Finding Nemo: one of the greatest non-love story Disney movies. My childhood. The perfect combination of adventure, suspense, adorableness, love, and family fun. For thirteen years not boys and girls of all ages have been watching the amazingly animated story of Nemo and his struggle to return back to his family while also learning life lessons along the way. With a great plot, a perfect Disney ending, and so many memorable characters like Nemo, Marlin, Dory, Bruce, Crush, and Ray, I have to be honest when I say that I thought there was no way that the sequel, "Finding Dory," could ever live up to "Finding Nemo"… I was wrong.
Although I do not agree when others say it was better than the first I think it was right up there with it! Finding Dory was yet another amazing movie from Disney. Filled with adventure scenes, heart felt scenes, and parts that will literally make you LOL, this is yet another fantastic movie for the whole family! Finding Dory includes crowd favorite characters like Dory voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, Marlin, Nemo, Ray, Crush, but also introduces new, hilarious characters like the grumpy septopus, Hank, the near sighted shark, Destiny, her neighbor the broken beluga, Bailey, and of course, Dory’s parents, Jenny and Charlie. Despite our faithful love to the OG characters of Finding Nemo, everyone will find room in their hearts of all of the new faces of the sequel.
Before the movie there was the cutest short film called Piper. Short films are the best because in the end it leaves you with a happy feeling that gets you psyched for the movies. This short was all about a cute little baby bird who was in the midst of learning how to find food for itself on a beach. The animation was incredible and, although the short and the movie are usually never correlated, it’s theme of finding yourself while also being with your family is heavily relatable to the movie.
We all know the story of Dory. The funny side kick who suffers from short term memory loss and who keeps Marlin sane. She was a hoot in Finding Nemo, but in Finding Dory we get to see her life before Nemo. The movie opens with baby Dory doing what she does best: forgetting. Her parents are trying to teach her what to do if she ever encounters something dangerous and forgets. After that the audience gets to see how much her parents love her, but also how hard it is to have a child who suffers from short term memory loss. Leave it to Disney to teach us a subtle lesson in the form of an adorable blue fish. Then we get to see how Marlin and Dory met and the rest was history. After the background information given in the movie the real plot starts off with Dory starting to remember little pieces of things her parents told her. The adventure begins and with every minute the movie gets better.
Without spoiling anything, because everyone should go see the movie immediately, this story’s central theme is family. I think the point of the movie is to let kids of all ages know that no matter how old they are or what they have done in the past they always have to option to just go home. Disney also teaches that a parent’s love is unconditional and unwaivering. You see, Dory hasn’t seen her family in a long time and even though she forgot about them, intentionally or unintentionally, when she finally found them they welcomed her home with opened arms and praised her for doing the right thing which coming home to them. I think this movie hit home for me, also, because Marlin realized that, even though she wasn’t a clown fish like them, Dory wasn’t just a close friend, but family. The other lesson Disney taught was that you don’t have to look the same to be family and you don’t have to be the same to give love. I feel like I am a prime example of that because even though I don’t look like the rest of my family they love me. I know that my mom is my mom and my dad is my dad regardless of my race or where I was born because they are my parents. They are the ones who will love me even if I forget to close the garage door, take the dog out, move to Mexico, get a tattoo, and so on. Love, especially family love, is a powerful thing because it survives distance, time, emotions, and can be given to whoever we choose. It is infinite and loyal, so we, as humans, can love and pass on the love because it doesn’t run out or expire.
Overall, this movie is a 10 out of 10. I’d give it Hank’s 7 arms out of 7! The animation was amazing, the colors capturing, and the voices incredible. As I sat with my college age friends I looked around the audience where I saw little kids, an older couple, families, middle schoolers, and everyone in between, I knew that this was a movie for everyone. Definitely a tear jerker, but a good one at that. Good job, Disney and thank you for another amazing movie.
