Finding Dory (2016, PG)

Sequels can be a crapshoot, even with Pixar.  Finding Dory, though, is a delight, and more than that, it’s a really worthwhile continuation of its story.  It’s been too long since I’ve seen Finding Nemo to say how it stacks up to the original, but I can say that the sequel doesn’t feel derivative or seem like it’s just there to capitalize on the success/good will of the first movie.

In the time since Marlin and Dory made their transoceanic journey to recover Nemo, the sunny but forgetful blue tang has made a new home for herself with her clown fish buddies.  However, a chance conversation strikes a nerve with Dory and sends up sparks of a memory she’s long since forgotten:  the parents from whom she was separated as a child.  Desperate to reunite with them, she begs Marlin and Nemo to help, and the three go on a wild adventure of homecoming and rediscovery.

The animation, no surprise is both gorgeous and fun.  The various young Dory flashbacks are one of the highlights of the movie, in part because young Dory is too cute for words.  The voice cast does a stellar job – returning actors Ellen Degeneres Albert Brooks fall back into their characters with ease, and Hayden Rolence does well as the new Nemo.  Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy are pitch perfect and very affecting as Dory’s folks, and the Marine Life Institute setting offers up Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Idris Elba, and Dominic West as a slew of entertaining new characters.

What’s more, the story is really lovely.  It has everything you could want from a movie like this:  fun non sequiturs from Dory, unlikely friendships, comic action/adventure sequences, great one-liners, colorful side characters, and plenty of genuine warmth.  Like I said, I love the young Dory flashbacks, which are an excellent device from a plot sense (helping Dory through the stages of her journey) and a thematic one (overcoming odds with the help of those who love and believe in you.)  It’s so wonderful and uplifting to see the many tricks and strategies Dory’s parents cook up to help their daughter manage her short-term memory loss.

That’s what’s really neat about this movie.  It takes the themes that the first film touched on – Nemo and Dory accomplishing impressive things despite Marlin’s belief that they’re held back by their disabilities (“lucky” fin and short-term memory loss, respectively) – and expands on them in terrific ways.  In addition to Dory and Nemo, we meet other characters at the Marine Life Institute who are wrestling with their physical limitations and what they feel they’re capable of based on that.  It’s about succeeding when others think you can’t do it, trusting that you’re stronger than you’ve been made to believe you are, and (perhaps most significantly) making adaptations to do things the way you need to do them, which includes friends/loved ones helping you get the tools you need to succeed on your own terms rather than stepping in and doing it for you.

Oh yeah, and the short is both beautifully-animated and hardcore adorable.  Loved it so much.

Warnings

A few scary moments for kids.