12 Things That Almost Completely Changed 2016’s Biggest Movies
9. The Anti-Seaworld Message Was Added Mid-Production - Finding Dory
The Original Plan: The original setting for Pixar's hit sequel was an aquatic theme park not unlike SeaWorld, and the fish would ultimately make it their new home in the film's happy ending.
What Happened?: Pixar's higher-ups saw the jaw-dropping 2013 documentary Blackfish, which criticised SeaWorld for their treatment or Orcas, and felt that Finding Dory would be perceived as tone-deaf in its current state.
As such, the setting was changed to the Marine Life Institute, and Dory and co. of course chose to escape to the open ocean at the end instead.
Did It Work?: Definitely. Without the changes, Pixar would've been rightly criticised, and though re-tooling the script was probably costly and time-consuming, it likely saved the company a ton of hassle and potentially lost revenue in the long run.