Whether you agree or disagree with the wisdom of creating a sequel to Finding Nemo, the film is happening, and now it has an official title.  Disney-Pixar has announced that the new film will be entitled Finding Dory, and will be released on November 25, 2015.  As the title implies, the new movie will have a lot more of the forgetful fish (Ellen DeGeneres), and according to director Andrew Stanton, “One thing we couldn’t stop thinking about was why she was all alone in the ocean on the day she met Marlin. In Finding Dory, she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way.”  The new movie will take place one year after the events of the first movie, and will bring back not only Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo, but also the Tank Gang as well as other characters.  The story will also take place partially along the California coastline.

Going back and watching Finding Nemo last year, I fell in love with Dory all over again, and her line, “When I’m with you, I’m home,” makes me tear up every time.  Although Pixar recently went on a streak of sequels and prequels (Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and Monsters University), Finding Dory will be their first sequel after the original features The Good Dinosaur (May 30, 2014) and the Untitled Movie That Takes You Inside the Mind (June 19, 2015).  I also wouldn’t be surprised if Pixar ultimately pushes Finding Dory behind Lee Unkrich‘s Untitled Dia de los Muertos movie, which is currently slated for 2016.  Hit the jump for the press release. [Update: We've updated the article with a video of DeGeneres announcing the film.]

This summer will see the return of some of the most famous characters from Pixar’s catalogue with the prequel Monsters University, but in a few years the studio is poised to revive its most popular film yet: Finding Nemo.  We learned last July that Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton had signed on to helm Finding Nemo 2 as the follow-up to his infamous live-action debut John Carter (it’s really a good movie!), and shortly thereafter Ellen Degeneres signed on to reprise the character of Dory.  Now, six months later, the other major piece of the puzzle has fallen into place as Albert Brooks has finally closed his deal to return.  Hit the jump for more, including the possibility of another live-action film from Stanton.

For better or worse, John Carter will go down as one of the most talked-about films of 2012.  The sci-fi epic was an ambitious undertaking in its conceit—a feature film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1912 novel has eluded a multitude of filmmakers over the years—but the $250 million film served as the live-action directorial debut of Pixar’s Andrew Stanton.  The co-writer/director had plenty of clout in the animation world with smashing box office and critical successes like Finding Nemo and Wall-E under his belt, but John Carter was an absolutely massive live-action undertaking to cut his teeth on.

As we well know, the film was not the franchise-starter that Disney was hoping for.  Reviews were mixed, but the pic opened to a dismal $30 million and went on to nab a domestic total of just $73 million through its entire U.S. run. With some distance from the pic’s opening and reception, Stanton recently sat down to candidly reflect on the experience and talk about returning to Pixar for a Finding Nemo sequel.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Ellen DeGeneres will just keep swimming as she’s set to reprise her voice acting role as the forgetful fish Dory in Andrew Stanton‘s Finding Nemo 2.  We reported last month that Pixar’s highest-grossing film was getting a sequel, although we won’t be seeing it until 2016.  According to THR, “DeGeneres has not been quiet about her desire to see a Nemo sequel come to fruition, making multiple mentions on her popular syndicated talk show.”  DeGeneres is the first piece of casting for Nemo 2, and while the first film has lots of popular characters, I’m wondering if Pixar is trying to make sure they can lock down Albert Brooks to reprise his role as Marlin.  No plot details are known about the sequel, and Victoria Strouse (October Road) is currently working on the script.

The first Finding Nemo has received a 3D post-conversion, and will arrive in theaters on September 14th.

Writer/director Andrew Stanton has been behind some of the very best films in Pixar’s repertoire (and that’s saying something).  He co-wrote Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and Monsters Inc., and he wrote and directed the magnificent one-two punch of Finding Nemo and Wall-E.  Stanton made his live-action debut earlier this year with the criminally underseen sci-fi epic John Carter, and now it looks like he’ll be returning to Pixar for his next feature, Finding Nemo 2.  Hit the jump for more.