Release Date: June 17
Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar
Duration: 97 minutes
Grade: B+
Disney Pixar’s “Finding Dory” hit theaters Thursday night and is sure to bring laughter and joy to anyone who watches it. “Finding Dory” is the much-awaited sequel of “Finding Nemo.”
Thirteen years after Disney introduced the caring and forgetful blue tang in “Finding Nemo,” Dory now has her own story. In “Finding Dory,” we learn about Dory’s family and where she came from, along with the reasons for many of her mannerisms and quirks.
“Finding Dory” is set one year after “Finding Nemo” left off but also has flashbacks to Dory’s childhood and memories. Dory, Marlin and Nemo are once again faced with an adventure that has them swimming across the sea, facing predators and making new friends along the way.
The animation in “Finding Dory” shows the beauty of the ocean and its wildlife by featuring a much more diverse cast of fish and sea creatures. “Finding Dory” showcased many of the characters that we fell in love with in “Finding Nemo,” but a lot of new characters were introduced as well, such as sea lions, an octopus, a loon and whales. These new characters’ personalities matched the actions and natures of the animals they portrayed.
The movie covered a wide variety of issues that are faced today, such as bullying, inclusion, self-confidence and self-doubt. Other themes, such as abandonment and grief, were introduced in ways that were child appropriate. “Finding Dory” also showed both the positives and negatives of the practices of wildlife conservation and captivity, such as cages and petting stations.
Subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, glimpses of the dangers of pollution were also shown in the movie, and they illustrated that while the ocean is vast, beautiful and diverse, human factors play a role in keeping it that way.
Many college-aged students were in elementary school when “Finding Nemo” was released. Thirteen years later, “Finding Dory” has jokes and action that will entertain and thrill elementary school students, college students and beyond.
While "Finding Dory" was beautiful and age-appropriate, it wasn’t quite as suspenseful as “Finding Nemo” — the outcome and some of the action scenes were predictable and anticlimactic. Those downfalls were outweighed, however, by the moral lessons and heartwarming and humorous aspects of the film. If you go see this movie, be prepared to laugh, squeal and say “awwww” throughout.