Finding Dory
Year: 2016
Director: Andrew Stanton
Starring: Albert Brooks, Ellen Degeneres, Ed O'Neill & Hayden Rolence
Runtime: 97 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 03/04/23
Director: Andrew Stanton
Starring: Albert Brooks, Ellen Degeneres, Ed O'Neill & Hayden Rolence
Runtime: 97 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 03/04/23
Whilst Pixar have had many huge successes over the years, few compare to the critical and commercial success of Finding Nemo. It should come as no surprise to hear then that in 2005 after negotiations with Pixar fell through, Disney went about creating their own Finding Nemo sequel with Circle 7, the now defunct animation studio that had been tasked with creating Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. 2. But not long after the ball got rolling on the sequel Circle 7 were shut down due to Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, with responsibility now falling on Pixar to make a sequel to one of their most beloved films. A film that didn’t really call for a sequel at all.
But upon preparing the tenth anniversary release of Finding Nemo, director Andrew Stanton had an idea for a sequel that he felt would feel natural and answered a lot of questions about the original film. Except this time, Nemo wouldn’t be in the spotlight anymore.
One year after Nemo’s (Hayden Rolence) rescue, he, his father Marlin (Albert Brooks), and their forgetful friend Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) are enjoying life in the coral reef. But when Dory has a memory about her long-lost family, the trio go on a journey across the ocean in search of Dory’s heritage. Arriving at the ‘Marine Life Institute’, Dory becomes separated from Nemo & Marlin and lost within the facility. Can Marlin & Nemo rescue Dory, and will Dory find her real family?
But upon preparing the tenth anniversary release of Finding Nemo, director Andrew Stanton had an idea for a sequel that he felt would feel natural and answered a lot of questions about the original film. Except this time, Nemo wouldn’t be in the spotlight anymore.
One year after Nemo’s (Hayden Rolence) rescue, he, his father Marlin (Albert Brooks), and their forgetful friend Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) are enjoying life in the coral reef. But when Dory has a memory about her long-lost family, the trio go on a journey across the ocean in search of Dory’s heritage. Arriving at the ‘Marine Life Institute’, Dory becomes separated from Nemo & Marlin and lost within the facility. Can Marlin & Nemo rescue Dory, and will Dory find her real family?
I’ve never been the biggest Finding Nemo fan. As you can probably gather from my review of it, I enjoy it, and I think it’s technically very impressive, but I’m not crazy about it like everyone else is. So, I think it’s best to establish that I’m not really the biggest fan of Finding Dory either, but there’s multiple reasons why, and for some people they may be reasons to love the film even more than the original.
First up is the simple matter that Finding Dory doesn’t need to exist. It was made for one reason alone, money, and Disney’s desire to have all of it. So, like Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and Monsters University before it, Finding Dory is only here because Disney mandated it. That’s not the reason why I feel the way I do about it, but it’s key to understand why a film exists in the first place, money or artistic merit…and Finding Dory is entirely for money.
Then comes the big problem for me personally. Dory is a character that infuriates me so much because of how annoying she is, so to have her be the leading lady is only going to make matters worse. I do prefer her character in Finding Dory over the original film (more on that later), but it’s hard to get on board with a film where the leading character is one you already don’t like from previous experience.
Thirdly, despite Andrew Stanton supposedly having a good idea for a film, Finding Dory is generally uninspired and formulaic. It’s pretty much a mash up of Finding Nemo and The Tigger Movie, and the stakes are infinitely lower than those of Finding Nemo.
That being said, I do generally like Finding Dory, but it is on the lower end of Pixar films for me. I like the whole concept of exploring a marine conservation centre, and Dory unlocking the memories to her past is a concept I’m on board with. It honestly gives her character so much depth, because in Finding Nemo she was just the comic relief who couldn’t remember anything for more than a few seconds. Here she goes on a similar journey of self-discovery that Marlin underwent in the first film, she learns a whole lot about herself, where she came from, and how her own quirks can help others realise their potential.
