Finding Dory Review

     From the mid 90s to 2010, Pixar animation was the unquestionable king of animation studios. With the "Toy Story" Trilogy, "Up," "Wall-e" and many more under their belt, the studio dominated the box office as well as the award season. Yet of their stoic filmography, the studio was arguably at their best in the early to mid 2000s. During that time they produced the beloved films "Monsters, Inc." and "The Incredibles." But in 2003 they released a game changer, "Finding Nemo." Following the story of a fish named Marlon trying to find his son Nemo, the movie has since grossed near $1 billion and was the studio's first movie to win the Oscar for "Best Animated Feature." A seminal part of an entire generation's childhood, "Finding Nemo" has become a modern classic. But a few years back it was announced that a sequel was in the works, one that no one asked for. Pixar is hit and miss with sequels, the "Toy Story" sequels were great but "Cars 2" is easily their worst movie. So since its announcement I have been hesitant, especially considering that Pixar has only had one truly great movie in the past five years ("Inside Out"). So here we are with "Finding Dory," but can Pixar recapture the magic that made "Finding Nemo" so good?

     Dory is the lovable little fish suffering from short term memory loss. After helping out Marlon find his son Nemo, she settled down on the same reef as them. While on one of Nemo's school trips she is asked about her family, which she has no recollection of. After getting caught in an undertow and thrown around the current she ends up having a flashback. All of a sudden she remembers her parents, whom she was separated from as a child in a similar incident. She starts remembering bits and pieces of her past, and decides to go to the last place she saw her parents hoping to find them. While reluctant to come along, Marlon and Nemo agree to help; so the three set out on another adventure to reunite Dory and her family.

     When I first heard about this movie, I didn't want them to make it. "Finding Nemo" was such a good movie in its own right, it didn't need a sequel. The only sequel I want from Pixar is for "The Incredibles" (which is fortunately happening in 2019 though). But I do have to give Pixar props, because they did a great job with "Finding Dory." As with all of Pixar's movies, the animation is gorgeous. It's the same style of animation as "Finding Nemo," but a bit more crisp and colorful. And again, as always, the voice acting is top notch; stars Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill, as well as the rest of the cast did a great job. One of Pixar's greatest strengths would have to be their ability to create likable characters. "Finding Dory" introduces several memorable new characters, as well as feature cameos from a few characters from the previous film. It helps that the screenplay is well written like all of Pixar's best movies. It has tons of funny moments, but has several emotional scenes that may bring a tear to your eye. It's not as sad as "Finding Nemo" was at times, but you'll feel some genuine emotions. As well as a few scenes that are intense and heart pounding. And like "Finding Nemo," the movie does a good job illustrating some lovely themes; the importance of family and home, as well as never giving up. Despite everything I liked about this movie, which was a lot, "Finding Dory" has its problems. The film ends rather abruptly; one minute we're at the movie's climax, the next there's a happy ending scene that wraps a nice little bow on top of everything which lasts for like three minutes. It goes from 60 to 0 real quick. And like the problem many sequels suffer from, it just doesn't feel as special as its predecessor. "Finding Nemo" was fresh and original, but at its core "Finding Dory" has the same basic plot (a fish trying to find their family). But the movie's biggest problem is that it relies on its comedic bits for longer than necessary. The joke about Dory having short term memory is funny for a while, but after an hour of them going back to that joke every thirty seconds it got old. While that same bit was part of "Finding Nemo," it wasn't the backbone of the 90% of its jokes. Despite these issues, I still loved this movie. It’s funny, emotional, beautiful, and an all around great time. Most of the credit has to go to the man behind the curtain, Andrew Stanton. He did a great job directing this movie, and for nearly 20 years he has proven himself as one of the best directors for animation in the business. While "Finding Nemo" won't be remembered as fondly as "Up," "Toy Story," "Inside Out," or even its own predecessor, it’s still another strong installment in Pixar's filmography.

Pros: Gorgeous animation, many very funny moments, several emotional moments, great voice acting from the whole cast, well written screenplay, great direction from Andrew Stanton, several memorable new characters, nice to see some old characters again, a few suspenseful moments, illustrates some lovely themes.

Cons: Abrupt ending, some bits get old after a while, doesn't feel as special or original as "Finding Nemo."

4/5 Stars