'Finding Dory' Review

Finding Dory is the sequel to the critically and publicly adored Finding Nemo that has arrived thirteen years later, Pixar really likes to put some distance in time between sequels (ie. Toy Story 3). Speaking of Pixar sequels, many are concerned given the studio's spotty track record with success in the Toy Story franchise and failure with Cars (Cars 2), but I'd say this falls more along with the comparison between Monsters Inc. and Monsters University when compared to Finding Nemo, something I'll elaborate on in this review. 

Finding Dory picks up a year after the events of Finding Nemo after revealing some flashbacks elaborating Dory's backstory and Dory suddenly remembers that she has a family and wants to find them so naturally Marlin, Nemo, and Dory must journey across the sea and infiltrate a Marine Life Institute to reunite Dory with her parents. In essence, it's about Dory finding her home but at it's core the film is actually about finding Dory but not in the surface level way you might expect as she must search within herself for memories to help her remember who she is, a cumbersome task for the forgetful fish. On this note, creators use Dory's short-term memory loss tastefully, giving it some emotional depth this time around thanks to background character information unbeknownst to viewers watching Finding Nemo. 

While Finding Dory didn't ever make me bawl, I will admit to shedding a few tears at some of the emotionally pumped portions of the film. Andrew Stanton returns to direct and once again writes the masterful screenplay, alongside fresh co-director Angus MacLane, after helming Finding Nemo and giving his shot at live action with John Carter, one of Disney's more recent tragic flops that I enjoyed, and I can say he did a wonderful job recapturing the magic of the original whilst treading new ground, so don't fret as Finding Dory is a radically different story than Finding Nemo although there are homages to moments from the original. 

The story is once again a hit for Pixar diving deep both emotionally and intellectually, plucking the audiences heartstrings, while bringing ample comedic relief in the film's light hearted moments. The animation is remarkable with even more attention to detail in regards to refined character designs, photorealistic environments that will leave you in awe, and water that once again looks so darn real! Every frame is beautifully crafted and gorgeously rendered making me consider seeing the film in 3D for my second viewing. I can't praise the visuals highly enough! Thomas Newman also returns to score the film and brings along a few themes from the original that are reserved in use for the special moments as well as some newly constructed melodies that add fun, suspense, and heart to the proceedings. 

The film's voice cast features both newcomers as well as returning cast members that pile on fun, fun, and more fun. Ellen Degeneres steps into the limelight this time as the happy-go-lucky amnesiac Blue Tang Dory and she brings back everything that made audiences fall in love with Dory to begin with. Degeneres is given the chance to dive deep emotionally with some tender moments that may leave some a little teary eyed and Degeneres just clicks in the role once again. 

I also think credit should be given to child actor Sloane Murray who voices the young Dory, who looked so cute thanks to the wonderful animators at Pixar, and brings surprising depth from such young eyes. 

Albert Brooks is back once again as the tense worrisome Clownfish Marlin and proves to be just as effective in a supporting capacity thanks to the subplot with him and Nemo. Hayden Rolence steps into the role of headstrong Nemo, taking over for Alexander Gould who aged out of the role, and I can say Rolence captured the embodiment of Nemo very well. 

Ed O'Neill voices a grumpy septopus that is paired with Dory for a surprising portion of the running time and slowly grows on the viewer becoming a lovable character in his own right. Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy voice Dory's parents Jenny and Charlie and I'll just say they were the perfect pairing to authentically demonstrate how parents of a child with short term memory loss would act in response to the problem. 

Various marine life encountered at the institute include Kaitlin Olsen's near sighted Whale Shark Destiny, Ty Burrell's reluctant Beluga Whale Bailey, a whacky bird Becky, and Idris Elba and Dominic West as two ill-tempered cockney sea lions Fluke and Rudder. The group even encounter the voice of Sigourney Weaver (She voices herself). Sigourney Weaver's role will likely make adults laugh out loud but children may not understand why it's so humorous (It's not inappropriate but when you see the film you'll know just what I mean). 

Fan favorites from the original can be spotted including Bob Peterson's dorky instructor Sting Ray Mr. Ray, Andrew Stanton's relaxed sea turtle Crush, Bennett Dammann's totally cool Squirt, and those pesky seagulls also voiced by Stanton. There's a few more but I won't spoil their appearance given they weren't shown in the marketing material. 

Other incentives for viewing the flick include an adorable short film about Piper the baby bird that's gorgeously rendered, beautifully animated, and warms the heart as you will audibly say the word "Aww" many many times and a little scene after the credits for those patient viewers that's especially rewarding for those that waited through the credits of Finding Nemo. 

Now for the question I'm sure you've all been waiting for, "Is Finding Dory better than Finding Nemo?" to which I would reply that I don't think it reaches those heights but it's mere fish scales away, not to Finding Dory's fault but the fact that Finding Nemo is such an incredible film. It was definitely worth the thirteen year wait and waves of nostalgia hit me as I saw it in the same exact theater I saw Finding Nemo in so long ago. Finding Dory isn't a blatant cash grab but rather a commendable sequel that takes risks, feels fresh, and is loads of fun thanks to the talented voice cast, exceptional animation, and heartfelt story.

Film Assessment: A-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Finding Nemo'

This week I will be reviewing Finding Nemo to correlate with the release of Finding Dory this weekend. It was nice to revisit one of the beloved movies from my childhood and the wave of nostalgia that followed, the poster above alone brings back memories as it was one of the Finding Nemo posters I once had hanging up in my room. Next week I will be out of town but I will be preparing my Throwback Thursday Review of Independence Day ahead of time so I can upload it next Thursday. This means my review of Independence Day: Resurgence will be delayed till the following Monday most likely and I plan on seeing Finding Dory and reviewing it before I leave.

