As the golden era of Pixar gives way to the new, even more profitable silver era of golden-era sequels, we can at least give thanks for the return of the originals’ creative forces. Swimming quickly toward fruition is Finding Nemo 2 — a property that has earned everything from heated anticipation to anguished “Why?”s — making headway with the latest casting announcement: Deadline reports that the 2003 under-the-sea film’s star, Albert Brooks, is returning as the voice of Marlin.
RELATED: ‘Monsters University’: Kids Finally Get Their Animal House — TRAILER
There’s no word yet on where the sequel will take Brooks’ worrisome clownfish, his free-spirited son Nemo (voiced in the original by Brooks’ Weeds grandson Alexander Gould), or the flighty and forgetful fan favorite Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) — and until we learn the premise, we’re destined to squirm over the degree of schlock that might well be applied to the decade-old characters in the name of the studio’s sequel craze.
RELATED: Ellen DeGeneres in ‘Finding Nemo 2’: What’s In Store for Pixar’s Sequel Future?
Pixar has delivered follow-up films with varying quality. The Toy Story sequels not only kept up with their groundbreaking first chapter, but built toward a dazzling complete idea that hit you with a vengeance by the time 3‘s credits began to roll. Cars 2, on the other hand, felt only like a money-grabber, riffingly lazily on Cars‘ merchandising opportunity. We’ll have to see how well Monsters University, which seems to be transporting Inc’s good-hearted working stiffs to a crazy college-set brouhaha, works out. And then there’s Nemo — what can follow Pixar’s heartfelt take on the road comedy genre?
And, more importantly, will there be seagulls?
[Photo Credit: Walt Disney]
From Our Partners:
40 Hottest Celeb Twitpics of the Month (Vh1)
‘Sports Illustrated’ Swimsuit Issue: A Visual History (Celebuzz)
