Finding Dory

Finding Dory

Starring Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence, Ed O'Neill

Directed by Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane

The Story:
One year after finding Nemo, clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks), Nemo (Hayden Rolence) and regal blue tang Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) are living a normal, carefree life in the ocean.  Nemo is at fish school, and Dory is her lovable forgetful self.  All that changes when she starts experiencing flashbacks, and realizes that she has a family that she's forgotten until now.

The three set out on a cross-ocean adventure to find Dory's parents, leading them to the Jewel of Morro Bay, where Dory meets a grumpy red octopus named Hank (Ed O'Neill), a near-sighted whale shark Destiny (Kaitlin Olson) and Bailey, a beluga whale with no sense of echolocation (Ty Burrell), who assist Dory in her search for her parents.  For a fish who suffers from short-term memory loss, Dory will stop at nothing to make sure her one memory remains forever.

The Synopsis:
Before I begin the review, I just want to say one thing about baby Dory:

OHMYGOSHTHISISTHECUTESTTHINGIHAVEEVERSEENILOVEHERIWANTONEIWANTONE

Alright, now that's out of my system.

But seriously, she is so stinking adorable.

Anyway, Pixar once again hits a homerun with this much-anticipated sequel.  "Finding Nemo" was released in 2003, and it took thirteen years for the sequel, which often spells doom for a franchise (just recent comparisons of "Zoolander 2," "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" and "Independence Day: Resurgence" are easy enough to consider).  Pixar itself doesn't have the best track record for sequels.  Besides the amazing "Toy Story" sequels, films like "Cars 2" and "Monsters University" are often cited as Pixar's worst, so they were treading on thin ice with "Dory."  Thankfully, due to the natural charisma of Ellen DeGeneres, "Dory" succeeded where other secondary characters-turned-main-characters (Mater) bombed miserably.  It probably helps that Dory has over 25 million likes on Facebook, making her the most liked Pixar character ever.

I've said this before about Pixar films, but what I enjoy the most about them is that, unlike most childrens' movies, they don't pander to the audience by stuffing simplistic morals down our throats, or make their films so child-friendly that anyone with a double-digit age can't stand it more than once.  "Dory" continues this excellent Pixar tradition by offering a powerful moral story, but doing so in a way that's so subtle that their target audience probably wouldn't get it - but people who really need to hear it would.

Here, the moral is to always believe in yourself, and never allow something others consider a hindrance to keep you from fulfilling your dreams.  Even though she traversed the oceans to save Nemo, Marlin is still apprehensive about Dory leaving to find her own family, even though he feels her pain more than anyone.  He's worried she'll wander off and forget everything, and - in a lesson obviously not learned from his first outing - needs to learn to let go and not be fearful of the unknown.  This is where Dory excels - she doesn't fear the unknown because she doesn't know what that is.  She's a fearless fish because she can't remember what it's like to be afraid.  She has a quest, and will stop at nothing to achieve it.  While others see her mental handicap as a disability, it turns out to be her biggest asset, and ultimately the phrase "what would Dory do?" takes control and leads to amazing adventures.

Another trademark of a Pixar film is in its groundbreaking animation, and "Dory" once again continues that tradition with eye-popping visuals, stunning animation, and detailed visuals that add to the value of the film as a whole.  Hank - the grumpy octopus (although he only has seven tentacles, so Dory calls him a "septopus") - was Pixar's biggest hurdle yet in any film, as getting his appearance down perfectly with minute accuracy was a nearly impossible job, yet they managed to achieve it.  Once again, we're drawn into the beautiful world of the sea, a place in reality we know less about than our own moon. 

There are some great cameos from past favorites, including the amazingly cool turtle Crush and his son Squirt, teacher Mr. Ray, and the "Mine" seagulls, but "Dory" introduces us to some new amazing friends.  Destiny is a near-sighted whale shark who has a long-standing connection with Dory.  Bailey is a beluga whale who's lost his sense of echolocation.  However, the standout new star is Hank, the aforementioned red octopus with a tough exterior who only helps Dory because he wants something in return - until she reaches through to his soft heart (well, technically three hearts).  Ed O'Neill (of "Modern Family" and "Married With Children" fame) voices Hank, and does so in such a way that I didn't even know it was him until the closing credits.

Dory's parents (voiced by Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy) are your typical one-note characters: your typical parents struggling to raise a mentally challenged child.  Often, this is a death-knell for characters, but here they're portrayed so brilliantly in their one-dimensional way that even they become endearing.

Yet, with all these new characters, the main star is Dory, voiced by the ever-energetic Ellen DeGeneres.  She gives Dory a light-hearted spirit who doesn't see her disability as a handicap, and performs with a child-like innocence that you can't help but fall in love with, whereas if it was done by a different actor, it could've become stale and annoying.  There's no big villains here, except for Dory's own struggle against her own insecurities and fears to get back to her parents.  She's afraid to travel alone, because she's worried she'll forget what she's doing, but when push comes to shove, she presses on to achieve her dreams.  She shows a vulnerability as well as a comfort that she can complete something, and remember something she'll never forget.

One final thing Pixar does perfectly is play with our emotions, and once again "Dory" touches the heart is amazing ways.  I am not ashamed to admit I teared up a couple times, especially with the younger Dory trying to deal with her short-term memory loss (or, as she so adorably put it: "short term remember-y loss"), and older Dory who worries that she forgot her parents, and that they forgot her as well.  For real, there were some good cry moments here.

The Summary:
"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water" is a quote by Rabindranath Tagore, and "Finding Dory" proves you can't just sit back and think about what could've been, but you need to step out and go for those dreams you have in your head and make them reality.

The Score: A+