4 Comments

1. 

   Jordan Jaisingh (Enfield, London, UK) on January 14, 2019 at 11:45 am

   Plot Overview: One year after the events of Finding Nemo, short term memory impaired Dory finds herself at a crossroads when she has a sudden revelation about her parents. Having finally remembered the location of her birth, Nemo and Marlin seek to help her on her journey across the ocean to reunite with her long lost family.

   Was a sequel to Finding Nemo necessary? Well, yes and no. The choice to return to the underwater setting, may be more than just to produce a narrative jewel. Pixar’s once impeccable track record, now has several questionable entries. Did anyone enjoy Brave? Maybe, but it doesn’t hold up against the universally admired classics Pixar had produced in the previous decade. The studio had seemingly reached a point of diminishing returns. It’s only gem in the past five years, being Inside Out. Perhaps their ocean of innovation had run dry. We now enter the sequel era of Pixar, with Incredibles 2, Cars 3 and Toy Story 4 firmly in development. A last ditch attempt it may seem, to try and recapture what not only made Pixar world renowned animators, yet also wonderful storytellers.

   “This feels familiar,” Dory utters after a breathtakingly animated ride on Sea Turtles. A feeling that was also troubling me at this point in proceedings. The film opens all too similar to its predecessor, with a heart-rending flashback showing the more tragic nature of Dory’s condition. With Ellen DeGeneres’ Dory being the undoubted highlight of the previous film, the blue fish is now given the spotlight. Her troublesome memory, which offered the most comic relief previously, now sits firmly at the story’s emotional core. However, during the first act in particular, the feeling that Pixar was almost remixing story beats from the first film became all too apparent. The tear-jerker opening, a wild ride aboard Sea Turtles, a relentless chase by a dangerous predator. Deja Vu anyone?

   Luckily, as the feelings of familiarity began to darken things, the film truly kicks into gear. The search for Dory’s parents goes deeper from a character perspective than the previous entry. As expected, Dory does lose her way, but the story is far more of an introspective journey for her. She is struggling to come to terms with what she suffers from and also how it affects those that she loves. The plot also involves a mystery to solve, as Dory’s attempts to unravel her past are seamlessly interwoven with flashbacks, slowly explaining the tragedy that led to her family’s separation.

   This time around, less time is spent exploring the vastness of the ocean. The gang stumble upon the Marine Life Institute; a sea-life medical facility where the most impressive moments of the film take place. It is here where Dory meets Hank, an octopus with a surprising agenda for an aquatic creature. Voiced by Ed O’Neill, this new addition to the cast brings such excitement and wit to the film. He is the most amusing addition in a feature which boasts a more involved supporting cast than the predecessor, which also consists of an adorable Whale Shark and a Beluga Whale. Needless to say for a Pixar film, the impressive cast provide almost constant laughs for all audiences. Although, there isn’t any instant classic moments as meme worthy as the Seagulls encounter from Finding Nemo.

   In the thirteen years since the first film, Pixar have perfected their craft. The colours are more vivid, the environments, both land and aquatic based are bursting with seemingly photo-realistic detail. Some of the creatures, particularly Hank the Octopus, move with such fluidity that it boggles the mind to think how his movement was achieved without some form of motion capture. It almost goes without saying at this point, but Pixar truly are the kings of CG animation.

   Most importantly, the story is brimming with heart. What may seem like a risky, even bizarre choice to sideline the main characters of your previous film in favour of a once supporting character, is what gives way to arguably a more emotional journey than before. That is not to say that Nemo and Marlin don’t get their fair share of screen time and laughs. Dory is front and center throughout, something that would lead to nightmarish results in other franchises. Pixar’s characters are thankfully so well realised, that it feels natural to delve deeper into her psyche.

   Bottom Line: Brimming with life, colour and fun. Elements of familiarity prevent it from reaching the dizzying heights of the original, yet Dory’s journey is one which can stand as a proud companion piece to the first film. A sequel wasn’t a necessity, but you’ll love it all the same.

   Rating: 4/5

2. 

   Darren Chan Keng Leong (Singapore) on January 14, 2019 at 11:44 am

   It has been 13 years since the release of Disney’s Pixar Finding Nemo and this year, I finally got the chance to watch the sequel Finding Dory. I was completely blown away by the storyline and the magnificent voice cast which gave life to each character in the film. The studio deserves the praise in coming up with a compelling story that is worth the wait and a must watch for the whole family.

