Finding Dory
Composite Score: 81.43
Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, and Idris Elba
Directors: Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane
Writers: Andrew Stanton and Victoria Strouse
Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family
MPAA Rating: PG for mild thematic elements
Box Office: $1.03 billion worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Finding Dory is Pixar’s follow-up to the widely loved Finding Nemo of 2003, following the lives of Dory, Marlin, and Nemo one year after the events of Finding Nemo. The film is a solid sequel, maintaining its character integrity and carrying on the humor of the original, blending both children’s and adult comedy. The film features some highly informative looks into the world of aquarium life while also exploring deeper themes of family, memory, and independence. While not as critically successful as its predecessor, Finding Dory is a highly enjoyable watch that makes sense in this position on the list of Greatest Films of All Time.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Compared to some of the other Pixar films, Finding Dory is a bit more simplistic in its story and themes. By choosing to make Dory the film’s protagonist, the film has to work hard in the first act to make its heartfelt joke character into a sympathetic hero in her own right. Eventually, the filmmakers accomplish this goal, but it is definitely done at the expense of some of Pixar’s more typically meaningful themes. Dory and other characters at the aquarium allow the film to explore themes of disabled family members and living with disabilities and helping others cope with such occurrences, but not nearly as deeply as they probably could have had this been an original film without the need to change the audience’s perceptions of its protagonist.
The seal characters that live outside of the aquarium are also bullies played for comic relief, which is an interesting choice considering the modern context and the overall theme of the movie of helping people who need help and embracing people’s differences. There are two seals, one voiced by Idris Elba, who stay sunning themselves on a rock in the ocean beyond the aquarium where Dory’s family lives and consistently deny a third seal the right to sit on the rock with them, implicitly because he is different – the third seal (Gerald) has bugging eyes and bushy eyebrows and a vacant look on his face, making him a potentially problematic stereotype of people with certain mental handicaps. Having these seals seemingly bully Gerald for comic relief feels like a weird choice in the broader context of the film.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
In terms of the rest of the film’s comedy, Finding Dory strikes gold, using the same brand of humor that led to so much success for basically every other Pixar film – appealing to adults and to children alike. I found myself laughing pretty consistently at the film’s jokes, and even the visual gags of the film land really well. It is clear watching the film that both the screenwriters and animators had a really good time putting humor into the film for their young audiences and sneaking some things in there for the adults to catch as well. While Finding Dory is a Pixar film that feels more heavily tailored to small children, it does not fail to keep the adults laughing along as they watch.
Finding Dory is set mostly at an aquarium in Southern California, providing an interesting look into the inner workings of aquarium life, from the perspective of the animals that live there. The film has seemingly conflicting, but well-informed, views on aquariums. On one hand, they can serve as useful rehabilitation centers for injured marine animals that need help. On another, they are not natural habitats, and certain experiences can be severely problematic in the development of the animals that live there. I enjoyed the serious and humorous take that Finding Dory has on aquariums, as it adds another layer to be enjoyed in the film.
While its exploration of its themes is somewhat lighter than other Pixar films, Finding Dory does dive into relevant themes that help elevate it above its simplicity. The interactions of Dory with Marlin, Nemo with Marlin, and Dory with her parents exhibit different forms of friendship and familial relationships, each having something to say about how we treat the people around us that we cannot live without. Marlin’s development from fearful and overbearing father to caring friend and parent is only accomplished because of his positive relationships with his son and with Dory. Themes of memory and the impact of the people around us on those memories play out as we see Dory grapple with her “short-term memory loss”. While such a struggle is not necessarily the most relatable, the wider story about people leaving a lasting impact and wanting to leave a lasting impact on others definitely is.
Finding Dory may not be the most mature or perfectly crafted of Pixar’s films, but its loyalty to its brand of comedy, interesting setting, and relatable themes help make it a film worth watching for any audience. While it is not the most highly rated animated film of all time, its success with audiences and its overall fun nature make it fit well as one of the Greatest Movies of All Time.
