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.
