Thirteen years after the animated classic 'Finding Nemo' hit theaters, Disney and Pixar have finally released a sequel in 'Finding Dory,' and this cute, comical, and kid-family friendly adventure seems to be just about as good as the original. While the film has basically the same plot as 'Nemo' and features several moments that will bring some audiences to tears, 'Finding Dory' appears to be getting mostly positive reviews across the board and is a fun movie for all audiences.
Starring Ellen DeGeneres as the primary voice of Dory, a Pacific regal blue tang fish, who was a supporting character in 'Finding Nemo,' this film features a few of the same characters from 'Nemo' as well as a handful of new additions. Returning from 'Nemo' are Albert Brooks, Brad Garrett, Allison Janney and more, while new voice actors include Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Bill Hader and Sigourney Weaver, who has a very odd role. Andrew Stanton returns to write and direct the sequel, as he did on the first film.
'Finding Dory' takes place about six months after the events of 'Finding Nemo' and follows Dory on her journey to find her parents, who she lost as a child. All her life, Dory has suffered from memory loss and constantly gets herself into trouble by accident. When she was young, Dory was separated from her parents, and with the help of Nemo (new voice actor Hayden Rolence) and his father, Marlin (Brooks), Dory goes on an epic adventure to reunite with them.
I grew up loving the classic Disney and Pixar movies like 'Aladdin' and 'Toy Story', but to be totally honest, I seem to have outgrown my fondness for most animated movies. Needless to say, going in to see 'Finding Dory,' I didn’t have very high hopes, but it was actually quite entertaining. It’s very similar to 'Nemo,' but the added element of amnesia makes for an amusing and interesting plot point. Overall, the film has a lot of heart, humor, and as much Dory as you can handle.
DeGeneres leads the pack as the comical and forgetful fish, who continues to find herself in one mess after another. Dory’s memory loss, the things she says and does, and the interaction she has with other characters is very amusing to watch. After about 10 seconds, Dory forgets anything that has just happened or been said, so she often has the same conversation multiple times and has a hard time doing things on her own. DeGeneres is one of the funniest comedians in the business, and her humor and style is a real win for the audience. Like many of the other voice actors, Albert Brooks also adds quality comic relief.
The animation and special effects are top notch, and there is a variety of emotional material and sweet "aw" like moments. Even this non-fan of animated movies got sad watching scenes of Dory as a young baby fish, or when she is dealing with her memory loss. And when she finds or is looking for her parents or when a character gets hurt or lost. The movie tugs at your heartstrings.
There are also difficult moments to watch like when Dory often gets mad at herself because of her forgetfulness, which makes it hard to watch her try to get around or deal with something. It’s also very fast paced and has a few actions or moments when something pops out that may frighten younger kids, but its not intended to be scary by any means.
While Dory continues to get in trouble and forget things, she seems to make a positive impression on everyone she meets on her journey. By the end of the film, characters are using the phrase, "What would Dory do," following her lead or looking to her for advice, and missing her when she’s not around. Dory meets and receives assistance from many different types of fish and other characters while on the search for her parents. She may be ignorant and forgetful at times, but she also appears to be inspiring to them.
I was pleasantly surprised with 'Finding Dory', and even though most people likely didn’t expect a sequel to 'Finding Nemo,' especially so many years later. In hindsight, this sequel looks to have been a good idea. Box office projections are looking promising for the film and the popular movie review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes has the film at a 92% critic rating and a 99% rating of people that want to see it, which is very high compared to other films listed on the site.
'Finding Dory' is rated PG for mild thematic elements. The running time is 1 hour and 43 minutes.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Hayden Pittman is a special contributor to WFAA.com and a freelance writer, photographer/videographer, and filmmaker in Dallas, TX. You can find more of his work on Selig Film News. He is a film, TV, and sports enthusiast, and when he is not reviewing movies, Hayden works in film production. Don't like what he has to say? Let him know at hpittman87@gmail.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter at @HPMoviePitt. Enjoy the movies!
