A Rare Pixar Sequel That Can Be Emotionally Riveting

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2016)

In the past, Pixar movies I've come to know as a kid since the 90s have introduced many funny and versatile characters going on the most riveting adventures. Now, Pixar has produced a sequel that may possibly be worthy of reaching the same ranks as the successful Toy Story film series. 2003's Finding Nemo spin-off sequel 'Finding Dory' is a movie that can reach an impactful emotional tone in its own right.
The story takes place about one year after blue tang fish Dory helped clownfish Marlin search for his son Nemo. She now lives with the clownfish family, but feels she needs to piece together the whereabouts of her own long-lost family. As before, it's a desperate search which this time ultimately leads them to another side of the Pacific, a marine life aquarium in Monterrey, California.
Admittedly, when I first heard the title, I began to sneer at such an idea since the studio's last two sequel/prequel efforts like Cars 2 was disastrous in terms of story. Whereas Monsters University was pretty average. Thus making me think "what gives them the idea this sequel will be any different?" Of course, when I first watched 'Dory,' it was something I found just as emotionally driven if certainly not better than its 2003 predecessor. I feel it is something as poised as Pixar's recent Oscar-winning hit Inside Out, namely on its importance of family. There were times in the movie where I felt lost and had some predictable scenarios as well, but this felt more than just a sequel where they throw in new characters or settings, it's the issue of how one can comprehend loss or separation, especially if the individual has an impairment in short-term memory at a very young age. Ellen DeGeneres gracefully reprises the role as forgetful fish Dory with such believability in making her look vulnerable and helpless with such a condition. With Marlin and Nemo tagging along for the ride, they are assisted by their de facto guide Hank (voiced well by 'Modern Family' star Ed O'Neill), an anxious octopus (or "heptapus" as Dory humorously calls him regarding missing a tentacle) wanting to escape to Cleveland as she continues her search around the aquarium. What gave a nice touch to the whole movie was actress Sigourney Weaver serving as the aquarium's hostess (similar to what she did for Pixar's Wall-E) and especially highlighting how Dory's personal journey clumsily, yet fatefully intertwined with Marlin's own journey when they first met in the 2003 original. Pixar easter eggs are also worth pondering over in various parts of the movie, too.
This is more than just a "kid's movie" and I emphasize on that. I would recommend this to adults with children of their own to see that because Dory has an impairment, she is easily misunderstood by many. But that doesn't mean it should be taken for granted. Instead, it's more about the values and what longing to be with a family truly feels like after so long.