2016 | Dir. Andrew Stanton | 103 Minutes
"Just keep swimming."
A blue tang with chronic short-term memory loss named Dory is separated from her parents. After befriending Marlin the clownfish and traversing the ocean to rescue Marlin's son Nemo, Dory suddenly remembers to continue her initial journey to find her family. With help from Marin and Nemo, Dory pieces together her scattered memories to locate her parents, ultimately leading her to the Marine Life Institute in California where she rediscovers traces of her past life.
Finding Dory is a natural sequel that is centered on one of Pixar's most beloved characters. While completely suitable for younger audiences, the picture is sophisticated in that it does not feature a central antagonist. The dramatic conflict of the story stems from Dory's disability, played mostly for laughs in Finding Nemo, but utilized for incredible emotional impact this time around, especially in conjunction with flashbacks featuring Baby Dory that are heartwarming and heartbreaking at the turn of a dime.
While Marlin and Nemo are featured in the film, their role in the story is relatively minor. The real heart of the film is in the friendship that develops between Dory and Hank, a curmudgeon of an octopus that's missing a tentacle. At first, Hank wants nothing more than to be sent away from the Marine Life Institute to have his own glass tank at an aquarium in Cleveland, but Dory's positive attitude inevitably brings out the best in him.
The cast is filled to the brim with comedy talent headlined by Ellen DeGeneres returning as Dory, Albert Brooks reprising the role of Marlin, Hayden Rolence as Nemo, and Ed O'Neill as the lovably grumpy Hank. The supporting cast features Kaitlin Olson as Dory's childhood whale shark friend Destiny whose eyesight is severely impaired, Ty Burrell as an insecure beluga whale, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory's sweet parents Jenny and Charlie, and Sigourney Weaver as herself can be heard announcing the mission of the Marine Life Institute over their PA system.
Charming, funny and, at times, profoundly moving, Finding Dory is a beautifully rendered picture. Pixar Animation Studios once again pushes all the right emotional buttons, demonstrating why they're still the best at what they do.
POST CREDITS STINGER
Sea lions Fluke and Rudder shoo Gerald off their rock once again as Gill (Willem Dafoe) and the rest of his gang from Finding Nemo, still in plastic bags, find themselves at the Marine Life Institute and are immediately collected by institute staff
JOHN RATZENBERGER AS...
- Bill the crab
A113
- The license plate on the truck during the finale reads CA113
PIXAR INTERCONNECTIVITY
- A poster featuring the lead sandpiper from the short film Piper and a magnet featuring Uku the volcano from the short film Lava is visible in the Marine Life Institute's quarantine area
FRAGMENTS
- Saturday Night Live stars Bill Hader and Kate McKinnon play the bickering couple that encounters Baby Dory
- Director Andrew Stanton reprises the role of Crush the sea turtle from the previous film
- Idris Elba and Dominic West, who appeared together in lead roles on opposing sides of the law on The Wire, play sea lion buddies Fluke and Rudder
- A picture of Darla from Finding Nemo can be seen in the background in the Marine Life Institute's quarantine area
- Alexander Gould, the original voice of Nemo in Finding Nemo, plays a small part as the truck driver in the finale
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Ty Burrell (Leonard Samson in The Incredible Hulk)
- Idris Elba (Heimdall in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Thor: Love and Thunder)
- Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn in Spider-Man: No Way Home)
