worth watching but feels recycled at times

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 2016)

Only 'one year' after Finding Nemo, Pixar Studios dives back into the aquatic world in this fun but uneven follow-up. This time around the focus of the story is Dory, the amnesiac blue tang fish who has a sudden yearning for her missing family. With clownfish pals Marlin and Nemo in tow, she sets out blindly yet determined to reunite with the parents she once knew. Visual effects are impressive, clever gags are plentiful, and there are an assortment of new characters—including a slick, scheming octopus voiced to perfection by O'Neill—but there are some story lulls here and there, and it doesn't quite rise to the level of awe or heartwarming emotion as its predecessor. Still good fun, especially as it nears its frantic finale, but unlikely to make viewers forget the first film. **½