REVIEW: FINDING DORY
Over three years ago, when this blog was my biggest commitment (college will knock a lot of things over in it's savage quest to consume your time) I talked about how this film had the possibility of being a disaster. My biggest fear was that they would Materize the sequel by putting in a sidekick as the main star of the film. Many folks thought the rusty redneck truck was irritating on the first go round, but Dory the blue tang absolutely stole the show amidst Australian sharks, Californian surfer turtles and a crazed dentist. So where does Dory land along side Pixar's other sequels? Well let's just say it's more Toy Story 2 than Cars 2.
With a less obvious title than it's predecessor, Finding Dory finds Dory finding herself, where she came from, how she was raised, and her search for her parents. I guess Finding Mr. and Mrs. Dory doesn't have the same ring to it. Marlin and Nemo pop up of course, this time in supporting roles to Dory. I guess fish don't have last names? The film starts with reintroducing audiences to Dory's endearing amnesia...which admittedly gets old after a few minutes. And it did get me a little nervous. If Mater's tick was him being a hick, was the whole movie going to be Dory forgetting things? Well, naturally, but I'm happy to say that they never rely on that as the film's main source of humor. Finding Dory is one of Pixar's funniest, while simultaneously being one of the darkest of the 17 films the company has put out.
That's right, maybe that's why Dory earned Pixar the less frequent PG rating it wears. Nemo dealt with a lot of the same issues, but this movie gets to you. First off, the idea of never being able to fully remember anything is a little scary to me. Getting separated from your parents for YEARS is actually wholly terrifying, and Dory almost dies like 10 times throughout this movie. It's a little intense. But if any animated film can tackle such adult themes with whimsical grace like Pixar is wont to do, Finding Dory achieves it. There are positively wonderful additions to the oceanic ensemble, which is hard, because just going through the creatures I mentioned earlier (sharks, turtles, the dentist) I was leaving out the jellyfish, Nemo's friends in the fish tank, Marlin's fellow parents. Maybe it's because I have literally seen Finding Nemo over 20 times, but everything about that film is warm and iconic. Now you have a grumpy septopus voiced by none other than Al Bundy himself Ed O'Neil, a couple of whales (one nearsighted, one...telepathic?) and so many more that I don't want to spoil here. Also, needless to say, Ellen DeGeneres is stellar as our little blue tang. With such a recognizable warm voice, you would think you'd be picturing DeGeneres saying all these lines, but her work is seamless.
While Finding Dory will likely never be ranked amongst Pixar's greatest achievements...that's okay. Before Cars 2 they had never really had a foul-up, and with films that have received less than masterpiece ratings (Monsters U, Good Dinosaur) it's alright that the bar has lowered a bit. We can't expect a Toy Story level film every time, but even a bad Pixar film isn't necessarily a bad movie. This ultimately hopeful and super sweet sequel may not be up to it's predecessor's legendary status, but there's no doubt it'll be beloved through the ages, and it serves as one of Pixar's greatest sequels yet.
Rating: 3/4 stars
With a less obvious title than it's predecessor, Finding Dory finds Dory finding herself, where she came from, how she was raised, and her search for her parents. I guess Finding Mr. and Mrs. Dory doesn't have the same ring to it. Marlin and Nemo pop up of course, this time in supporting roles to Dory. I guess fish don't have last names? The film starts with reintroducing audiences to Dory's endearing amnesia...which admittedly gets old after a few minutes. And it did get me a little nervous. If Mater's tick was him being a hick, was the whole movie going to be Dory forgetting things? Well, naturally, but I'm happy to say that they never rely on that as the film's main source of humor. Finding Dory is one of Pixar's funniest, while simultaneously being one of the darkest of the 17 films the company has put out.
That's right, maybe that's why Dory earned Pixar the less frequent PG rating it wears. Nemo dealt with a lot of the same issues, but this movie gets to you. First off, the idea of never being able to fully remember anything is a little scary to me. Getting separated from your parents for YEARS is actually wholly terrifying, and Dory almost dies like 10 times throughout this movie. It's a little intense. But if any animated film can tackle such adult themes with whimsical grace like Pixar is wont to do, Finding Dory achieves it. There are positively wonderful additions to the oceanic ensemble, which is hard, because just going through the creatures I mentioned earlier (sharks, turtles, the dentist) I was leaving out the jellyfish, Nemo's friends in the fish tank, Marlin's fellow parents. Maybe it's because I have literally seen Finding Nemo over 20 times, but everything about that film is warm and iconic. Now you have a grumpy septopus voiced by none other than Al Bundy himself Ed O'Neil, a couple of whales (one nearsighted, one...telepathic?) and so many more that I don't want to spoil here. Also, needless to say, Ellen DeGeneres is stellar as our little blue tang. With such a recognizable warm voice, you would think you'd be picturing DeGeneres saying all these lines, but her work is seamless.While Finding Dory will likely never be ranked amongst Pixar's greatest achievements...that's okay. Before Cars 2 they had never really had a foul-up, and with films that have received less than masterpiece ratings (Monsters U, Good Dinosaur) it's alright that the bar has lowered a bit. We can't expect a Toy Story level film every time, but even a bad Pixar film isn't necessarily a bad movie. This ultimately hopeful and super sweet sequel may not be up to it's predecessor's legendary status, but there's no doubt it'll be beloved through the ages, and it serves as one of Pixar's greatest sequels yet.
Rating: 3/4 stars
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