Another Rollicking Undersea Adventure

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2017)

"Finding Nemo" was a landmark, five-star Pixar film both in terms of visuals and locale (underwater world). "Finding Dory" takes that winning formula, tweaks it just a bit, and produces another rollicking (if slightly less groundbreaking) undersea adventure.
For a basic plot summary, "Finding Dory" focuses on Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), the forgetful little blue tang fish. Early on in the film, Dory--now part of Marlin (Albert Brooks) & Nemo's (Hayden Rolence) family--remembers that she once had parents of her own, and thus the trio hitch a ride with Crush (Andrew Stanton) for the currents of California. Arriving at a Sea World-esque aquatic park, Dory is helped by a number of newcomers to the franchise, such as Hank the octopus (Ed O'Neil), Destiny the whale shark (Kaitlin Olson), and Bailey the Beluga whale (Ty Burrell).
Basically, "Finding Dory" takes the same basic plot formula (rescue adventure) of "Finding Nemo" and just breathes some new life/characters into it. This approach doesn't really break much new ground, but perhaps such a formula doesn't need to be "messed with". I was chuckling at many jokes throughout (all the new characters fit in nicely), and found myself mostly caught up in the sense of adventure.
Probably the most interesting choice of the entire experience was Disney/Pixar's focus on Dory's "disability" (short-term memory loss). For the most part, that is where the emotion of the film comes from...seeing Dory overcome her weaknesses and even turn them into strengths. Whereas in the first film Dory was pretty much played as just the comic relief, this time her personal struggles comprise the main narrative structure of the entire flick.
Why not the full five stars? Simply put: because Toy Story 2 was better than Toy Story. Somehow, someway, Disney/Pixar managed to have that sequel transcend its spectacular original, and that didn't necessarily happen here. My final star ranking would be 4.5/5.0, if able.
Overall, though, I very much enjoyed the experience of watching "Finding Dory". It's an amazing experience to look around the theater and see people of all ages enjoying the same film. I give Disney/Pixar a lot of credit for that. If you were swept away by "Finding Nemo", you'll get the same kind of adventure/comedy in "Finding Dory".