offered new details of the all-new story, which reunites Dory with friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale? Also featuring the voices of Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy, Disney·Pixar’s “Finding Dory” swims into theaters June 17, 2016.

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Image via Pixar

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Image via EW