'Finding Nemo' Review

Nominated For: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Score.
Won: Best Animated Feature.

Finding Nemo is widely regarded as one of Pixar's best and for those who've been living under a rock for the last thirteen years, Finding Nemo follows the story of an overprotective clown fish, Marlin, scouring the ocean for his son Nemo after Nemo is abducted by a scuba diver. Along the way, Marlin encounters a wide variety of sea life, including an Alcoholics Anonymous-like group of sharks, a viscous Angler fish, dangerous jellyfish, and some chill sea turtles to name a few.

Andrew Stanton directs alongside Lee Unkrich and even lended his talents to the marvelous screenplay with assistance from Bob Peterson and David Reynolds so there's plenty of talent to be found behind the animated feature. The story is intellectual, full of heart, and filled to the brim with memorable quotes we've all used at one point or another. The film also bolsters incredible animation as the animators ensure every nook and cranny is eye-catching with vibrant colors, photorealistic lighting effects, and water that just looks so darn real.

I particularly liked the nice touches of the attention to detail on the fish scales, specs of dust floating about, and the movement of the water alone. The animation is all phenomenal even when given a warm cartoonish aesthetic, which I don't feel is a bad thing as it makes the environment all the more conducive. The score composed by Thomas Newman is just incredible. It manages to elicit feelings of suspense, wonderment, sadness, and even a warm glow of happiness on it's own but when added to the masterful elements at play it just warms the heart and completes the cinematic experience.

On the topic of emotion, one thing Pixar is supreme at is manipulating emotions tastefully and I can vouch that upon rewatching the film I smiled as I recounted my fond memories of the film, I laughed at the funny one-liners, and I cried several times as I now had a more mature viewpoint at some of the deeper emotional aspects in the film.

The film's cast doesn't slouch either with some spectacular recognizable voice talent. Albert Brooks voices the cautious clownfish Marlin and Brooks really delivers on the emotional heartfelt moments. Ellen DeGeneres provides the voicing for the forgetful royal blue tang Dory and has proved to be an audience favorite thanks to her charming personable mannerisms. Brooks and Degeneres share some great chemistry in their ocean-wide road trip as Dory lets loose and Marlin tries to reign control of their situations and that contrasting dynamic is intriguing enough on it's own without the additional pressures of dangers they encounter along the way.

Alexander Gould brings an adventurous spirit to a sheltered clownfish with an impish fin, Nemo, and the conflict between Nemo's willingness to plunge into perilous situations and Marlin's reluctance to even near such hazards makes for an interesting father son dynamic that tugs at the heart strings a few times. Another vital presence is Willem Dafoe's Gill, and just based on character design you can tell that Gill's been through a lot thanks to a rugged appearance and damaged fin, which allows him to sympathize with Nemo and a mentor-apprentice bond is instantly formed between the two. Dafoe brings out such emotion as Gill's concern for young Nemo is clear and understandable due to the risks should Nemo not escape the fishtank.

There are also a host of marine life, birds, and tank fish encountered by the protagonists that bring comedic relief thanks to their unique personalities. The beginning of the film introduces Nemo's three whacky classmates: Sheldon the H2O intolerant Seahorse, Tad the obnoxious Longnose Butterflyfish, Pearl the pretentious Flapjack Octopus, and Mr. Ray the dweebish Stingray teacher articulated by Erik Per Sullivan, Jordan Ranft  Erica Beck, and Bob Peterson. Once the journey is undergone Marlin and Dory encounter Bruce the sentimental Great White Shark, Chum the excitable Mako Shark, Anchor the impatient Hammerhead, a school of mischievous moon fish, Crush the easy going sea turtle, his righteous son Squirt, Nigel the realistic Pelican, and some shrill seagulls whose voices are expressed by Barry Humphries, Bruce Spence, Eric Bana, John Ratzenberger, director Andrew Stanton, Nicholas Bird, Geoffrey Rush, and Andrew Stanton once again.

In the fish tank Nemo is plunked into he encounters Bloat the high-strung Pufferfish, Gurgle the pessimistic germaphobe Royal Gramma, Peach the kind Starfish, Bubbles the easily amused Yellow Tang, Deb & Flo (her reflection) the luny Black & White Humbug, and Jacques the French Banded Cleaner Shrimp voiced by Brad Garrett, Austin Pendleton, Allison Janney, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis, and Joe Ranft respectively. I apologize for the long listing but all these characters share the trait of being brief amusing supporting roles that service the story and show just how vast the ocean truly is and all the different personalities that can be found.

Elsewhere on land, the dentist P. Sherman that abducts Nemo is brought to us by Bill Hunter and his psychotic niece Darla is vocalized by Lu Lu Ebeling. The massive ensemble brings together some of the best vocal talent available and from all I've discussed it's clear Finding Nemo had plenty of talent in all departments.

So if I were asked if Finding Nemo was my favorite Pixar film? My response would be that I'm unsure, but am confident it ranks somewhere among the top five if I were asked to narrow it down, which is extremely difficult considering the outstanding content the animation studio puts out. Finding Nemo could have easily become a soulless visual effects reel if it weren't for it's personal story but the film's focus on narrative makes it one of Pixar's best and some phenomenal family entertainment. Finding Nemo isn't just one of the greatest animated films ever made, I'd dare place it on a list of the best films made post-2000 thanks to the culmination of a remarkable screenplay, breathtaking animation, magnificent score, and formidable voice cast.

Film Assessment: A+