A whale performs at SeaWorld in a scene from “Blackfish.” (Magnolia Pictures)
The forthcoming Disney movie “Finding Dory,” a sequel to the 2003 hit “Finding Nemo,” may be undergoing a plot change after Pixar executives viewed the documentary “Blackfish,” a CNN Films documentary about the health of whales in captivity. From the Los Angeles Times:
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. “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.
Read the full story: ‘Blackfish’ gives Pixar second thoughts on ‘Finding Dory’ plot [latimes.com]