Video: D23 Attendees Go Behind-The-Scenes for the Tech and Story of the Upcoming Pixar Animation Studios Short Film, "Loving Dory"

A special panel at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event took attendees behind the scenes for a sneak peek at the tech and story of Pixar's upcoming theatrical short film, Loving Dory.

What's Happening:

• Fans attending D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event were treated to a special presentation highlighting one of Pixar's newest projects, a theatrical short film set in the Finding Nemo universe, Loving Dory.
• Devotees may recall that Dory got her own standalone sequel back in 2016, following the original film's show-stealing character as she set out to find her family.
• Well, now we're revisiting the character again as she falls in love with a plastic bag that she mistakes for a Jellyfish.
• Loving Dory Director Lou Hamou-Lhadj (who also directed an episode of Win Or Lose) took the Animation Stage at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, and performed his original story pitch for the short film, which you can see in our video below.
• Please note, completed work from the short was featured in the presentation but was not allowed to be filmed - so there is a cut in the middle of the presentation.

• Along with the story elements (and the bit of a cliffhanger that we were left on), Hamou-Lhadj also shared that short films at Pixar Animation Studios - along with being wildly entertaining and classic stories - have also been a bit of a technological proving ground.
• Loving Dory will be no different, implementing a new animation system that is demonstrated in the presentation above, wherein an animator can move their mouse around and have the character follow the motion and move in new, easier ways. All while still being able to adjust as necessary in a more traditional way that has been used at the studio for decades.
• The system generates the same curves an animator would build by hand, so everything stays tweakable, and crucially, it considers the performance as the camera sees it, always working backward from the final shot. 
• That said, our director shares that this is not a system meant for final animation, but it talks directly to Pixar's existing animation system, letting the team keep as much or as little of the newly puppeteered performance as they want.
• The system was also shown in a pre-visualization scenario featuring the bag, puppeteered in a way that suggested the jellyfish-like movement.
• While all the technical fun was revealed, fans were chomping at the bit to know the answer to one big question.
• Hamou-Lhadj was happy to reveal that the original voice cast will return - so without naming names that sounds like Ellen DeGeneres will again be voicing our favorite Blue Tang, Dory. This was also seemingly confirmed earlier this year, when Ellen shared an image of herself recording something and captioning the photo "Dory is alive and well."
• Hamou-Lhadj also shared that Thomas Newman is returning to the franchise to executive produce the score with composer Nami Melumad, who previously worked on Dream Productions. Jazz vocalist Catherine Russell also sings two new songs for the short, one of which was heard by those in attendance at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
• No release date was officially revealed, but we wouldn't be surprised if the new theatrical short film arrives in theaters with Gatto next spring.