Finding Dory is supposed to be a worthy sequel, but it isn't.

Rating: 4/10 (9 July 2016)

I am a very big Pixar fan. I grew up watching all the Pixar classics when I was a kid. Toy Story, The Incredibles, Wall-E, and Finding Nemo are some examples of my favorite Pixar movies of all time. When the Finding Dory teaser played before The Force Awakens, that effing piano at the beginning gave me goosebumps. The highly anticipated sequel to our favorite classic is here! I was very excited as I entered the theater. I wasn't surprised that 40% of the theater was occupied by children (although the most surprising thing here is that elders were dominant). It was supposed to be a great day to spend Father's Day last month. But as I exit the theater, I don't know exactly what was wrong with me. I felt kind of underwhelmed and disappointed at the same time. Is this the most disappointing Pixar film yet?
First, I'll list the only good stuff in the movie.
1. Voice acting. The old cast in this sequel still have the same energy they had back in 2003. The new cast such as Idris Elba, Diane Lane, Eugene Levy, and Ed O'Neill shined in their roles.
2. Humor. Although the humor is aimed at kids, there were also jokes made to fly over their heads. Sigourney Weaver's scene and Dory considering her as her friend as an example. It's a remarkable scene.
Now here are all the flaws in the film:
1. Story. Not only did I notice the storyline is rushed, but even others did. Are they low on budget? I don't know.
2. Plot. This is a problem most people have with the film. The plot is basically a rehash of the first Finding Nemo! I didn't have any expectation of wishing for something original since this is the first time Pixar rehashed a classic. Add some exaggerating and unbelievable moments in the film.
3. Lack of heart. Another big problem with the film is that it lacked heart. When I heard that there are no teary eyed moments, my excitement lowered a bit. However, when my friends said they did cry, I went to the theater also expecting to cry. But there wasn't any time for teary eyed moments. Take Inside Out, Toy Story 3, Up, and Finding Nemo as examples. They broke our hearts so much that you can't resist crying. The story is "so human". In Finding Dory, they were replaced with laughs instead.
4. The Tank Gang's appearance. Why were they at the after end credits scene? They could've been in the actual movie instead of letting only a small amount of people getting to see them again. Really disappointing.
5. Exaggerating moments. The new character named Hank was a really likable character, until he was ruined in the third act. He actually drives a truck on the road! Would you also like to see fishes hijack a truck? What about a whale shark escaping from its tank? You'll find those here. What a move, Pixar.
6. Music. Thomas Newman is a great movie composer. But he's not so great here. His music sounds so uninspired and he didn't bring the original Finding Nemo theme (excluding one scene). Dory's theme is too similar to the theme of Finding Nemo. And at times, his music gave me a Dreamworks feel.
7. Theme song. I literally hated Unforgettable. It sounds more of a James Bond theme (kinda sounds like Writing's on the Wall from SPECTRE) than a Finding Dory theme song. Sia wasn't even a good choice to sing the theme song. Is Hollywood hiring famous singers to sing theme songs for every single movie? The terrible Ghostbusters remake has Fall Out Boy performing the theme. Bad idea. What's next? Justin Bieber singing a new theme for Rogue One?
8. Children are treated like devils. This isn't really an issue in Toy Story 3, but they did it again here. It's like saying Pixar thinks children are devils.
As you can see, I am very disappointed with Finding Dory. I was ready to give this a 10, but after seeing the movie, I am very disappointed. This is supposed to be a worthy sequel, but it isn't. Instead, we were given another mediocre sequel from Pixar (in my ratings Cars 2 is rated higher than this because at least the characters are not exaggerating and we had a really good theme, but it's still a disappointing Pixar movie). It's not as good as Finding Nemo either. This won't be in my Pixar collection. This is the second Pixar movie not to be present there. I refuse to believe this exists. Hopefully The Incredibles 2 won't be as mediocre as this.
4/10.