Not Quite up to Finding Nemo But Lots of Fun

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2016)

A fun sequel to Finding Nemo that somehow treats California and Australia as close together. Dory's attempt to locate her dimly remembered family lands her in a marine aquarium in California. Much of the undersea action takes place in deeper and murkier waters than Finding Nemo, so the visual appeal isn't quite up to the original film. The high point of this film is an octopus named Hank whose ability to camouflage himself and squeeze through tiny openings is exploited to the max. Also Hank has the wise- cracking ability of his voice actor, Ed O'Neill (AKA Al Bundy). Dory is about to be shipped to an aquarium in Cleveland, but she and Hank hijack the truck in a hilarious escape sequence. Eventually Dory meets her parents, though the meeting isn't as heartwarming as it could have been and just seems a bit flat. As is the custom these days, viewers are encouraged to stay through the end credits by the promise of humorous interludes. Do stay. There's a great tie-back to the original film at the very end.