13 years ago, Pixar brought us Finding Nemo which was hailed as an instant classic. While I appreciated the beautiful visuals and wonderful animation, I’m probably in the minority by saying that I felt the rest of the movie was somewhat underwhelming. However, now that 13 years have passed, I have revisited the film and I have to admit that I really appreciate it now a lot more.
Now, Pixar brings us Finding Dory and once again they strike gold. I’m happy to report that Dory is just as charming, clever, funny, heartwarming, and visually gorgeous as its predecessor. And that’s saying something.
We pick up the action in this sequel with DeGeneres’ Dory now good friends with Marlin and Nemo. Out of the blue (or should I say deep blue?), memories are triggered in Dory that take her back to her childhood and her parents (Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy). She decides to go on a quest to find them and reunite.
Dory rushes through endless waters in order to get to Morro Bay, California, where she’s told that’s where they are, but more than likely she’ll develop short-term memory along the way. This movie wouldn’t be Finding Dory if she didn’t. When she does finally arrive, she meets an octopus named Hank (Ed O’Neill) who has the ability to blend in with the environment. They do have some witty exchanges.
Dory also encounters all other kinds of marine life at an aquarium including her long-lost and near-sighted whale shark friend Destiny and a beluga whale named Bailey. There’s also another voice over cameo that pops up frequently, but I won’t reveal who it is.
Now you could make the argument that Finding Dory had impossible expectations to follow seeing as Nemo was so beloved. You could say Pixar is just looking for an excuse to milk their own cash cow by a making a sequel and in this instance, you would actually be wrong.
As a sequel, Dory gives us more of what we loved in the first film and multiplies it to infinity. The visuals offer a real level of gorgeousness that hasn’t been seen in a Pixar movie in quite some time, particularly a scene featuring nothing but a gigantic tank in the aquarium which is convincing and borderline photo-realistic. They alone are worth the price of admission, especially if seen in either 3D, IMAX, or both.
However, Finding Dory has much more than its visuals going for it. There’s a lot of hilarious and brilliant work from its amazing supporting cast and a goldmine of a script by director/co-writer Andrew Stanton that introduces enough clever elements to keep it on its toes.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we get “Finding Crush” somewhere down the line. In the meantime, Finding Dory will make you want to just keep swimming to see it and maybe see it twice.
Grade: A
(Rated PG for mild thematic elements.)
