‘Blackfish’ gives Pixar second thoughts on ‘Finding Dory’ plot

“Finding Dory” may be undergoing a sea change as Pixar is taking a page from a little-seen whale documentary.

The Walt Disney-owned animation studio is hard at work on “Finding Dory,” a follow-up to the 2003 oceanic blockbuster “Finding Nemo.” But this spring, after Pixar executives viewed “Blackfish,” which raises sharp questions about the health of whales in captivity, the studio decided to make substantial changes to the “Dory” script.

According to Louie Psihoyos, who directed the Oscar-winning dolphin slaughter documentary “The Cove,” Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter and “Dory” director Andrew Stanton sat down with “Blackfish” director Gabriela Cowperthwaite in April after seeing her movie.

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“At the end of the [Pixar] movie, some marine mammals are sent to an aquatic park/rehab facility -- a SeaWorld-type environment,” explained Psihoyos, who heard about the meeting through a friend in the animal rights movement who lives near Pixar’s Emeryville, Calif., campus. “After seeing ‘Blackfish,’ they retooled the film so that the sea creatures now have the choice to leave that marine park. They told Gabriela they didn’t want to look back on this film in 50 years and have it be their ‘Song of the South,’” a reference to the 1946 Disney musical that was widely viewed to be racist.

Pixar declined to comment. Cowperthwaite confirmed she screened the film on the studio’s Northern California campus, but would only say that employees there were deeply “impacted” by her movie.

“These are obviously people who are dedicated to researching every topic they cover,” the filmmaker said. “Whether ‘Blackfish’ affects their creative decisions, I can’t say.”

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The plot for “Finding Dory,” set for release in November 2015, is not yet locked. At Pixar, as at many other animation studios, filmmakers often make changes to stories up until the final months before release.

However, the story will revolve around an amnesiac blue fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres who doesn’t know who raised her. Dory was a key character in “Finding Nemo,” a box office hit that grossed $921.7 million worldwide and won the Oscar for animated feature.

Although Pixar films are intended for family audiences, it’s not unusual for them to examine social or political issues -- the Lasseter-directed “Cars 2" included a subplot about alternative fuel; Stanton’s “WALL-E” takes place on a deserted, trash-strewn future Earth.

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“Blackfish” is a look into what caused a killer whale to fatally attack SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. The movie began its limited theatrical release in mid-July and has grossed around $700,000. The documentary will likely be wider seen when it debuts on CNN on Oct. 24.

The well-reviewed movie has raised the ire of SeaWorld. Days before the film hit theaters, the company sent a letter to film critics addressing what it claims are inaccuracies in the movie. In recent weeks, the heat on the park chain has increased as two separate videos depicting animals stranded outside of SeaWorld pools have gone viral.

1/23

The first of the two titles that make James Cameron the undisputed boss of the billion-dollar club, “Avatar” came out in 2009 and broke records worldwide.  (20th Century Fox)

2/23

Rumored to be wildly over budget and expected to sink at the box office, Cameron’s “Titanic” turned into a juggernaut, taking top dollar and top prizes at the Oscars.  (Paramount Pictures)

3/23

Although all the “Star Wars” films have been global hits, “The Force Awakens” is only the second film in the long-running franchise to join the billion-dollar club.

  (Film Frame / Associated Press)

4/23

The dinosaurs-run-amok sequel starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard -- and velociraptors and other dinos -- is now the No. 2 all-time film at the box office, collecting its billion faster than any other film, with some help from Chinese moviegoers as well.

Here are the other members of the coveted $1-billion club:

  (Universal Pictures)

5/23

In just 17 days of release, the latest film in the “Fast and Furious” franchise became the fastest film to cross the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office.

  (Universal Pictures)

6/23

“The Avengers” assembled to join the billion-dollar box-office club. The summer smash united the Marvel heroes of blockbusters past. The combination proved super at the box office.  (Marvel)

7/23

The Marvel super-sequel has earned more than $1 billion at the global box office, making it the third Marvel Studios film to reach that milestone.

  (Marvel / TNS)

8/23

The final installment of the adventures of the boy wizard made magic.  (Jaap Buitendijk / Warner Bros.)

9/23

The multiple Oscar-winning “Frozen” crossed the $1-billion benchmark in its 14th weekend in wide release, according to Disney. It ranks as the highest-grossing animated non-sequel film, not adjusting for inflation.  (Disney)

10/23

“Iron Man 3" crossed the $1-billion milestone after 23 days at the global box office, according to distributor Walt Disney Studios. The 3-D film, directed by Shane Black and starring Robert Downey Jr., cost Disney about $200 million to produce.   (Marvel)

11/23

The “Despicable Me” spin-off “Minions” is only the third animated movie to cross the billion-dollar mark.

  (Illumination Entertainment / AP)

12/23

Audiences turned out big for the first two “Transformers” movies in 2007 and 2009, but went supernova for the third iteration in 2011.  (Paramount Pictures)

13/23

Like its “Transformers” cousins, the first two installments of director Peter Jackson’s “LOTR” trilogy were enormous hits, but the third time was the charm for entry into the billion-dollar box-office club.  (Pierre Vinet / New Line Productions)

14/23

“Skyfall,” the 23rd installment in the massive James Bond movie franchise, has grossed just over $304 million in the U.S., and just over $804 million abroad, making it the most successful Bond movie ever and the highest-grossing movie of all time in Britain.  (Sony Pictures)

15/23

Even with a new cast of humans, the robots did it again as “Transformers: Age of Extinction” became the second film in the franchise to pass the $1-billion mark.   (Industrial Light & Magic)

16/23

Christopher Nolan’s final installment in his Batman film trilogy was also the highest-grossing at the worldwide box office. The film, starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader and Anne Hathaway as slinky Selina Kyle, cost an estimated $250 million.  (Warner Bros.)

17/23

More than a decade passed between parts 2 and 3 of the continuing CGI adventures of Woody and Buzz, in the Pixar series started by John Lasseter in 1995. It was also the only one Lasseter didn’t direct.  (Pixar / Disney)

18/23

The second installment in producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s fabulously successful “Pirates” series beat its three brothers domestically and abroad when it came out in 2006, opening a dead man’s chest of gold for star Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski.  (Peter Mountain / Walt Disney Pictures)

19/23

Penelope Cruz came aboard as Capt. Jack Sparrow’s enamorata, and “Chicago” director Rob Marshall took the helm, in this fourth installment of the successful series. Critics hated it, but audiences made it the No. 3 movie of 2011 -- after “Harry Potter” and “Transformers” films.  (Peter Mountain / Disney)

20/23

Like “Jaws,” the 1977 original created a new template for the wide, national releases that define the modern-day blockbuster. But it was this fourth movie in the long-running series that went hyperspace.  (Keith Hamshere / Lucasfilm Ltd)

21/23

Tim Burton’s 2010 retelling of the fairy tale classic makes Johnny Depp the only billion-dollar box-office club acting three-peater.  (Disney Enterprises)

22/23

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” joins its franchise kin “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in the $1-billion movie club, inching over the limit in its 11th week of release.  (James Fisher / Warner Bros)

23/23

Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine returned, and Heath Ledger (pictured) joined in, to topline this 2008 sequel to “Batman Begins.”  (Warner Bros.)

Times staff writer Rebecca Keegan contributed to this report.

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