DISCLAIMER: This is the spoiler version of my Finding Dory review. To view the spoiler free version of this review, please click here. You have been warned.

I've seen Finding Dory three times since it was released on June 17th. Someone would say I have a problem. However, I see it as giving money to a company that will eventually be writing my paycheck, so I'll just earn my money back. I absolutely love Pixar and almost everything they do (looking at you Cars 2 and The Good Dinosaur.) So, when I knew they were making a sequel to Finding Nemo, a movie that I wasn't a huge fan of, I had trust in them as their history with sequels hasn't been too bad. For Pixar standards, this film satisfies everything that fans would want out of a Finding Nemo sequel. However, it does not go above and beyond like other Pixar films. It's good, but not great.

First, let's start with the positives. The animation in this is spectacular. There were moments where if I showed you a screenshot of the film and compared it to its real life counterpart, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Pixar has come a long way in the field of computer animation, especially with such a complex environment like the ocean. Finding Nemo, and now Finding Dory, may be Pixar's best when it comes to the animation itself, because it's the most realistic looking.

Dory's character development in this film is also something to be praised. She was not the main focus in the first film, yet she constantly stole the show. Taking the lead in this one, Ellen DeGeneres really shows her voice acting skills in this. Plus, it helps that Dory is shown to be more than just a fish with good luck. She has real survival instincts that she isn't given enough credit for in the first film, but she's rightfully praised in this film for it.

Speaking of voice acting, a huge shout out to Ed O'Neill as Hank the octo... sorry, septopus. Hank was the main source of comedic relief for this movie and it felt so natural. The chemistry between O'Neill and DeGeneres felt so natural, and they created a great power duo. The two of them were a much better pair than Marlin and Dory from the first one. Especially because, even in the end, he was still trying to help Dory, even if that meant he wouldn't necessarily get to his end goal, unlike Marlin, who would manipulate Dory to get his way. Even though he felt selfish, as Dory points out: he has three hearts, and all of them care about Dory finding her family again.

Hank isn't the only stand out star in this film. Overall, the cast of this film worked together a lot better than they did in the first movie. Each character didn't feel extra, they all flowed nicely together and were each unique enough to stand out from each other. Even the smaller background characters like Gerald or Becky left their mark on the audience by the end. Plus, the jokes in this one really went above and beyond to relate to both kids and adults. There were plenty of jokes that both groups could enjoy, with some jokes meant for one group specifically thrown in here and there.

This is more of a neutral, but the plot wasn't fantastic, yet somehow satisfied everything I wanted out of this movie. Pixar didn't reinvent the wheel with this one, as they have a formula they usually stick with in all their movies. It definitely felt as though they recycled the exact plot of Finding Nemo, as so many elements of this film could match scenes from the predecessor. Specific scenes include the scene where Dory meets the whales, Destiny and Bailey, which felt exactly like the scene where Marlin and Dory initially meet the sharks; the scene where Dory gets scooped out into the cooler to be rescued, which was a callback to how Nemo was captured, and the entire ending with Dory constantly being separated from Marlin and Nemo, which feels like the ending of Finding Nemo, when Dory gets stuck in the fisherman's nest. However, this gets balanced out as the plot feels more natural with Dory at the helm instead of Nemo. For Dory to be captured and lost feels more realistic with this plot, and makes for a more interesting story.

Now, the negatives. I stated it vaguely before, but there really is a problem with this film: Marlin is not a good character, at all. In the original, even after the big journey, he did not grow at all. This film is no different. There is potential for him to stop worrying so much and to learn something from both times he's crossed the ocean, but he chooses to ignore these lessons. His hurtful comments and abusive treatment of Dory isn't something that necessarily belongs in a kid's movie either. It gives kids the idea that they can manipulate and bully someone lesser than them, which is not a message kids should be walking out of the theatre with. Though Marlin improves more in this film than in the other one, he still has doubts by the end about Dory's abilities. It would be better if part of his journey was to learn to worry less.

Speaking of mistreatment, Becky and Gerald are great side characters, but they completely counteract the key message of the film. This movie is suppose to show kids that no matter what disadvantages you may have, you can still be something great and be loved. Yet, these two characters are made to be different and are used for laughs. Gerald is a non-verbal sea lion that has a large, dark unibrow that stands out from the other sea lions, yet he's constantly picked on by the two main ones who sit on the rock. Becky is suppose to be perceived as clueless and confused, even though she is completely competent in her tasks. These characters are more relatable to children than you probably think, and those children who relate to them may feel as though they can't succeed or be loved because that's how the film shows them to be.

Though this is not a big problem, it is worth noting that this film does not transcend the children's films genre like some Pixar films do. This film is no Inside Out or Wall-E, going above and beyond what's expected of family films and creating a great film overall. This is a good family movie, but it is nothing more than that. Not every Pixar film sets out to break barriers and create talk, which is perfectly ok. This movie is meant to be family fun everyone can enjoy during the summer, and it accomplishes this goal nicely.

The ending of this movie is a bit of a disorganized mess. It seems as though the writers couldn't decide whether Nemo and Marlin or Dory should be the one that needs to be saved, so they chose to jump around and flip flop every 10 minutes during the last half hour of the film. This specific ending was not too hard to follow, but it did get confusing by the end trying to keep up with who knows who how, and what still needs to be done. If the writers had just kept it so one of them was stuck and the rest were at home, this would have not been a problem.

Overall, I would give this film a B+. It has its mistakes, but that doesn't make it a horrible film. This film is great, and is the sequel we needed for Finding Nemo. The movie fails to go above and beyond within its genre, being accused of rehashing a familar plot. See the film in theatres at regular price, as it is worth every cent spent. Dory may not remember this film, and neither will we 10 years down the line, but we won't forget Dory.