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“
I
t’s amazing to me that Dory
has resonated with people so
much,” says Ellen DeGeneres,
who lends her voice to the funny regal
tang fish in the latest Disney animated
blockbuster. “Dory was such a big part of
Finding Nemo
that it makes sense that
people might wonder about her journey.
We want to see how it worked out for her:
are Marlin and Nemo her
family now? Does she have
a family and will she ever
remember them?”
Of course, these days
the comedienne is probably
better known for
The Ellen
DeGeneres Show
, which
went to air a few months
after
Finding Nemo
and has
grown into a hugely popular
chatshow that is broadcast
around the world.
However, DeGeneres
never gave up on the idea
of reprising the role, so she
was delighted when much of the old team
reunited for the hit sequel
Finding Dory
.
“I was campaigning for a sequel to
Finding Nemo
for 13 years,” she jokes,
“But I never imagined it would be
Finding
Dory
. So that was the real surprise when I
finally got the call.”
Finding Dory
finds the titular character
living happily in the reef with Marlin and
Nemo about a year after their life-changing
adventure. However, when Dory suddenly
remembers that she has a family out
there who may actually be looking for
her, she recruits Marlin and Nemo for a
life-changing adventure across the ocean
to California’s prestigious Marine Life
Institute, a rehabilitation centre/aquarium.
The film reunited
DeGeneres and Albert
Brooks as Marlin with
Finding Nemo
director
Andrew Stanton, who
helms the sequel with
Angus MacLane (
Toy Story
of Terror!
). New additions
to the cast include
Modern
Family
stars Ed O’Neill and
Ty Burrell, and Eugene Levy
and Diane Keaton as Dory’s
parents.
The new story features
a deeper side of the ever-
optimistic fish, challenging
DeGeneres to showcase a wide range
of emotion. “Doing an animated film
is really fun,” she says. “But it can be
difficult because every emotion has to
come from your voice. You can’t pretend
to cry, because that just sounds like you’re
pretending to cry. So it’s all real – real
conversations, real emotion.
“It’s a story about family,”
DeGeneres continues. “It’s
about finding the courage to do
something she’s always wanted to
do—even if she couldn’t remember she
wanted to do it.”
It’s about
finding the
courage to
do something
... even if
she couldn’t
remember she
wanted to do it.
Also on board for
Finding
Dory
is the chart-topping singer-
songwriter Sia, who performs
the film’s end-credit song
Unforgettable
.
The Australian star agreed
to sing the song when the voice
of Dory herself – DeGeneres –
phoned her personally. "Dory’s
story makes me teary,” says Sia.
“When Ellen asked me, I couldn’t
refuse!”
Unforgettable
is a standard
from the great American
songbook and was one of Nat
King Cole’s signature songs.
However, just as Robbie
Williams did with
Beyond The
Sea
on
Finding Nemo
, co-director
Andrew Stanton believes the
singer offers a fresh new take on
the beloved song.
“Sia captures the soulful truth
of the Nat King Cole classic and
makes it all her own,” he says.
“They are a perfect complement
to one another.”
•
Finding Dory
is out on
DVD & BD
Nov 16
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