Finding Dory (2016)

Genre

Adventure | Animation | Comedy

Directors

Andrew Stanton | Angus MacLane

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence, Ed O'Neil, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Bob Peterson, Andrew Stanton, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Sigourney Weaver, Alexander Gould, John Ratzenberger, Robin Xan Bullock, Sloane Murray, Lucia Geddes

Storyline

Not long after finding Nemo (Hayden Rolence), Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) begins to remember bits and pieces of her past as she embarks on an adventure with her two friends to find her parents.

Opinion

Last night I've finally been able to watch arguably the most anticipated animated film of the year - and probably in years too -, and I'm happy to say that Andrew Stanton did it again. Even though many say it was a disappointment and nothing like "Finding Nemo", for me "Finding Dory" was a funny, beautiful and touching tale that celebrates being different.

Maybe the reason why so many were disappointed is because of the plot. If you have seen "Finding Nemo" it will be quite familiar to you, as a matter of fact the two films basically share the same plot. Only this time is Dory, the adorable blue tang fish suffering from short-memory loss, that tries to reunite with her loves ones.

However, while it's nothing new, the story is still excellent, engaging, funny, inspiring and very, very meaningful. In fact, the (back)story of Dory not only is touching and will probably have you (almost) in tears, but it delivers a great message to kids by showing that people with disabilities, of the mental kind in this case, can do as much as normal people and that their qualities should also be admired - as pointed out by Nemo in the film.

The film also features tons of funny moments for all ages and funny characters, like Gerald the sea lion. He is quite dumb but also so funny and lovable. But in a film about disabilities, it's not great to have an autistic character being bullied.

Anyway, among the characters, we have Dory, of course, which I enjoyed even more because I feel like Ellen DeGeneres did an even better job, not only giving the voice to the fish but by adding some extra personality; there's Marlin and Nemo, and a wonderful new entry, Hank, a grumpy octopus that will eventually establish a friendship with Dory. And the character development is simply impressive.

At last but not least the animation. I'll never get sick of saying how gorgeous Pixar's animation is. Every detail of the underwater world is spot on, the characters all look stunning, and the scenery is simply breathtaking.

Ultimately it is not as good as last year "Inside Out", but it's still worth the time and money.