Sequels always represent a challenge, but sequels to some of the most beloved movies of all time are in a league all their own. Finding Dory has a serious hurdle to get over; not only does Pixar have to match the quality of Finding Nemo, but it had to cast voice actors who could work well with comedy icon Ellen DeGeneres. However, it turns out that the best resource for the film’s casting department came in the form of Ellen’s beloved talk show.
During a recent interview with EW, Finding Dory producer Lindsey Collins explained that casting the upcoming animated sequel only required YouTube and a cursory knowledge of The Ellen DeGeneres Show:
Sometimes casting can be the hardest thing because the editors have to find obscure clips from TV shows and try to cut them together with other characters to see what they would sound like. But because it’s Ellen, we’d be like, ‘Well, what does she sound like with Ty Burrell? I’m sure she’s interviewed him five times.
That’s the ultimate beauty of Finding Dory: its central comedic lead also happens to have a wildly popular talk show. Ellen has interviewed just about every major player within the Hollywood landscape, so Pixar had a seemingly endless library of clips to comb through for research. If they wanted to know what Ellen sounded like speaking with Modern Family’s Ty Burrell, all they had to do was search for some interviews on YouTube, and then they would instantly have an understanding of their chemistry and rapport.
This ultimately proved endlessly helpful because Finding Dory features a newly bolstered cast featuring the aforementioned Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy, and even Diane Keaton. Luckily, due to the popularity of Finding Nemo, all of these major celebrities ultimately said yes to took part in Finding Dory.
In stark contrast to this method, if two actors have rarely interacted before, then a film’s casting department will have to cut together clips from their various works in order to get a sense of how they could potentially work together. It’s more time consuming, and considerably less organic of a process.
We won’t know for sure if Pixar nailed its casting of Finding Dory until the movie hits theaters, but be sure to check out the trailer for the upcoming sequel below:
It more or less seems like they got it right. Are you excited for Finding Dory to finally hit theaters? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
As always, we will bring you any and all relevant information pertaining to the upcoming release of Finding Dory. The long-awaited sequel will swim its way into theaters on June 16; stay tuned for more details!