   Finding Dory picks up where Finding Nemo left off and it shows that Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is helping Marlin (Albert Brooks) look after Nemo (Hayden Rolence) after their big adventure in the first film. Dory accompanies Nemo to school and during a lesson about migration; this jolt Dory’s memory that she finally remembers that she has a family too. In a series of flashbacks, the audience begins to learn about Dory’s past as a baby regal blue tang and her struggle with short term memory loss. It is encouraging to see her parents being so patient and showering their utmost love in getting Dory to work round her short term memory loss.

   Despite attempts to convince Dory not to leave the reef again as her home is across the ocean, Nemo convinces Marlin to agree in helping Dory reunite with her parents again. It is the kind of reciprocal love that tugs at the heart strings of the audience throughout the film. Dory also meets some special and helpful characters along the way in the form of an octopus, whale shark and beluga whale. It is a journey that puts Dory, Marlin and Nemo in various situations but more importantly, it helps us to understand Dory better. Despite her short term memory loss, Dory is shown to be courageous, witty and resilient in always thinking of creative ways in dealing with seemingly difficult situations where there does not seem to be any solution in sight.

   Dory manages to track her parents last known location down to the Marine Life Institute in California but is unable to find them. Back in the ocean, she comes across a trail of shells that her parents have been laying out at the seabed in the hope that Dory will follow and remember their significance. Some scenes were very emotional through the dialogue of the different characters. There is definitely much more Dory development in this film which gives more back-story and serves as a fitting tribute to Finding Nemo which is equally just as great and compelling.

   The one main aspect that I like about Disney and Pixar films are that they always make every character which they introduce count into the plot. This is an area which not many studios are capable of doing due to running time considerations. The film also puts the spotlight on conservation of ocean life-forms which I think is important and a timely reminder to care for the reefs and the oceans. Director Andrew Stanton has definitely made the film with the best ingredients which is humour, emotional driven dialogue and personality development that makes the film such a joy to watch.

   It is true that fishes and especially whales are meant to belong to the wild and not held captive for entertainment purposes as it puts stress on their well-being. This was alluded to in the film where Destiny (Kaitlin Olson), a whale shark and Bailey (Ty Burrell), a beluga whale manages to escape from their small enclosure into the ocean. It is a good reminder that wild animals should not be trapped from their natural habitat to be used as an attraction.

   In light of the film, marine advocates are also urging fans of the movie to not buy the regal blue tang on impulse which is Dory as they are directly caught from the ocean and the chemical cyanide which is needed to catch the fish is causing coral bleaching and damaging the ocean’s ecosystem. Therefore, fans should be moved to defend Dory and to think about rehabilitation and putting these creatures back into their natural habitat.

   Finding Dory has lived up to my expectations from having such a great voice cast, soundtrack, storyline and it will appeal to anyone of any different age groups and more so die-hard fans of Finding Nemo. In the post-credits scene, the Tank Gang from Finding Nemo which is led by Gill reaches California after a year of floating across the Pacific still in their plastic bags. They are rescued by the volunteers of the Marine Life Institute which opens possibilities of a third film or a spinoff involving the Tank Gang which I would like to see put in development. In the words of Dory, just keep swimming Disney and Pixar, animated films will only get more sophisticated and better in capturing the hearts and imagination of movie-goers.

3. 

   Ryeder on June 26, 2016 at 12:51 pm

   While Finding Dory has become a record breaker for the biggest opening weekend for an animated film, there was a reason it was.

   Finding Dory truly is now one of Pixar’s greatest films. In my opinion… It’s definitely the rare sequel that’s better than the first. It definitely has a lot of things that Finding Nemo didn’t have but at the same time that old feel is still there.

   Finding Dory is a 2016 summer blockbuster! Make sure to check it out in theaters now. Also I saw it in 2D and it was still great so it doesn’t matter if you see it in 2D or 3D.

   Finding Dory also proves that audiences and moviegoers everywhere are eager to see Pixar favourites return to the big screen, this is a good thing cause Pixar’s upcoming releases until 2020 include some BIG sequels such as Cars 3, Toy Story 4, and The Incredibles 2 along with an original film called CoCo based on the Mexican Day of the Dead which will release after Cars 3 next year. I can imagine it will just be the Pixar version of “The Book of Life” but we’ll see.

4. 

   Hasmik on June 4, 2016 at 10:12 am

   Coming soon, soon, soon! Can’t wait! 🙂