Pixar’s New Short ‘Loving Dory’ Gets Theatrical Debut

Pixar’s theatrical – Pixar revealed its new “Finding Nemo”/“Finding Dory” theatrical short, “Loving Dory,” at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Set around Dory’s unexpected bond with a plastic bag, the short is produced by Mary Alice Drumm and directed by Lou Hamou

Pixar didn’t just bring a new idea to the Annecy International Animation Film Festival—it brought Dory back into the theatrical spotlight.

During the presentation at the Annecy event, the studio announced a new theatrical short film set in the world of “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory,” titled “Loving Dory.” The short is produced by Mary Alice Drumm and directed by Lou Hamou-Lhadj, and both were on hand to introduce it to the audience.

“This is the first Pixar theatrical short in quite some time. ” the filmmakers’ framing made clear. and the history behind that gap still lingers. “Burrow” was meant to be ahead of exhibitions of “Soul” before the pandemic put an end to that. In the last few years, most short-form Pixar content has debuted on Disney+ or on platforms like YouTube.

“Loving Dory” is Pixar’s return to the theatrical shorts of old, bringing back characters audiences already know by heart.

Only one section of the short was shown—and it was mostly finished—but what played for the crowd was enough to sketch a full emotional arc. The story begins with Dory dropping Nemo off at school, only for Dory to get stuck in some sea anemone. She’s soon “rescued” by what she believes is a jellyfish. What we know to be a plastic bag appears instead—dropped by a child at the ocean’s surface right at the start of the short.

From there, Dory being Dory takes over. She falls in love with the plastic bag. and much of the short is built around their “relationship” as they cruise around the ocean together. The scenes lean into romantic comedy as the pair share moments that feel straight out of a swoony montage—complete with a hilarious beat where Dory introduces the bag to her friends as her new boyfriend. Mr. Ray and Nemo look on, quizzically.

The audience also got a sense of how Pixar is aiming for charm at the shot level. The montage of them doing things together was described as incredibly charming. with a vibe reminiscent of a similar moment from “WALL•E”—the one where WALL•E and EVE play at a date-like “togetherness. ” while EVE is cocooned and waiting to return to the spaceship.

A final slice of the nearly finished work offered a punchline that also felt like a gut-check. In the rough sequence, Dory takes the bag somewhere—then loses him. Eventually, she finds him with another fish.

“Debbie!” Dory exclaims.

The presentation didn’t confirm Debbie’s involvement directly, but the signal was hard to miss: Ellen DeGeneres has recently started talking about the short. The implication is clear—yes, she is returning to voice the hapless Dory.

Pixar also used the screening to show how the short is being made, not just what it’s about. The filmmakers discussed technical systems and what they’re testing—something that has been a hallmark of Pixar theatrical shorts in the past. They pointed to “For the Birds!?” and “WALL•E,” then talked about what’s being done differently now with “Lifted!”.

Hamou-Lhadj discussed a newly designed system for “puppeteering” characters in rough form. The approach is meant to stage performances for rough layout before final animation arrives. so the team can better understand placement in a scene and the blocking of characters. Since it’s somewhat automated. Hamou-Lhadj said it needs layers of refinement before finished animation—but for getting a sense of potential shots. it proved invaluable and extremely timesaving.

The near-finished animation they showed also had a dreamy, distorted feel. It’s the kind of look that recalls “Toy Story 4. ” where particles in the water. diffusion. layers of sunlight and shadow. and bokeh all come together. The visuals add up to a romance-in-the-air tone. even when the romance is between a memory-plagued fish and a plastic bag that used to hold sunscreen.

“Loving Dory” hasn’t officially been attached to any other theatrical project yet. but the filmmakers’ presentation left little doubt about the emotional target: swooning. If Pixar can land that blend of gag-heavy storytelling and a slightly melancholic. evocative look. the return to theatrical shorts can’t come soon enough.

Pixar Loving Dory Finding Nemo Finding Dory Annecy International Animation Film Festival Mary Alice Drumm Lou Hamou-Lhadj Ellen DeGeneres theatrical short animated film Disney+