When I saw "Finding Nemo" in 2003, 7-year-old me loved it. The whole "overprotective parent" dynamic was relatable, the movie was extremely quotable and the animation was fantastic. I mean, what's not to love about an undersea adventure? To this day, "Finding Nemo" is one of my favorite Disney Pixar films; and I've pretty much seen them all. Needless to say, I had very high hopes for "Finding Dory." I felt like 7-year-old me again when I showed up to the movie theatre with my parents to see it. Much to the dismay of my parents and myself, "Finding Dory" didn't quite live up to the expectations we had created in our heads. We discussed our feelings about the movie further once we got home, and my step-dad made an excellent point. It seems like the creators of "Finding Dory" used the same gimmicks they did in "Finding Nemo," but with different characters! No wonder we weren't all that impressed by the movie: we'd basically seen it all before. Don't get me wrong, "Finding Dory" was a good movie, but it was not even close to being better than the original. Look at just a few of the similarities between the two movies below and tell me that "Finding Dory" was not a remake of "Finding Nemo" with more Blue Tangs and short-term memory loss ...
1. Characters repeating the same word over and over again.
In "Finding Nemo", the only word the clan of sea gulls seemed to know was "mine." A similar gimmick was repeated in "Finding Dory" when the two seals repeatedly yelled, "Off," in an effort to defend their rock.
2. Dory's love for anything squishy.
We get it: Dory is clearly obsessed with anything squishy.
3. Using birds for transportation.
In "Finding Nemo," it was a pelican named Nigel. In "Finding Dory" it is Becky with the good hair ... but what I never understood was how Marlin and Dory stayed alive with their heads out of water for so long (it's an animated children's movie ... that's how).
4. Traveling on the EAC, duuuude.
Whether you're headed to P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney, or to the Jewel of Morrow Bay, California, the East Australian Current can get you there. And your turtle friends will just happen to be there to guide you ... again.
5. Humans taking fish out of the ocean to put them in their aquarium.
They're climbing in yo ocean, snatching yo fishes up ...
Can we also talk about how Nemo's friends from the dentist's office floated by at the end of "Finding Dory's" credits, still in those bags from the end of "Finding Nemo" ... and then they got picked up and taken into that big aquarium ...
