Review of Finding Dory (2016) by Betterbrobureau — 17 Jun 2016

"Finding Dory" had a lot to live up to, as "Finding Nemo" is considered by many to be one of the best Pixar films. "Nemo" had it all. Amazing story, characters, lessons, and visuals. While Dory doesn’t hit all the marks as well, it’s solid entertainment.

The Breakdown:

Story: 3/5.

Strengths:

The set pieces and obstacles are the protagonist instead of having an actual villain.

Great humor throughout.

Some creative ties into the first film.

Weaknesses:

The illusion of realism is broken in the third act with far fetched antics that are tough to swallow even with talking fish.

Lacks some of the strong lessons and heart that Find Nemo had. (Though Piper, the animated short before the film, makes up for this.).

Characters: 4.5/5.

Strengths:

Hank the Octopus played by Ed O’Neill steals every scene he’s in.

Pixar does it again by working in the animals habits and mannerisms into every character in the film.

You look forward to every character to show back up as the story progresses.

Weaknesses:

A funny gag from the original with Dory “speaking whale” is over used and looses its humor and charm.

Visuals: 5/5.

Strengths:

Pixar animation continues to advance, and every shot in the entire film is beautifully done.

The animated short Piper before the film has some of the most realistic textures and environmental elements I’ve ever seen in computer graphics.

Weaknesses:

None.

Bottom Line: 4/5.

The story is very straightforward and is missing the depth of the first film. However the fantastic cast of characters and how well they tie to their real world animal counterparts is extremely well done. Pixar’s beautiful animation continues to impress and really brings the characters and environments to life. It’s a solid entertainment for kids and adults, and highly recommend a theatrical viewing.