Review: There are good reasons to remember ‘Finding Dory’ (Includes first-hand account)

Disney•Pixar has taken audiences to other worlds and times, existent and non-, habitually ignoring the constraints of reality to create memorable movies that are truly enjoyable for all ages. Anthropomorphizing animals has been the parent company’s bread-and-butter since the first appearance of Mickey Mouse nearly a century ago and animators have taken the trick to incredible new heights (and depths) in recent years. While there’s obviously an economic advantage to producing loveable characters, they’re still some of the most skilled at creating personalities viewers will adore for years to come. Finding Dory revisits some of these creatures in a new (but similar) adventure.

Since Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) helped Marlin (Albert Brooks) find Nemo (Hayden Rolence), she’s become a part of their family. They live in the same reef and she often accompanies the younger clownfish to school. But their bonding and a couple of incidents of déjà vu cause Dory to remember she lost her parents as a child — and in true Dory fashion, she’s ready to cross the ocean to find them again. The closer she gets to her childhood home, the more she recognizes things and remembers her past. To help her stay on track, Marlin and Nemo accompany Dory on her mission to the rehabilitation facility where she once lived. But as much as she can’t help forgetting, she also can’t help getting lost. So before the end, the task-at-hand changes many times and involves all sorts of other creatures who assist the trio the best they can.

The premise of this movie is obviously very similar to the original picture as the small tropical fish set out to find someone again. However, the number of returning characters and their roles in the film are limited as Dory’s new adventure takes them into different territory and introduces an array of fresh and entertaining personalities. Hank is a cantankerous, camouflaging octopus fittingly voiced by Ed O’Neil who begrudgingly agrees to help Dory in exchange for revoking his freedom (it’s a sad and strange story). On the larger end of the spectrum, they come across a near-sighted whale shark (Kaitlin Olson) and a beluga whale (Ty Burrell) with a different sense impairment. Then there are the seals, brilliantly voiced by Idris Elba and Dominic West, who are definitely the highlight this time around with their odd but helpful suggestions and British sense of humour. The joy they provide is followed closely by the cuteness of the irresistible otter cuddle party.

Demonstrating he’s not as cranky as his on-screen personalities, O’Neil has had some fun promoting the film on social media.

Ed O’Neil found Dory and Hank…you can too with the #FindingDory lens now on .@Snapchat!June 16, 2016

The visuals remain vibrant and entrancing, while the narrative explores a variety of habitats from the dark ocean floor that’s home to frightened shellfish and giant predators to a giant aquarium at the centre of the Marine Life Institute. It’s not entirely surprising that the film is a little uneven, but at 97 minutes it doesn’t have a lot of time to drag for too long. Additionally, there are enough enjoyable moments and the occasional crazy hijinks to make this sequel passable.

Directors: Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane
Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks and Ed O’Neill

Similar Posts

  • Modern Whore review: TIFF 2025

    ‘Modern Whore’ is an engaging documentary that dynamically contradicts assumptions about sex work with real-life accounts.

  • Review: ‘Promising Young Woman’ passes judgement where justice fails (Includes first-hand account)

    To this day, a segment of society finds women with power problematic. More notably, they find women who take power uncouth and even frightening. A woman who seeks to level the playing field or — heaven forbid — gain the upper-hand, is a threat to the status quo and thus a threat to the patriarchy. Therefore, when a movie portrays this change in dynamics, but doesn’t adhere to the way these situations have typically been portrayed, it’s deemed to be lacking or false. If a woman is going to assume a position of power, it has to be in a manner that is expected and, consequently, acceptable because it was designed by men. Promising Young Woman throws all of that out the window.

  • Review: ‘Suze’ is a sweet tale of reinvention

    ‘Suze’ is the charming story of an unlikely friendship that develops between a perimenopausal woman and a lost teenager who had their hearts broken by the same girl.

  • Review: ‘Kong: Skull Island’ gives the king due respect (Includes first-hand account)

    Before CGI and other technologies existed, filmmakers still sought ways to make the monsters of their imaginations a reality on the big screen. Thus, early creature-based narratives, such as King Kong and Clash of the Titans, were created using stop-motion animation and, later, animatronics were used. Obviously there were limitations to what was possible, particularly regarding the design’s interaction with the actors and sets, but they accomplished a lot with what they had at the time. However, technological advancements have all but made this practical art form archaic. Now that it seems simpler to make these types of movies, many of them have been made again (and in some cases, again and again). Kong: Skull Island is the latest depiction of the colossal ape that first captured audience’s attentions in 1933.