I know half of the population is going to disagree and think I'm being blasphemous right now, but I liked "Finding Dory" more than I liked "Finding Nemo." It's very rare that a sequel is ever half as good as its predecessor, but Pixar went above and beyond that. Millennials have waited 13 years for this movie, and we were not disappointed. At least I wasn't.
"Finding Dory" follows Dory, the adorable blue tang who suffers from short term memory loss, on a journey to find her parents, as she remembers them only in clips and bursts. Along the way, we see some of our old friends, such as Marlin, Nemo, Squirt, Mr. Ray, and Crush; and we also meet some new ones: Hank, Destiny, Bailey, and Becky. Filled with flashbacks of her home, family, and old friends, the movie moves along at a nice pace keeping you intrigued the whole way. I won't reveal the ending (even though you can all probably guess it anyway), but just know that like with any good movie there are some twists and turns and a huge emotional roller coaster before you get there.
Now, let's get to the reason why I liked "Finding Dory" better than "Finding Nemo." Part of it is probably because I'm older now and can appreciate the details of the plot and the twists and curves that get thrown in the way. Also, with this movie came boat loads (get it?) of nostalgia, and it took me back to my childhood if only for a couple of hours. There were tons of children at the drive in I saw this movie at, but I guarantee you no one appreciated it more than me, my friends, and the dozens of other people there our age who were reliving their childhood.
I guess the other main reason is just how dang cute baby Dory was. Let's be honest, Dory was probably everyone's favorite character in Finding Nemo, but the baby version of her in this movie was even better. She was Just. So. Squishy. Her little, round fish face and big, googly eyes just made you want to squeeze her (like that feeling you sometimes get around babies). And that voice. That adorable, tiny, innocent voice. Combine that with her never-ending forgetfulness and you have the cutest baby fish struggling and learning to grow and remember, and you just want to hug her and love her and protect her and tell her everything is going to be alright.
This movie, like most Disney and Pixar movies, transcends generations. It brings families and friends together and makes us all feel like children (whether we physically are or not). That is why this movie is already a classic even though it was only released a few days ago.
