Another win for Disney. Finding Dory is a humorous, profound and charming animation that does not leave behind yet another inspirational message. This wonderfully colorful movie takes us into the insightful world of Dory and how she came to be lost. As you're taken into this unforgettable adventure, you'll laugh and perhaps even cry a little, but overall you'll take home with you a message and a fresh new experience.

The press conference, which took place in Los Angeles, Calif. commenced with the answer to the big question, why thirteen years later? Director Andrew Stanton explained, “The real truth is that I wasn't expecting to ever go back. Four years with fish is a long time to work on a movie.” Stanton added that he thought Nemo was a closed circuit, but after watching the movie again after a few years he walked out thinking about Dory and how her story was incomplete. Hence, Finding Dory.

On creating a theme for the film Stanton elaborated. “I always knew that the film was going to be about her accepting herself… The premise ultimately came with is that you're not at peace until you can truly accept who you are. I think she was always gonna be unsettled until she experienced what it was like to succeed on her own completely.” Producer Lindsey Collins added, “We also felt as though she needed to kind of grant herself the same grace that she feels like she grants everybody else.” Dory always apologizes for herself. “Always her first sentence is ‘I'm sorry I suffer from short-term memory loss’ and she never expects anybody to apologize for themselves.” We see her succeed on her own. Though not without the help of a very special (and comical) character, Sigourney Weaver. On making that choice Andrew responded, “She does all these narrations for nature… so I thought how funny would that be.” Lindsey confessed it began as a joke, but “we called Sigourney and Andrew was like ‘these kids are gonna know your name in a way nobody knows your name.’” 

The voices behind the famous sea characters told us about finding their “inner fish”. Ty Burrell (from Modern Family) who voices Bailey -a beluga whale who struggles with his sonar capabilities- joked “I lost 75 pounds for this role.” He admitted, “I actually kinda overthought preparing for this a little bit. I actually came in [to the studio] with a voice… and Andrew very very very politely was like ‘that’s great. Now let’s do the whole film in your voice.” The other whale, who is lives right next to Bailey is Destiny. This whale shark is voiced by Kaitlin Olson, who along with Ty assures us their whale relationship is purely “friendship.” Olson said, “They really are very close but they annoy the hell out of each other.” Burrell added “somehow friendship can make you complete” because what one doesn't have the other one does and they “take care of each other.”          

Returning star Nemo is voiced by a Hayden Rolence, who told us he was already a fan of Finding Nemo before he found out he was considered for the part. “I just really loved the role of Nemo… but I was sort of a little bit nervous at first because he’s already a character and I was taking over this character that everybody loves and I wanted to do it justice.”

Ellen DeGeneres who is back as Dory talked about her ongoing (and funny) campaign on bringing Dory back to the big screen for Finding Nemo sequel. She said “The film was an iconic film. It won an academy award. I was a small part of it. I wasn't campaigning to have a sequel for Dory, I was just campaigning to have sequel to a great movie and then when it didn't happen for the first, oh five or six years I decided to just make a joke of it… And then the joke became a reality.” A reality that just with its story and its valuable themes resonates with everyone, especially with Ellen’s own philosophy, which is really to accept one another despite our differences. She told us she would love to have every trait that Dory has and in fact “I try to have as many traits as she has as far as optimism and perseverance and non-judgement and not having any resentment and holding on to anger. She doesn't feel like a victim. I think that’s why she's such a lovable character that Andrew created… She just thinks everything is possible and she never for a second thinks that anything’s wrong with anybody else or herself. She just keeps swimming.”

Finding Dory delves into Dory’s background. In comparison to Finding Nemo, where what could have been looked at as a tragedy in terms of short-term memory loss is in fact a strength. As Ellen points out, “I actually don't think it is tragic. I think that you can look at it that way but as you see in the film now what appears to be a disability is, you know her strength and it turns into ‘what would Dory do?’ So maybe what appears to be a disability is actually something that everybody else can look at in another way and say, actually that’s a different way of thinking and it’s a good way of thinking. So I love that message in it that something that seems to be a handicap is something you can use as a strength.” Dory is on a path to discover where she came from. “I understand what a sense of belonging is. I understand when you wanna say why am I who I am. Where did I come from” and that is something we can all relate to, said DeGeneres.

Dory’s journey brings her face-to-face with new characters like sea lions Rudder and Fluke (voiced by Dominic West and Idris Elba) and Hank the octopus (Ed O’Neill), as well as Dory’s parents Jenny (Diane Keaton) and Charlie (Eugene Levy). Eugene shared that one of “the greatest storylines have to do with family” and “is evident in this film” not limiting this animation to a specific audience.

Finding Dory opens in theaters Friday, June 17th.