Finding Dory (2016) ***1/2

To start with, I’m going to be perfectly honest. Pixar, that company that 10 years ago was practically infallible, has developed a poor record with sequels. Other than the Toy Story follow ups, the sequels they have produced have been empty shells of their predecessors. Monster’s University is a lackluster film that doesn’t really capture the feel and magic of the original film. Cars 2 was a miserable follow-up. So after all of these years, we have the sequel to Finding Nemo titled Finding Dory, a film that starts strong, but derails during its final act.

The plot of the film is that Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) has suddenly started to remember segments of her childhood and realizes that she does have a family and goes on a journey to find them. Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence) accompany her as she makes her way to an oceanic institute where she was born and her parents may still be waiting for her to arrive. As with the first film, they encounter numerous characters with various personalities that help or hinder their progress.

Finding Dory is an amazing looking film that visually can be paired with Finding Nemo and the feel from the first film goes along. Hopefully Pixar has learned from their mediocre sequels (prequel) that trashed the concepts of the original films for a dull, sophomoric premise. It’s a wonderfully created universe that pulls you in, revisiting memories from the first film and delivering new ones along the way. The story is also strong with another long journey looking for family. I was enthralled by the story as Dory pieced her way to her goal, almost reminiscent of a detective story. This film would have probably been a much better film if it wasn’t for the third act. I’ll try not to spoil it, but the film becomes so over the top that it slams the brakes on the story, pulling you right out of the film. And you never get it back. I know there were some over the top situations in Finding Nemo, but this film really drove that idea over the edge. A good film becomes a slightly above average film.

Pixar is an animation juggernaut. This is the company that caused the entire industry to revert to computer animations and they are still the pinnacle of the business. When it’s an original story they are geniuses, developing a world that immerses you. Their work is amazing. Unless it’s a sequel. It seems that a company that rarely did sequels until a few years ago has not been able to repeat (except for Toy Story) any kind of continuation of the original film. Finding Dory comes close. I enjoyed the film, but the ending really kills the film and you find yourself wondering why they didn’t finish it simply instead of the over the top conclusion that could almost be considered animated disaster. This is a good animated feature with a huge anchor dragging it down.