When it comes to Finding Dory, we take our cue from the blue tang with short term memory loss when we say, “Just keep watching, just keep watching,” as this movie gets better and better as it goes on.
You simply can’t go wrong with Disney/Pixar. Even when one of their movies isn’t firing on all cylinders, it’s still heads and tails better than most movies. The great news is that Finding Dory is definitely firing on all cylinders. You’ll see a few familiar faces from Finding Nemo, but the new characters are where Finding Dory‘s charm bubbles to the top.
This movie is chock full of adventure and crazy fish antics, and will have you laughing from start to finish. When you aren’t laughing, you’ll be tearing up with sympathy for a fish with deficits who just wants to find her way home, and maybe learn a little something about being home along the way.
Strengths
Voice cast
The phenomenal voice cast they found for Finding Dory brings the whole story to another level. Ellen Degeneres and Albert Brooks are back as Dory, Nemo, and Marlin, respectively, but the true magic comes from the voice talents of Ed O’Neil, Ty Burrell, Kaitlin Olson, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, and newcomer, Sloane Murray. The new voice of Nemo is Hayden Rolence (as the original actor is now too old for the role.)
That’s one hell of a pool of actors to be thrown in with, and Sloane Murray, who voiced young Dory, fits right in. Each of the actors brings life to their character and helps keep the tone of Finding Dory light. Every time Dory remembers her parents and experiences a flashback, the atmosphere of the movie changes dramatically, as you know it is only a matter of time before Dory will be lost to the ocean for years, but the cast of supporting characters helps to alleviate some of the heartache that comes with Dory’s incredible story.
New characters
The incredible pool of actors aside, the new characters in the story are definitely a highlight of Finding Dory all on their own. The three greatest new characters are Destiny, Bailey, and Hank.
Destiny and Bailey are a whale shark and a beluga whale and have a playful and unique kind of friendship. Destiny is nearsighted and has a tendency to run into walls, while Bailey was injured and is having some confidence problems when it comes to using his echolocation skills. The two characters prove that while individually we all have shortcomings, when we work together there’s absolutely nothing we can’t accomplish. Together, these two escape captivity and help reunite a family that has spent way too long separated by circumstances outside their control.
The other outstanding new character is a grumpy old, seven-legged Octopus named Hank, who desperately wants to live a cushy life in a glass box, and he needs something Dory has to do it. The adventures that Hank and Dory embark on in order for Hank to fulfill his part of the deal bring some of the movie’s most infectious laughs, and some of the most heart-warming moments as well. Hank didn’t set out to learn anything about himself, but, as is the case with Dory, it’s hard not to be affected by her unending positivity and zest for life.
Baby Dory
While not a new character, audiences are re-introduced to Dory in this film as we look back on memories that she has stashed away of the beginning of her life and her parents. These memories require us to not only meet a very young Dory, but to be as charmed by her as we are her adult persona. Finding Dory manages to do that in spades. Every time the big-eyed, baby blue tang appears on the screen, it’s impossible not to tear up. Her cuteness knows no bounds, and she’ll have you blubbering into your tissues every time she bat those big magenta eyes of hers.
Weaknesses
Too much time out of the water
No movie is perfect, and while we thoroughly enjoyed Finding Dory, there was one criticism that could not go unaddressed. While the plot of the film works well enough, there is an awful lot of time spent out of the water for a story about fish.
Whether they’re being carried around in a bucket by a crazy bird, flopping from water jet to water jet on an outdoor sprinkler pad, or directing traffic from the dashboard of a moving truck, the fish in this movie were not limited to the ocean. In fact, outside of the beginning and end of the film, much of the story took place with our favorite fishes jumping from one vessel to another trying to reunite.
It’s not that we didn’t enjoy the show, it’s just that when a movie is about ocean fish, you expect to spend a lot of time in open water, watching them explore. Dory, Marlin, Nemo, and others were dependent upon too many outside forces to reunite, and it hindered the overall experience of the film just a little. There was always a solution to the problem, but sometimes those solutions bordered on unbelievable.
Ultimately
Finding Dory is a perfect follow up to Finding Nemo, even if it did take 13 years to get it to theaters. It captures a bit of the magic of the original film, but with an even more heart-wrenching story at its center. Dory has always been the heart of this universe, as Marlin needed her zest for life to keep his spirits up while searching for his son throughout Finding Nemo, but it isn’t until you learn just how lonely and tragic Dory’s story is that you truly appreciate the magic of how she sees the world.
This film is perfect fare for the summer movie season. It’s funny, will enchant all ages, and reminds you that family comes in all shapes and sizes, and isn’t only the one that you’re born into. Much of this story is about reuniting Dory with her parents, but we are also reminded that Marlin and Nemo have become Dory’s family in their stead. Dory needs both her chosen and biological families in her life, and that is one lesson you cannot learn too many times.
Dory is a fantastic role model for children, as she works hard to conquer the shortcomings her memory loss gives her, and never loses hope that things will work out. You will laugh, cry, and smile tears of joy watching Dory recount her past while searching for a new future in Finding Dory.
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