Thirteen years after her first outing, Dory, Finding Nemo’s absent-minded royal blue tang, is back in Finding Dory. She’s joined in her new adventure by a shoal’s worth of new characters, freshly released from the Pixar-quarium. Here they are in all their Omega-3 glory.
Dory (Ellen DeGeneres)
The star of the show this time, we meet the Ellen DeGeneres-voiced blue tang a year after the end of Finding Nemo troubled by memories of her mum and dad. Once she’s figured out what memories are, she sets off on an intrepid subsea quest to find… erm, who was it again?
Jenny (Diane Keaton) and Charlie (Eugene Levy)
Oh yes! These guys: mum and dad. Jenny (Diane Keaton) and Charlie (Eugene Levy) are Dory’s fretful parents – presumably shown partly in flashback – who Dory will be trying to relocate. Director Andrew Stanton tells USA Today: “Both parents have a certain amount of absentmindedness, there’s a flavour of that. Eugene brings a nerdy, dorky, loveable quality and there’s a flightiness, almost an Annie Hall 'la-di-da' quality to Diane that you just want to believe was part of Dory’s DNA." Think Annie Hall-ibut.
Nemo (Hayden Rolence) and Marlin (Albert Brooks)
Nemo may have a subtly different voice (Hayden Rolence is voicing him this time instead of Alexander Gould) but he’s lost none of his can-do spirit. Back to being reef neighbours with Dory, and diligently heading to school each day, Nemo is the first to throw a fin up to help Dory in her quest. Expect this to go down badly with his dad, Marlin.
Hank (Ed O’Neill)
Having eight tentacles comes in handy – okay, tentacly – when you’re a top escapologist like Hank. Unfortunately, Hank only has seven tentacles due to an earlier mishap, which may explain his cranky nature. That, and the fact that he’s voiced by grumpy Al Bundy himself, Ed O’Neill. We’ll meet him in the Marine Life Institute, where Dory finds herself imprisoned. Will he help her escape? Not gladly.
Destiny (Kaitlin Olson)
Whale sharks are awesome. Destiny is no exception, although she’s a little insecure about her swimming style. "Destiny is admittedly embarrassed by her obvious lack of grace,” runs the synopsis, “[which is] a product of poor eyesight, but Dory thinks she swims beautifully.” Dory also speaks fluent whale, which helps make another friend and ally at the Marine Life Institute.
Bailey (Ty Burrell)
Another of the Marine Life Institute’s residents, Bailey is a big floaty beluga whale with faulty sonar. Or so it thinks. The staff at the institute - Finding Dory’s equivalent of Sunnyside Daycare? - can’t find anything wrong with her. "Bailey’s flair for the dramatic never ceases to push his neighbour’s buttons,” explains the synopsis. "Destiny can’t seem to get through to him, no matter how hard she tries. Maybe he’ll listen to new friend Dory, who seems to be full of crazy ideas."
Fluke (Idris Elba) and Rudder (Dominic West)
An unlikely team-up of Stringer Bell and Jimmy McNulty, Fluke (Idris Elba) and Rudder (Dominic West) are a pair of idle sea lions who will neither be supplying re-ups on reef corners or mumbling “shiit” at crime scenes. Instead we find them at the Marine Life Institute, sunbathing on a rock and enjoying some well-earned downtime. Are they keen to get involved in Dory’s helter-skelter schemes? You guessed it.
Becky (Torbin Bullock)
Becky is an aquatic bird known as a loon. She’s friends with Marlin and is a flapper in every sense. According to the official spiel: “She might be smarter than she looks”. Phew.
Mr. Ray (Bob Peterson)
Bob Peterson, the voice of Dug in Up, is the voice of a musical fish called Mr. Ray in Finding Dory. He's the teacher of former truant Nemo and soon-to-be-truant Dory. “[He] takes Nemo’s education — and that of his fellow undersea students — very seriously. Nobody enjoys Mr. Ray’s class more than Dory, who serves as his cheerful, albeit unnecessary, teacher’s assistant during their illuminating field trips."
Otters
Rivalling Toy Story’s aliens, Wall·E and Boo from Monsters, Inc. as the cutest characters in the Pixarverse, these little fellas are weapons-grade adorable. We haven’t got the foggiest idea how they fit into the story but expect it to involve burrowing.
Crush (Andrew Stanton) and Squirt (Bennett Dammann)
Taking a break from directorial duties, Andrew Stanton teams up with newcomer Bennett Dammann to voice a pair of helpful turtles, Crush and Squirt. Neither teenage nor mutant, these guys have been cruising the oceans for many decades. With that accrued wisdom, expect them to be handy allies for Dory, Nemo and co during their adventures. Sea-cowabunga!
Finding Dory hits UK cinemas on July 29. Head here for more on the movie and here for a closer look at its characters in the form of four colourful posters.