Have you ever wondered what happened to Dory from Finding Nemo? Did she forget her finned-friends? Is she still lost and swimming? We’ll learn what happened to Dory on June 17, 2016 when Pixar’s Finding Dory finally makes a splash into theaters nationwide!
In an earlier post, I shared why it took 13 years for Finding Dory to happen. In this piece, Director Andrew Stanton and Producer Lindsey Collins give us some behind the scenes 411 about Dory and her own film.
9 Fun Finding Dory Facts from the creators of the film!
Director Andrew Stanton is photographed on February 4, 2016 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)
Ellen has been asking for a sequel for 13 years! What was her first reaction to the news?
Director Andrew Stanton called Ellen to tell her that they were going to make Finding Dory. Her response? “I didn’t really mean it.” Andrew knew that she was being sarcastic. And she was over the moon.
Dory’s character was written with Ellen in mind.
“I basically wrote with her in mind be cause I couldn’t figure out Dory. It wasn’t even a female Character at the time, and I just needed this character to have short-term memory loss and I didn’t know how to do it. Ellen had an original Show in the ’90s called “The Ellen Show” that was a Sit-Com. And it was on in the room while I was trying to deal with Writer’s Block and suddenly I heard her change a sentence 5 times in one sentence, and I went that’s it, that’s how you do it.
Then I got out of Writer’s Block and I couldn’t stop writing without her in my head. But I knew there’s no guarantee that we can get her and I’m really pinning myself in a corner if I do that but it ended up working so then I sent her the script, called her out of the blue, and I said, ‘Ellen, I wrote the part for you and if you don’t take it, I’m completely screwed, completely screwed.’ She didn’t know me, she was like, ‘well, then I better take it.’ – Andrew
Will we see Marlon and Nemo and other familiar faces?
“They’re in it all the way through. They get separated from her and are but are like 3 steps behind her throughout the whole film. We tried to make sure that we had at least explored putting in a lot of these Characters just because we love them too. And it’s like and these are Characters that you know, become your friends and so you want to see those guys again. So you kind of invite them to the party and after awhile, you’re like, Oh, I think we have to disinvite to the party if it’s not working in the Movie. – Lindsay
Who are Dory’s parents?
“Even before I knew the story, I was like I would love if Dory’s Parents were Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy. That would be my dream and it’s really nice to come off of a popular Movie because they said Yes right away. And it was just all I ever thought of was the Parents.” – Andrew
Dory has an emotional memory.
“I’ve learned about Goldfish that they have memory of 5 seconds, and I thought that was so hilarious, and I thought what if we come up with a Character like that, and I thought it was too good. And I gave it to maybe the Character that has to go with Harland through the journey and how to figure that out. And then slowly evolve because forgetting every 5 seconds can get so annoying, real fast. And slowly, it turned into her having an emotional memory. Let her not forget any of that stuff. Just have her not remember details. And of course, it’s kind of dramatic memory, like we picked the perfect time for when she doesn’t remember something so that it makes things work, you know. And so it — it’s kind of dramatically built but it’s OK cause it’s specific to a fish.” – Andrew
Dory is unique.
Dory’s not trying to represent anybody specifically in the real world. It’s specific to her. But the nice thing about that is what we’re trying to do with Finding Dory and say whatever your weird specific is it’s gonna be unique to you, nobody else, and it’s not necessarily a weakness, it’s probably a strength and that’s what we’re trying to do with her is to teach her how to look at herself differently and see it as a Super Power, not something to be ashamed of, or to be always apologizing for. – Andrew
Lindsey Collins talks Finding Dory
Was any medical research done for the film?
“We did a little bit of research but it, I think there is truth to the fact that if you talk to Alzheimer’s, people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s or something, there’s truth to the fact that often, not always but often, they do remember people that they love and they don’t remember their names. They don’t remember always, like how old they are, what the connection is to that person but remember the emotion. They remember that I know you and I love you and I don’t really know as a Sister, as a Husband, you know what I mean, So there’s truth to that. We felt better about it as we kind of made those rules for ourselves and to think, it is true that when something happens to you that has an emotional impact, you tend to remember that day pretty clearly.
There is something universal to the fact that our memories, and we are built to remember things that matter and forget things that don’t.” – Lindsey
” We did some therapeutic research be cause I felt she kind of had a parallel story to somebody that might be adopted cause she’s with new found family, that basically is all she can remember and knows. But she has Birth Parents that she doesn’t know and she kind of, traces them back.” – Andrew
Was it challenging, to turn Dory into a main character instead of being the sidekick?
The #1 bane of our existence. It was the biggest problem following us for most of the making of the Film. We had made her so good as a supporting role, I don’t think you can make a better supporting Character and suddenly, we’re asking her to be the main Character. I thought, Fine, the worst thing you can do is have a Main Character with short term memory loss. What I discovered, 2 years and later than I wanted to was that one of the reasons that you follow a Main Character is because you can see that they’re growing and that they’re changing and that they’re hitting things and overcoming them. – Andrew
Besides Dory, which, what new character is your favorite?
Well, it’s like asking who’s your favorite kid? There are days when I have a favorite. I think it’s a little bit of a pecking order simply because we spent a lot of time with Hank. He’s like your grumpy Uncle and with a heart of gold. And so I think we’ve really grown to like him a lot. Right behind that is Bailey and Dory, I mean Bailey and Destiny just because they’re so fun together. I think we get just enough of a taste from that you want a little bit more by the end of Finding Dory. And then there are some we haven’t introduced you to yet. – Andrew
