Finding Dory makes full use of top-notch animation technology.

The team behind Finding Dory found it “tricky” to strike the right balance between using new visual technology while maintaining the look of the original film.

The follow-up to 2003’s animated hit Finding Nemo tells the story of forgetful Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) who suddenly remembers a glimmer of the family she left behind many years earlier. She sets off across the Pacific Ocean to find them, with her friends Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence) coming along for support. Eventually, they arrive at a Marine Life Institute, where they make new allies, such as Hank the Octopus (Ed O’Neill) and pick up the trail of Dory’s parents, who are voiced by Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton.

Speaking about the visuals in the film, producer Lindsey Collins explains that all the returning characters look the same, but because it has been 13 years since Finding Nemo was made, the visuals have definitely been updated with the help of new animation technology.

“The first thing to know is nothing that we had made (on Finding Nemo) still exists,” she told screencrush.com. “So we knew going in that we were going to be rebuilding and recreating anything that we were going to be using from the first film; characters or sets. It’s always a delicate balance.”

While director Andrew Stanton revealed that a large focus for the animation team was keeping the aesthetic of the ocean looking the same in the new movie. He adds the sea is actually designed to look a little more organic and organised than the real ocean does, and it is better rendered in the new film, particularly in relation to reflections and refractions of water.