After thirteen years, the sequel to Finding Nemo has arrived but this time it’s all about Dory.Finding Dory takes us back to her childhood where we meet baby Dory and her parents, who desperately try to improve her memory out of fear that she would get lost one day. As we all know, their fear came true when Dory somehow ends up carried away by an undertow. One year after she embarked on a trip with Marlin to find Nemo, she starts remembering bits and pieces of where she grew up. This sparks her desire to go home and find her family. Along for the ride are Nemo and Marlin.
Unlike Finding Nemo, Finding Dory only shows small aspects of their trip across the ocean, just enough to establish Dory’s story and to give us glimpses of her history. Flashbacks to adorable little Dory crying out for help will surely tug on your heartstrings.
There are some characters who miss out on making an appearance this time around. Evil Bruce and his crazy shark friends are replaced by three hilarious sea lions, a near sighted whale shark, a baluga whale who is unaware of his powers, and lastly, a humorous but grumpy heroic octopus. As a result, Finding Dory has very little element of “danger”, however, it does have a sense of sadness with each failed attempt to find her parents. Even I was sitting on the edge of my seat anticipating the worst outcome for her family.
Visually Dory, Nemo, Marlin and their home look identical to the first film, but as their journey takes them to California, their surroundings become even more impressive and stunning to look at. Often certain settings look so realistic that you might confuse it with it being real.
Finding Dory does lack some of the magic and element of surprise of the first one but the film makers make up for it by creating a story full of heart and silly fun. It also sends subtle messages about the state of our ocean and marine life. Enough to inform the viewers without impacting the story in a negative way.
The setting of the story is mostly in an aquarium. While the movie emphasizes that majority of the marine life will be returned to where they came from and that there are open ocean areas, I can’t help but think the creators could have picked a more suitable setting. Aquariums have received a lot of negative attention lately regarding their treatment of these beings.
Ellen DeGeneres returns to voice Dory, as well as Albert Brooks, who lends his vocals to play Marlin once again. They are joined by the incredibly talented Idris Elba, Diane Keaton and of course, Sigourney Weaver who plays Sigourney Weaver.
Finding Dory is a sweet and touching story suitable for the young and the young at heart.
I rate it 7 out of 10 stars.
Finding Dory is in cinemas now.
