Finding Dory is not as good as Finding Nemo

Rating: 7/10 (16 June 2016)

It is ironic that Finding Dory's ending credits song is "Unforgettable", considering the film is not. The Finding Nemo sequel might not be as timeless as its 13-year-old predecessor, but it delivers the heartfelt moments and laugh-out-loud scenes that is to be expected from Pixar.
Finding Dory revolves around Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) who lost her parents since she was a young girl. In the meantime, she has lived with clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence). As the title suggests, Dory loses her clownfish friends. As a result, Marloe and Nemo go looking for Dory. In the meantime, Dory goes looking for her parents. The question is, will Marlin and Nemo find Dory? And the bigger question is, will Dory find her parents?
The problem with these questions is that the film answers them at surface- level (no pun intended). Gone is the poignancy that Finding Nemo had, where Nemo loses his mother. Gone is the relevancy of plot structure, where every plot point furthered Finding Nemo. Instead, Finding Dory is a cute and harmless film where conflicts happen because they can. And, those conflicts get resolved quickly. Come on Pixar, you are better than this.
The film also stars some truly forgettable characters. Jenny (Diane Keaton) and Charlie (Eugene Levy) play Dory's parents, who are loving and charismatic, but are not given much to work with. As a result, they play the role of Dory's parents and that is strictly the only role they play. In Finding Nemo, there was Crush (Andrew Stanton) and the Fish Tank Gang, who were Marlin and Nemo's friends, but they were there to instill courage and hope in them. Finding Dory characters Destiny (Kaitlin Olson) and Bailey (Ty Burrell) are there to help Dory, but they do not teach her anything. If anything, Marlin and Nemo do. Yet, Marlin and Nemo taught Dory that it was okay for her to be herself in the first movie. Ergo, Finding Dory is an unnecessary sequel if Finding Nemo already established Dory's character.
Yet, what Finding Dory achieves, like its original, is being entertaining. The animation looks impeccable- so much so that audiences will feel like they are really at Monterey Bay. The grass, the pipelines, and the backroom all look unbelievably real. Watching the animation look so photorealistic and detailed is compelling to watch.
The film also has several laugh-out-loud moments. Destiny, while being a forgettable character, is the butt of a hysterical joke. The cameo in this film is also funny- gut-bustlingly funny. And, Dory has some great one-liners at Mr. Ray's school.
What Finding Dory also has going for it is the relationship Dory, the film's protagonist, has to her friends. Dory has a heart-to-heart moment with Hank (Ed O'Neil), her and Marlin engage in funny quarrels, and Dory has some big sister moments with Nemo. That is another advantage of Finding Dory- Dory is a very likable and engaging character. Yes, Dory's memory loss shtick can wear thin- so much so that I was rolling my eyes at how much she repeated Mr. Ray's lines. Yet, she redeems herself at the end of Finding Dory when she discovers her flaws make her who she is.
Essentially, Finding Dory is an entertaining sequel that stars an engaging protagonist. If one expects a clever story with characters that are as three-dimensional as the film's animation, they will be disappointed. Finding Dory fails to live up to the original, and is a sequel that was made because it could be made. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Toy Story 2 and 3 were not required to further Toy Story's plot, yet they were dimensional and gave audiences some truly developed characters. Finding Dory does not do this, but it is just as entertaining as those sequels. On that merit alone, it is worth a matinée. However, catch the matinée in 2D because the film has no pop- up moments or true depth of field in 3D.