Finding
Dory
Dory:
"Don't cry, mommy...Don't cry..."
Finding
Dory is directed by Andrew Stanton (Finding
Nemo, WALL·E, John Carter) and Angus MacLane (Burn-E short, Toy Story of Terror short) and stars Ellen DeGeneres as Dory,
Albert Brooks as Marlin, Ed O'Neil as Hank, Hayden Rolence as Nemo, Kaitlin
Olson as Destiny, Ty Burrell as Bailey, Eugene Levy as Charlie, Diane Keaton as
Jenny, and Sloane Murray as Young Dory.
Every time I see Dory, I smile. She's such a beautiful creature!
One year after overprotective Marlin and
extremely forgetful Dory traveled
through the ocean to rescue Nemo from potential injuries, a few visions that
Dory sees causes her to remember a bit more of her vague past. She, Marlin, and
Nemo travel, yet again, to a certain area that Dory mumbles in her manic
episodes: California. This time, the goal is to find Dory's parents so that a
happy reunion can happen. With new areas to explore, new characters in the Finding Nemo universe are introduced.
However, this would not be Pixar movie without some internal conflicts: Dory
must find her parents, not only relying on her brave and positive instincts,
but without much help from anyone else.
She's too great of a character. You just have to root for her to see her parents :'(
I am a huge fan of Pixar's 2003 film Finding
Nemo. Visually, Finding Nemo looked
(and still looks) absolutely beautiful. The story surrounding Finding Nemo is a simple concept, yet
complex with how the characters react to the events going on: a father finding
his son. Does Finding Dory stand up
toe to toe with its predecessor or even surpass the original's greatness?
Unfortunately, no it does not, but given that Finding Nemo is almost a perfect film, in my opinion, I can't fault
it that much for not being as good. I do love Finding Dory overall and I can't find many faults with it, unless I
start nitpicking, and even then it's just a matter of very subjective opinion.
First and foremost, the voice acting in Finding
Dory is spectacular. I couldn't picture anybody else, but Ellen Degeneres
voicing Dory as good as she does. The only concern that I had going into this
movie was if Finding Dory was going
to basically be a repeat of Finding Nemo.
It isn't at all. Yeah, there are similar beats and scenes a couple of times
throughout the movie, but Dory really carried the film well enough to where she
isn't seen as secondary character anymore, but rather a strong primary
character. All that leads back to Ellen Degeneres being a great voice choice
for the first movie to then lead this star filled cast.
Go get 'em, Ellen!
I'm really going to compress the points
on why I like this movie so much mainly because Finding Dory is, like Finding
Nemo, a simple movie, in terms of story. Just like all of the other Pixar
films, Finding Dory has laughs and
moments of tears for both adults and kids. A nitpick that I'd like to point out
is that I felt, at some points, that the writers wanted to force the audience
to cry; they wanted more emotions out of certain scenes that just didn't hit me
as much as Finding Nemo or other
Pixar movies like Inside Out or Up. Anyhow, I did hold back some tears
for those moments. I swear, a tear was starting to dribble from my eyelid, but
I forced it back into my body like I was somehow controlling time. Weird, right?
Exaggeration to the max! Unpopular opinion, the ending did not hit as strongly
for me as it did for most people who were in the theater with me, but
nevertheless, it was still pretty funny. As for the animation, well c'mon. It's
Pixar.
Picture this already fantastic animated still, but times 100. That's how far Pixar has come from their first groundbreaking film Toy Story.
All in all, I can assure everyone who is skeptical
of Finding Dory being a cash grab or
completely unnecessary that this movie isn't that by any means. I can't say
that this beats Finding Nemo, but it
sure is a good continuation for it. For those of you familiar with Pixar films,
you know there is going to be a short film before the actual movie happens and
all I will say is "holy moly! This animation is surreal in that it's too
real".
4.8/5
PRO
- Continues Finding Nemo's simple story with complex and charming characters
- Beautiful animation
- Ellen Degeneres' Dory carries the film very well
- Like most Pixar movies, it's good for both kids and adults
- Sometimes forced emotions
Finding Dory is rated PG for mild thematic elements
Click here to watch the trailer
Finding Dory is in theaters everywhere now
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