Marlin & Nemo’s story is less interesting as it can be boiled down into a series of slapstick sketches that are strung together to create a parody of a prison break. The comedy is usually decent enough, but their whole story feels like an afterthought.
First up is the simple matter that Finding Dory doesn’t need to exist. It was made for one reason alone, money, and Disney’s desire to have all of it. So, like Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and Monsters University before it, Finding Dory is only here because Disney mandated it. That’s not the reason why I feel the way I do about it, but it’s key to understand why a film exists in the first place, money or artistic merit…and Finding Dory is entirely for money.
Then comes the big problem for me personally. Dory is a character that infuriates me so much because of how annoying she is, so to have her be the leading lady is only going to make matters worse. I do prefer her character in Finding Dory over the original film (more on that later), but it’s hard to get on board with a film where the leading character is one you already don’t like from previous experience.
Thirdly, despite Andrew Stanton supposedly having a good idea for a film, Finding Dory is generally uninspired and formulaic. It’s pretty much a mash up of Finding Nemo and The Tigger Movie, and the stakes are infinitely lower than those of Finding Nemo.
That being said, I do generally like Finding Dory, but it is on the lower end of Pixar films for me. I like the whole concept of exploring a marine conservation centre, and Dory unlocking the memories to her past is a concept I’m on board with. It honestly gives her character so much depth, because in Finding Nemo she was just the comic relief who couldn’t remember anything for more than a few seconds. Here she goes on a similar journey of self-discovery that Marlin underwent in the first film, she learns a whole lot about herself, where she came from, and how her own quirks can help others realise their potential.
Marlin & Nemo’s story is less interesting as it can be boiled down into a series of slapstick sketches that are strung together to create a parody of a prison break. The comedy is usually decent enough, but their whole story feels like an afterthought.
Finding Dory is a bit of a mixed bag visually. Finding Nemo was years ahead of the curve with its water physics and lighting, Finding Dory meanwhile feels less impressive in the grand scheme of things, but there are a few impressive things about it. Most notably is Hank (Ed O’Neill) the octopus. Hank is kind of amazing when you break him down on a technical level, because all animated character models have what are called ‘frames’. These frames act as skeletons and determine how characters are able to move, and where their joints are. Being a creature with no skeleton, Frank has a frame made almost entirely of joints. The more joints a character has the harder it is for them to animate, and the longer it takes for the frames containing them to render because of how complex the model is. The appearance though is a model that behaves almost exactly like an octopus, he moves like liquid, and is able to contort himself into impossible shapes.
Plus, then comes the added coolness factor of Hank being able to camouflage himself to his environment, meaning that he has no pre-determined character model as such, he’s always environmentally dependant. To the untrained eye this might not look like much in motion, but as a tech geek this is some really incredible stuff.
Finding Dory will be good fun for the whole family, but it does feel like a downgrade compared to Finding Nemo. It’s smaller in scale, the story isn’t particularly original, and technologically it’s not as impressive. But particularly in the case of Dory’s character, there’s so much depth that’s provided and it does manage to hit me in the feels at a few notable moments.
Finding Dory may not be up to Pixar’s usual high standard, but it’s far from bottom of the pile either. A relatively safe and mostly unnecessary sequel.
Plus, then comes the added coolness factor of Hank being able to camouflage himself to his environment, meaning that he has no pre-determined character model as such, he’s always environmentally dependant. To the untrained eye this might not look like much in motion, but as a tech geek this is some really incredible stuff.
Finding Dory will be good fun for the whole family, but it does feel like a downgrade compared to Finding Nemo. It’s smaller in scale, the story isn’t particularly original, and technologically it’s not as impressive. But particularly in the case of Dory’s character, there’s so much depth that’s provided and it does manage to hit me in the feels at a few notable moments.
Finding Dory may not be up to Pixar’s usual high standard, but it’s far from bottom of the pile either. A relatively safe and mostly unnecessary sequel.