FINDING DORY (2016)

Genre: Animated

Running Length: 1:36

Cast (Voices): Ellen DeGeneres, Idris Elba, Sloane Murray, Eugene Levy, Diane Keaton, Ty Burrell, Hayden Rolence, Kaitlin Olson, Ed O’Neill, Albert Brooks, Dominic West

Director: Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane
Screenplay: Andrew Stanton, based on a story by Andrew Stanton and Victoria Strouse & Bob Peterson

From the trailer, one can tell the sequel to Pixar's Finding Nemo, FINDING DORY, is a role-reversal of its predecessor. I was a little hesitant to watch this film as I didn't want to accept that Pixar is in this for the cash grab - because this approach for a sequel just seems lazy. But I went anyway. 

Well, it is still a somewhat role-reversal story but there's one aspect of the story I found very interesting. In fact, Pixar is probably the only animation house around that is bold enough to explore the aspect of human emotions as the core of its stories. And by dressing it up with bright colours and frenetic set pieces, it is accessible to both adults and kids. Take examples; Up (which explores about grief), Toy Story series (about being relevant and abandonment) and last year's remarkable high concept Inside Out (literally a story about emotions). 

In Finding Dory, it explores a difficult theme of "what does it mean to have a special child?" Yes, we're talking about disability (don't confuse "special" here with the chosen one or a superhero). Although some may argue that Dory's short term memory loss is not really a disability but how the filmmakers approached this subject is otherwise. There are some really heart wrenching moments which include her loving parents doing their their best to care for her when she was young and one particularly overwhelming scene of Dory in a long drawn scene of her feeling frustrated, lost and disorientated - shot from a first-person perspective. This is some heavy stuff. 

That said, like most Pixar movies, this film is pretty well balanced out with our main characters going through a life-changing "roadtrip" filled with adventure, thrills and meeting strange characters along the way. Speaking of strange characters, the highlight for me is Hank the grumpy octopus, who has chameleon-like abilities. Whenever he's on screen, expect scenes full of hijinks, havoc and humour to come your way. In fact, the finale of Hank and Dory trying to get back into the sea is so chaotic and over-the-top, this memorable scene would probably end up as one of the most watched clip in YouTube in the future.        

Although Finding Dory feels the "same but with a different spin" overall, it is an OK sequel. I think it may work better for those who haven't seen the 2003 release as it could possibly give them a fresher movie experience. Now if only the filmmakers explored a little more on the special kid aspect.

(A special shout out to PIPER, the accompanying short animation. It's a winner because the very essence of a Pixar movie is accomplished more in its seven minutes compared to the 95 minutes of Finding Dory) 

 

Rating: 7/10