Finding Dory - More than One Journey in the Ocean

This review is for a movie that’s been out for a couple of weeks, but I finally just got a chance to see it.  So if you’ve already seen Finding Dory, please feel free to give me your take.

As always with Pixar, they’re pretty much in a class by themselves.  When considering how good a Pixar movie is, it’s almost a given that it’ll be better than just about any other studio’s offerings—though Disney has really stepped up their game for movies released strictly under the Disney flag (Zootopia, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Tangled all come to mind).  On the Pixar scale, there’s The Incredibles and Inside Out at the top end, and Cars 2 at the bottom end.  Finding Dory is one of the good ones.  It isn’t quite as good as Finding Nemo, but it’s not far behind.

Somehow, I went into the movie expecting a story similar to Finding Nemo: a journey across the ocean with adventure along the way.  When that’s not what happened, I was briefly disappointed, thinking that it would be a very short movie.  But I should have trusted in the folks at Pixar.  They have made a name for themselves by presenting very original, fun movies, even their sequels.  So I got over my disappointment and sat back to enjoy the ride.

Finding Dory brought back a lot of favorites from Finding Nemo, but wasn’t overcrowded or overwhelmed by them.  The pit that many sequels fall into is old favorites returning and becoming overdone and irritating.  With few exceptions, Pixar as a whole, including this movie, manages to avoid that.  We were also introduced to some fun new characters.  The best of them is the “septapus” (octopus with one missing arm) Hank.  There’s also a trio of sea lions that provide some good comedic moments.

One of Pixar’s strengths is the range of emotions that are evoked during their movies.  In Finding Dory, there’s laughter, but there’s also tenderness.  There’s anxiety for how things are going to turn out, and there’s also a sense of fun for the adventure that’s unfolding.  And, unlike most of the previews that were shown, the story is appealing for a wide range of ages.

As with all of the Pixar movies, the animation is fantastic.  It amazes me how artists can come up with so many different designs for the same species of fish to make the different characters distinct and recognizable.  Then there’s the level of detail in the environments.  Animation has come a long way since Toy Story.  It’s becoming hard to tell if things like streets and plants are filmed rather than animated.  All of the characters are still cartoonish, but even the textures, details, and movements are getting better and better.

Bottom line.  Whether you go to appreciate a fine piece of animation or a funny and touching story, Finding Dory will satisfy.  It is a worthy entry in the Pixar library.