REVIEW: Finding Dory

Courtesy of Pixar

Like any other studio, Pixar has a spotty track record with sequels. Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 are heralded as classics, but the iconic creative team didn’t have as much luck with Monsters University or Cars 2. That’s why I was nervous when a sequel to 2003’s beloved Finding Nemo was announced, with popular sidekick Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) taking center stage.

The brief tagline made it sound like a loose remake of the original, except that a different fish would go missing. Fortunately, that’s not the case at all. Instead, co-director and co-writer Andrew Stanton (who also headed the first film) is interested in exploring Dory’s short-term memory loss, a condition that was mostly played for laughs in the first movie.

The filmmaker realized that when you think about it, that means Dory has a tragic backstory. Definitely tough material for a kid’s movie (much like Pixar’s masterpiece Inside Out, the film doesn’t shy away from those heavy emotions), but it’s also tempered with lots of laughs and joy. The result is a sequel that exists in rarified air: it’s just as good – if not better – than the original.

After a heartbreaking opening sequence – we’re talking Up levels of tears here – shedding light on Dory’s childhood and her parents’ (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton) dedication to helping her adapt to her disability, the film jumps ahead one year after the events of the first film. Dory now lives with her good friends Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence), and helps out at the local school.

When the class takes a trip to learn about the dangerous undertow, the experience triggers a memory deep within Dory’s subconscious – she suddenly remembers her parents and how long she’s been missing. That sets her on a journey to a marine rehabilitation center in California, where she thinks her parents live. She gets separated from Marlin and Nemo along the way, but meets several new friends – including a grumpy squid (Ed O’Neill), two neurotic whales (Kaitlin Olson and Ty Burrell) and a delightful seal duo (Idris Elba and Dominic West) – who help her on her mission.

Finding Dory does exactly what a good sequel is supposed to do. It simultaneously expands the characters’ world and also makes you look at the original in a different light. There’s a quick line in Finding Nemo where Dory wonders about her family that’s seemingly played for laughs, but it’s devastating in hindsight. That also holds true when you realize what her life was like before meeting Marlin.

I loved almost everything about the film, from the gorgeous animation (I strongly recommend shelling out the extra bucks to see it in IMAX 3D) to the perfect casting. DeGeneres is absolutely incredible as Dory – instilling the character with humor, grace and an unshakable persistence that things will ultimately be okay. (Her trademark theme song, “Just Keep Swimming,” takes on even more emotional weight this time around.) As the other characters learn, her personality is contagious.

Sloane Murray, who voices Young Dory, is also fantastic. The same goes for Brooks, O’Neill, Levy, Keaton, Olson and Burrell. Seriously, I could just spend the rest of the review listing actors and saying good things about them.

But perhaps the most admirable element of Finding Dory is how – much like its predecessor – it masterfully depicts characters with special needs in a subtle, non-preachy way. Kids, parents and advocates within the special needs community have loved Dory and Nemo (with his “lucky fin”) for years, and that love will only grow with Finding Dory. It’s a beautiful film, both visually and emotionally.

Finding Dory is rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Grade: A-