Where Did ‘Finding Nemo’ Leave Off? A Refresher Ahead Of The ‘Finding Dory’ Release

The highly anticipated sequel to Disney/Pixar’s 2003 hit “Finding Nemo” is just days away from release in theaters everywhere. The film follows Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a beloved character from the original film, on her quest to find her long lost family.

Fans were introduced to Disney/Pixar’s forgetful blue tang fish when she joined Marlin (Albert Brooks) in a journey across the ocean to search for Nemo (Alexander Gould). The elder clown fish was apprehensive about accepting Dory’s help, due to her tendency to be a bit chatty and her struggle with short-term memory loss. The pair teamed up and encountered several hurdles along the way, including a pack of hungry sharks, an elusive angler fish and a giant humpback whale. With each incident, Marlin grew a bit more annoyed by Dory and her oblivious nature. But he changed his tune when he learned that what she lacks in memory, she makes up for with her ability to read — something he couldn’t do.

The pair somehow managed to defy the odds and made it to Australia, where Nemo had been placed in a tank in a dentist’s office. Once there, they got some help from a feathered friend, Nigel the Pelican. He allowed them to sit in his beak and flew up to the window where Nemo was being held. Once there, Marlin spotted Nemo sitting in a plastic bag, which was popped by a sharp dentist tool. Discouraged and certain that his son was dead, Marlin decided to retreat. He separated from Dory and went for home. Meanwhile, with the help of his new tank mates, Nemo managed to get back in the ocean. Dory eventually found herself in Nemo’s company and shockingly remembered her and Marlin’s mission. She shared the news with the young clown fish and the pair headed for home. Along the way they found Marlin, who was elated to have his son back.

“Finding Dory” will feature many fan-favorite characters from the first film, and many of the characters are being voiced by the same actors who brought them to life more than a decade ago. But Disney/Pixar was forced to recast a few of its characters due to age. Gould, who voiced Nemo in the original animated film, has been replaced by Hayden Rolence. The young actor opened up Wednesday about the switch to the Washington Times. He told the publication that he did his best to sound like Gould did in the hopes that it would make the switch less obvious to fans.

“I mainly tried to make my voice sound like Alexander’s voice,” he said. “Because I thought he was such a good person to play Nemo.”

Nemo isn’t the only character with a new voice actor. Squirt, the young sea turtle from “Finding Nemo,” will not be voiced by Nicholas Bird, who is now 22. Instead Bennett Dammann will be lending his young voice to the character. Squirts father, Crush, is still voiced by Andrew Stanton in the “Finding Nemo” followup film.

“Finding Dory” also introduces some new characters. Ty Burrell and Kaitlin Olson have been added to the “Finding Dory” cast, playing Bailey and Destiny respectively. Bailey is a snub-nosed beluga whale while Destiny is said to be a whale shark. Dory will encounter both characters inside the Marine Biology Institute of California, where much of “Finding Dory” takes place. Pixar introduced the characters on their Facebook page, sharing a photo of both with fans.

“Finding Dory” hits theaters June 17.