Finding Dory - Mid-Level Disney/Pixar Film (That's Not A Bad Thing)

Certificate – U

Directed by – Angus MacLane; Andrew Stanton

Starring (Voiced by) – Ellen DeGeneres; Albert Brooks; Ed O’Neill; Kaitlin Olson; Ty Burrell; Diane Keaton; Idris Elba; Dominic West; Bill Hader; Kate McKinnon.

Running Time – 103 Minutes (1 hour 43 minutes)

★★★½

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Before I get into my review of "Finding Dory" normally before every Pixar film, they show a five-minute animated short and this short was called Piper.

It's about a hungry sandpiper hatchling who ventures from the nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. The only problem is, the food is buried beneath the sand where scary waves roll up to the shore.

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I fell for this baby sandpiper, who is probably more adorable then Baby Dory (more about that in the review), and the animation is breathtaking and it's funny and charming and the perfect starter before the main course.

Now let's talk about "Finding Dory" 13 years after the release of "Finding Nemo".

“Finding Dory” picks up a year after the events in “Finding Nemo” and we find Dory (DeGeneres) living happily in the reef with Marlin (Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence). When she suddenly remembers she has a family, and with the help of Marlin and Nemo they travel across the ocean to California’s prestigious Marine Life Institute (MLI), a rehabilitation centre and aquarium.

With the help of MLI’s local residents, Hank (O’Neill), an octopus; Bailey (Burrell), a beluga whale; and Destiny, a near-sighted whale shark, they go on an adventure to find Dory’s mum and dad.

IMAGE VIA DISNEY/PIXAR

IMAGE VIA DISNEY/PIXAR

From the minute the film starts you feel as if you’re back in the ocean and nothing has changed with the beautiful animation and every colour was so clear and bright.

This is down to the brilliant direction of MacLean and Stanton and the voice talent of DeGeneres, Brooks and co.

You can feel the chemistry DeGeneres and Brooks have whenever they’re on screen together, it’s like they haven’t missed a step. DeGeneres’ excitement and chemistry are infectious with whoever she shares the screen.

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Maclean and Stanton did a great job of balancing the emotions and when to flashback to Baby Dory, who is utterly adorable, and the humour was iconic Disney/Pixar with jokes for both kids and adults and there’s a joke at the end of the film that will make parents laugh and think “I know how you feel.”

Some of the humour comes from two seals voiced by West and Elba (who is in his THIRD Disney film of the year following Zootropolis and The Jungle Book).

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However, there were a couple of negatives with one being the story. It’s basically a reserve of the original film and even though the Baby Dory stuff was sad, it just never pulled on my heartstrings like Nemo did so well.

As well as the main characters, there were a few nods and cameos from “Finding Nemo” and I hear there’s a post-credit scene.

Even though “Finding Dory” has made a crap tonne of money worldwide, $651,022,218 to be exacted, and will probably break records and make tonnes of cash in the UK, I can’t see them going for the trilogy.

IMAGE VIA DISNEY/PIXAR

Verdict

A good Disney/Pixar film, and compare to their other classics this is not a bad thing. Beautiful animation and humour for both kids and parents.