When I was 11 years old, "Finding Nemo:" came out in theaters. My parents took me to the theater and I remember watching in absolute awe as a beautiful, underwater world washed over me. The cold, darkness in the theater along with the massive screen and incredible Pixar animation truly made me feel as if I were diving in the ocean, swimming alongside the neurotic clownfish, Marlin, and forgetful blue tang, Dory. I wasn’t the only one in my age group who fell in love with "Finding Nemo" or the only one totally psyched to hear that a sequel called "Finding Dory" would be swimming its way into theaters 13 years after its predecessor.

"Finding Dory" started in very much the same way the first film started. We’re introduced to a young Dory and her parents, and we get an inkling of what happened -- one day she’s with her family and the next she is wandering the ocean, small, alone and forgetful. We see a glimpse of her running into Marlin in "Finding Nemo," and then we jump ahead in time by a year, after the events of the first film.

The opening was a tear-jerker. It was sweet, it was sad, it reminded me greatly of the opening to the first movie. It was everything I was expecting from "Finding Dory." But, after that stellar opening, things started to go downhill.

In the first film, part of the wonder and amazement came from not just the characters, but the massive ocean scenery and the overall pace being fairly steady. We’d have a slow scene to get to know our characters, then a faster paced scene, then another slow one. It was a good pace. Nothing felt rushed. Nothing felt overdone. However, in "Finding Dory," I felt the beginning (right after that stellar opening) was rushed. We had quick cameos of previous film characters, some swift travel, some sudden memories that prompt the beginning of the plot, action, a scene full of anger and emotion. I know the film takes place under the sea, but that doesn’t mean the audience shouldn’t be given an opportunity to come up for air for a second. So much happened in the first 20 minutes of the film that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was pretty stressful, especially for a family friendly movie.

But, as soon as that 20 minutes of an insane amount of content being tossed at us ended, the film started to slow down to an almost painful pace. In the first film, there was more of a back and forth. For every slow scene there was a fast scene. But, in this movie, it was rushing through the beginning to slow down in the middle and finally hit its stride pace wise at the very end.

Regardless of the strange pacing, the story itself was probably just as moving as "Finding Nemo." Watching Dory search for her family, seeing her finally beginning to remember via a series of well-coordinated flashbacks, you couldn’t help but root for Dory the entire way through the film. Every misstep on the way to finding her family, was a blow to the heart. Every time it turned out she was one step closer to her family, you felt like cheering. The characters were all just as lovable as they were in the first movie and even the new cast was charming and fun, each one having a unique look and personality that we come to expect from Pixar films.

So while the pacing is a little shaky, overall, "Finding Dory" is a movie that is definitely worth swimming down to your local movie theater to see this summer.