Review of Finding Dory (2016) by Bradley D — 18 Sep 2016

I'll just say right up front that I found Finding Dory to be (at best) a middle-tier Pixar film. Luckily for this movie, even Pixar's middling films are better than the good films from some other studios. What they nail in this movie is creating likable new characters. There are at least a half dozen new faces in this movie, and each one adds something fun to the film. In fact, I'll just say it, I liked the new characters much more than the returning cast. In particular I enjoyed a pair of whales that had some great comedic moments together. Their humor was appreciated, because one of the biggest problems with this movie is that it lacks the most humorous element of the first film...Dory isn't all that forgetful any more. Also, because of how the plot is built, when she is forgetful it is no longer a source of humor, it is a source of distress. Likewise, Finding Dory retreads some of the same plot points of the first film, and references back to that story more than it should. Not only does it repeat elements from the first film, it actually repeats itself so much that I was almost getting annoyed. Luckily there were enough fun and adventurous moments that I was distracted from my negative reactions.

In a surprise to no one, you'll find that this movie attempts to tap into Pixar's patented emotional manipulation, which forces tears from the eyes of even the most hardhearted audience member. Unfortunately, it was utterly unsuccessful for me this time around. There was something in the emotions of Dory's entire arc that I wasn't connecting with, she just wasn't as likable this time around (she even got a little whiny for my taste.) I desperately missed her eternal optimism and charming naivete from Finding Nemo. The sad truth is, this was an utterly unnecessary sequel. Many people joined me in this assertion when the film was originally announced, but I think we all held out hope that Pixar could make some magic even if we didn't see the need for the sequel in the first place. Frankly, I don't think they succeeded. I'm not saying that the movie is worthless, and I guarantee there will be plenty of kids (and some adults too) who genuinely love Finding Dory. Sadly, in my opinion, it is one more in a series of lackluster sequels/prequels they have released and I don't see myself revisiting it all that often. I even worry that my opinion of it will worsen over time because, as you can read in this review, it seems that the negatives are sticking with me a lot more than the positives.