'Finding Dory' Review

Image from Screen Rant

By Darian Scalamoni

Pixar has been pulling at our heart strings for decades now. It’s always hard to go into a debate with people on which Pixar film is the best because there are just so many incredible ones to pick from. You have movies like Wall-E and Inside Out that are important for societal reasons as they teach kids about how to live life the right way and be in touch with their emotions. You also have films like Monsters Inc. and The Incredibles that teach us about teamwork and the ultimate goal of doing what makes you happy with people you love. Then of course, the Toy Story franchise that jumpstarted Pixar back in 1995 with a toy cowboy and a spaceman. One film that effected people though and stuck with them was Finding Nemo. It was the story of a clownfish along with regal tang (with short term memory loss) on the hunt for his abducted son, Nemo. But today, it is the story of that same regal tang, named Dory who goes on the hunt for her parents after finally being able to remember that she has a family.

            Though Finding Dory is not the best Pixar film ever, it is quite possibly one of the best sequels of all-time. Ellen DeGeneres returns in this movie as Dory, the blue and yellow fish that is fun and loving but most of the time confused about everything. She begins to remember that she in fact has a real family. Her parents, Jenny and Charlie (voiced by Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy respectively) teach Dory at a young age that due to her disability, it will take a while before she is understood by the rest of the underwater sea creatures that inhabit the waters in which they live. Unfortunately, Dory gets lost when she is just a young fry and she can’t locate her parents. Due to her short-term memory loss, she goes years without having any friends until one day she meets up with Marlin (Albert Brooks) to help him find his son who was abducted. We all know what happened after that.

            Following the events of Finding Nemo, the film jumps one year from the happenings that took place in the 2003 animated classic and now has Dory living with Marlin and Nemo. While Dory is on a field trip for sting-ray migration, she has a memory when hearing the word “undertow” which was something that her parents had told her to stay away from when she was younger. This memory helps Dory remember her parents and the location of her home in Morro Bay, California. Dory, who is now filled with joy and angst, wants to go find her parents to which her clown fish friends agree to help her along her journey.

            Throughout their journey, they meet a multitude of potential classic characters. The voice cast is phenomenal for these characters including a nearsighted whale shark named Destiny voiced by Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Kaitlin Olsen, a beluga whale named Bailey, voiced by Ty Burrell and Hank the octopus voiced by another Modern Family star Ed O’Neill. Though I don’t want to go into details with these characters due to potential spoilers, it’s safe to say that these supporting sea creatures are just as memorable as the supporting characters from the first film. 

            It’s always a pleasure to see or in this case, hear Ellen DeGeneres. She returns and does the title role justice reprising that same loopy, colorful fish we have come to love. Dory as a child will bring you to tears because she just doesn’t understand. It’s so incredibly sad but also adorable to see how sorry she is due to her panic inducing condition. If it wasn’t for DeGeneres, it’s hard to see Dory becoming one of the most popular and well-known characters in the history of Pixar and Disney.

            Though Finding Dory is a successful film that hits on all levels, it’s difficult to say that it is better than its predecessor. The reason being is because Finding Dory is its own telling of a story that feels familiar but is also so different. Yes, we’re dealing with the same waters (no pun intended), but this film stands on its own. For a project that seemed unnecessary, Dory is able to bring new characters to the Disney library and create a movie and environment that will be remembered and cherished by all audiences for years to come.

8.5/10