There seems to be a lot of negative sentiment around the Internet regarding Pixar making sequels to all of their hit movies. The general opinion seems to be that Pixar’s great strength is its originality, so going back over material that it’s already covered is abandoning what brought it to the dance in favor of lazy coasting. That’s not a completely invalid argument, but the fact remains that millions of children all over the world are going to be ecstatic to hear that there’s a new Finding Nemo movie coming out anyway. Plus, if Andrew Stanton going back to his popular tropical fish property bothers you that much, Pixar seems to have you covered. According to a press release that officially announces their next project, if you don’t want to think of it as a second movie about Nemo and his dad, you can just think of it as the first movie about Dory.
That’s because Stanton’s new film with Pixar is officially titled Finding Dory, and it’s officially set to get a November 25, 2015 release. As you’ve probably deduced from the title, the film is bringing Ellen DeGeneres’ forgetful fish character back, and this time they’re pushing her to the forefront. The reason for this? In the press release Stanton explains, “She won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world—not to mention our team here at Pixar. 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.” Apparently the events in Finding Dory take place one year after Finding Nemo, though whether that’s one year in people time or one year in fish time isn’t clear.
Still not sold on watching a sequel to Finding Nemo? Maybe DeGeneres can convince you otherwise. When talking up this follow-up, she gushed, “The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is—it’s got a lot more Dory.”
There you have it: lots of heart and really funny. Is that enough to pique your interest, or does it just sound like the giddy celebrations of an actress getting ready to cash a big, fat check? Not that it really matters how you feel anyway. Come 2015 your kids are bound to be running around in circles in the living room yelling, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,” for hours on end either way. Those lovable little scamps. [Press Release]