Review 387: Finding Dory

Finding Dory is surprisingly, remarkable delight and a reminder that Pixar can still dazzle us.

Set one year after Finding Nemo, Marlin (Albert Brooks), Nemo (Hayden Rolence) and Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) have settled down and are living comfortably together; when one day Dory remembers where her parents Charlie (Eugene Levy) and Jenny (Diane Keaton) live.
She, Marlin and Nemo then head off on an epic quest to find them.
Their journey leads them to a Marine Life Institute where they begin a hilarious and heartwarming search and meet some new friends along the way.

This premise could have yielded a film of contrivance and laboured invention because of the shifted focus to Dory. Andrew Stanton, his voice cast and co-writer Victoria Strouse expertly weave humor, social commentary and colourful characters both old and new that is gentle and true, that creates sympathy for Dory and her plight.

Not only is it a hilarious and heartwarming adventure but it deals with the very heavy subject matter of Memory Loss.

As well as providing an excellent and hopefully message about living with a difficulty, Dory's amnesia provides comedy and lightheartedness to an otherwise tragic and depressing film with a heavy hitting subject matter

Having a protagonist with short term memory loss also adds a mystery element into the mix.
The mystery of where are Dory's parents? Are they even still alive? How is she going to find her way back to them?

The flashback scenes with Dory and her parents are genuinely touching and moving.

For a "sequel" released 13 years after its predecessor, it manages to be quite self contained and functions very well as a stand alone film. All the information we need to enjoy this film as well as the main conflict of the film are beautifully and firmly established in the films opening.

Returning director Andrew Stanton's direction is The animation is fantastic in true Pixar fashion, the scenery is breathtaking, it's fast paced, the production design is stupendous, the character design is immaculate, the setting is creative and paves the way for lots inventive action and funny jokes, there some great moments of tension, the score by Thomas Newman is beautiful, the action scenes are exciting and expertly staged

Whereas the first film was partially set in a fish tank at a dentist office which is a very enclosed space, Finding Dory takes place in an Marine Life Institute and makes tremendously inventive use of the location and setting

Nemo has a nicely expanded role in this film, whereas in the first film he was the catalyst for the events in the first movie.

Even thought their appearances are small and limited, Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton prove to be wonderful additions as Dory's parents Charlie and Jenny. Beautifully crafted flashbacks show they truly loved Dory and helped her cope with her difficulty and

During their search for Dory, Marlin and Nemo come across pair of Sea Lions Fluke (Idris Elba) and Rudder (Dominic West) and they prove to be an excellent source of comic relief.

Finding Dory is an unforgettable adventure you probably will remember, 4.5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.