Film Review- "Finding Dory"

Finding Dory
Directed by Andrew Stanton
Starring Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, and Ed O'Neill

I think it's safe to say that Finding Nemo was when audiences first realized that Pixar had the power to rip our hearts out and bring us to tears with their films. I mean, that opening…and that ending, I need a moment…

Many Pixar films that would come after Finding Nemo such as Up, Toy Story 3, and Inside Out would have the same emotional effect on audiences. That said, in the past few years Pixar's had some misfires, like Cars 2, Monsters University, and The Good Dinosaur. Notice how two of those were sequels? Toy Story films aside, Pixar hasn't had the best track record with its sequels. Does Finding Dory break that pattern, or has Pixar misfired once more? Well, yes and no. On with the review!

Finding Dory takes place a year after its predecessor, with Dory (DeGeneres) now living on the reef with Marlin (Brooks) and Nemo (Now played by Hayden Rolence). Dory suddenly has memories of her parents, and is instantly rushing across the sea to find them, with Marlin and Nemo in tow. Their journey leads them to the Marine Life Institute in Morro Bay, California.

They're not there for very long when Dory is caught and brought into the institute. Once inside she meets a cranky octopus named Hank (O'Neill), who she recruits into helping her search the institute for her parents, while Marlin and Nemo try to get inside and find her.

If any of this sounds remotely familiar to you…well that's not shocking at all. For the first half-hour or so, and many other points in the film, Dory hits a lot of the same story beats as Nemo. It's not a complete role-reversal where Nemo and Marlin have to go find Dory this time, in fact two-thirds through the film we're not spending too much time with them at all.

That and Dory's character arc is distinguishable enough from Marlin's to give Dory a bit of a fresh angle. Her problem of short-term memory loss is handled incredibly well by the writers, and transforms her into a three-dimensional character, opposed to a sidekick with a running gag (I'm looking at you Cars 2.) That said, I still hold Finding Nemo to be the better film, as I found its story easier to get emotionally invested in, but perhaps that's a personal preference. Whereas Nemo was heavy on heart, Dory is heavy on humor (Still plenty of feels to go around, though.), but I was laughing out loud at a lot of the jokes.

The voice cast is phenomenal. DeGeneres brings twice the laughs and twice the heart to Dory this time around (No surprise. She's been waiting to make this film for thirteen years). Albert Brooks as Marlin is still warm and cranky, but he isn't given as much to do this time around. Hayden Rolence takes over the role of Nemo well enough. Ed O'Neill as Hank, and Ty Burell as Bailey are fantastic, even though they are playing to their Modern Family types. Kaitlin Olson as Destiny is cute. Idris Elba and Dominic West as a pair of sea lions are the absolute scene stealers.

Finding Dory is very well made, though it treads familiar ground, and may not reach the emotional heights of some superior Pixar entries. It's a delightful, funny, family film with heart. It may not be remembered as one of Pixar's best in the years to come, but oh well. Not every Pixar film has to be Toy Story 3 or Up. This is a film that didn't have to be made, but it was, and it was made well. That's certainly worth remembering.