It’s good. Not bad. Just not great.
I must confess I never thought of Pixar’s Finding Nemo as more then just a good movie. Not the masterpiece many say it is. Which is why I was not to thrilled that the same team behind that 2003 film came back to do a sequel, Finding Dory. No one was asking for it so it feels like an attempt to ride the coattails of the first films success. But hey, money talks and this one will make a fortune. And why not. It follows the same beats as the original which will appeal to those who loved Nemo. Disney and Pixar know what they’re doing. Truth be told that many of the Pixar sequels aren’t up to their best standards if you ask me. Not that they are bad movies. They’re miles above any other animated film put out by rival studios. Finding Dory is good. Nothing wrong with being good. But I want great. Finding Dory skirts with greatness without crossing the bar.
For myself, the one major aspect of this film that kept me at attention is how portrays the utter joys of being a parent as well as the fears. Dory (Ellen Degeneres) is born with short-term memory loss. Her parents (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton) who adore her, show concern on how it will affect her life. And then to make matters worse she gets lost. It’s a nightmare of sequence that plays to every parent and child’s worst anxieties. Eerily and beautifully done, the image of this tiny Blue fish, lost and confused, with the vast ocean around her, is such a striking visual metaphor that will have any child gripping mommy or daddy’s hand upon viewing.
As a parent, it was extremely emotional to see a major studio tackle the subject with humour and sincerity. Just like Inside Out, one of my three gold standard Pixar movies (the others being Ratatouille and Toy Story 3), this film is a way inside the mind of a child and his or her parents. It’s something Pixar does well, a testament of their team doing their best to create a relatable story set in an unbelievable setting. The handling of this theme alone is worth paying to see Finding Dory. All other distractions within the film serve to please the kids. It’s a beautiful looking film, filled with funny and innovate sea creatures that can be somewhat annoying (Crush the Sea Turtle) and ingenious (Ed O’Niel’s Hank the Octopus).
Don’t get your hopes up for gold standard Pixar but you’ll be hard pressed to find something family friendly that has this much intelligence.
