Dory

Dory is a fictional blue tang and a major character of the American animated film series Finding Nemo. She suffers from the disability short-term memory-loss, which often causes frustration to Marlin, especially while his son Nemo is in danger. However, her childlike optimism and ability to communicate different languages from both humans and whales have helped both her and Marlin advance their quest to find Nemo. The character is voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, and by Jennifer Hale in tie-in media from video games to theme park attractions. Various merchandise of the character have also been produced, including action figures and toys produced for McDonald's Happy Meals. Production history Casting Dory was initially supposed to be a male character during the pre-production of the film. Andrew Stanton admits to struggling with a writing block upon the character. That was until he overheard his wife watching an episode of the sitcom Ellen. Stanton was impressed with Ellen DeGeneres' ability to speak many different subjects within a few minutes, thus leading to the casting of DeGeneres. Upon the production of Finding Nemo, Ellen DeGeneres brought concerns upon the producers of the film due to the comedian potentially lacking the ability to cue dramatic lines and performances. Upon the first take of Dory's speech for Marlin to not leave her, Ellen's first trial takes was deemed so emotionally rich that the producers would keep said take in the film. DeGeneres would credit Stanton for producing the character with her personality in mind, particularly for her motto 'Just keep swimming', which is a philosophy that DeGeneres considers core to her own character, particularly when her sitcom Ellen was cancelled by ABC.