[Movie Review] Finding Dory (2016)
Directors: Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane
Writer: Andrew Stanton, Victoria Strouse, Bob Peterson
Runtime: 97 mins
Main Cast:
- Ellen DeGeneres as Dory (voice)
- Albert Brooks as Marlin (voice)
- Ed O'Neill as Hank (voice)
- Kaitlin Olson as Destiny (voice)
- Hayden Rolence as Nemo (voice)
- Ty Burrell as Bailey (voice)
Review: by Faith and Marie
To Pixar, the ocean has both danger and wonder. There is a vast metaphor for the choppy waters of parenting. Cloistered coral reefs of home are surrounded by frightful drop-offs and strong currents that can sweep a little fish out to an immense sea. When the difference between survival and shark bait is flipper-thin, how much line do parents give before reeling in?
“Finding Dory,” the sequel to the 2003’s “Finding Nemo,” turns the story from Nemo the clownfish with a weak fin, to Dory, the blue tang with short-term memory loss. The adventures of both Dory and Nemo are born out of straying too far from anxious parents. The gulf of separation stretches wider and longer in “Finding Dory,” but it’s covered the same way: by pluckily overcoming genetic handicaps and trusting in the Pacific-sized love of family.
“Finding Dory” promotes the original’s daffy supporting character (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres). But it’s not a simple switch in perspective: In seeing through her forgetful fisheyes, you realize how terrifying it is to be Dory. “Finding Dory” is “Memento” under the sea, with a much more chipper lead forever at pains to remember why and where she’s going.
The movie picks up six months after “Finding Nemo.” Dory is living with Nemo (Hayden Rolence, replacing Alexander Gould) and Marlin (Albert Brooks), but she’s nagged by flickers of memory of her family. A flashback of Dory’s childhood follows; revealing Dory’s origins: a challenged fish whose parents (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton) teach her mantras for coping (“Just keep swimming”) but are helpless when a current sucks her away.
Dory grows up a lost and confused orphan. Energized by clues of remembrance, Dory, Nemo and Marlin travel from Australia to California, where her search leads to the Marine Life Institute. There is so much of the dazzle of “Finding Nemo” with the colorful richness of its aquatic life: sharks in recovery, pelicans interested in dentistry, Willem Dafoe’s battle-scarred striped fish. So why, with oceans to explore, does “Finding Dory” cling so closely to the shore? The trip across the Pacific goes in a flash. The action takes place almost entirely jumping between tanks at the institute.
In this newly improved sequel, Dory’s sidekick here is a sullen seven-legged octopus named Hank (Ed O’Neill), who helps Dory navigate the complex to facilitate his own escape. But the movie’s high point unquestionably belongs to the pair of British sea lions (Idris Elba and Dominic West, “Wire” veterans reunited) who bark at any creature that dares approach their sunning rock which is outrageously funny!
What We Liked:
Our favorite scene in this movie was when Dory finally found her Mom and Dad. Showing that she does have the ability to remember things was truly inspiring to the audience and remarkably heartfelt. Pixar truly showed power in this specific scene and then showed us that Dory was so much more confident than ever before. This confidence helped her to rescue her friends from a truck going to Cleveland and even boosted it more and more which you could see throughout the entirety of the remaining moments in the film. We also enjoyed that they brought back some familiar characters from “Finding Nemo,” including that cool turtle dude Crush and son Squirt, fish school instructor Mr. Ray and those “Mine! Mine! Mine! “chanting seagulls.
What We Didn’t Like:
“Finding Dory,” although bright and clever like most all Pixar releases, only had a slight bump within; it’s missing its own magic. Like Dory’s questions, it feels a bit like a repeat. “Finding Dory” was slightly disappointing due to the fact that the story line was pretty much the same as “Finding Nemo” with just about the same action. Yes there were newer characters, but there were also still some characters from the first film that the audience wanted to know what happened to. The story is not as fresh of a catch as the original. Ultimately, there is too much reliance on logic-defying Saturday-morning TV cartoon action as the main characters swim about by scooting through pipes and flopping from one liquid vessel to another at the institute.
Summary
Although there is a slight snag in the story plot of the movie, it is a relief to note that the follow-up has plenty of emotional hooks, some great lines and is no stinker, despite simply following what amounts to the same plot current as before except to the Pacific Coast of California instead of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Wisely, the film takes full advantage of what was “Finding Nemo’s” greatest asset besides its lushly multi-hued underwater inhabitants and plant life: Ellen DeGeneres’ buoyant spirit and child-like glee as she vocally gave life to Dory, the forgetful yet fearless blue tang whose struggles with short-term memory loss proved to be a crucial plus whenever the going got tough. After all, nothing is more freeing than barely being able to summon your past, which is why the impulsive Dory is so good at acting in the moment. The movie was somewhat believable when the gang of fish led by Willem Dafoe’s world-weary Gill staged a great escape from the tank at the dentist’s office in “Finding Nemo.” But the sequel stretches beyond credibility when newcomer octopus Hank (a testy tangle of tentacles with chameleonic powers voiced by “Modern Family’s” Ed O’Neill) is somehow able to maneuver a runaway truck on a crowded highway when he can’t reach the pedals or see over the dashboard. All in all Pixar hasn’t found the right formula in its sequels to repeat the success of its original movies. Mark Finding Dory down as another that falls short of unforgettable.
Images Courtesy of IMDB
