It’s been years ever since the sequel for Finding Nemo was released… and ironically enough, I forgot I had already watched it. Very Dory-ish, right?
I think I enjoyed it more the second time, because I could relate to Dory on a personal level this time around. The older I get, the easier is to forget about things. I can’t help but admire Dory’s character, who remains cheerful and determined despite jumping from one traumatic experience to another.
So, the movie.
We’re not talking about animation here because… guys, it’s Pixar. The animation is nothing but top-notch. So I’m going to delve into what I usually focus the most: characters and plot.
Let it be known that, for a kid’s movie, shit goes down fast in Finding Dory. Like, ever wondered who’s Dory? Where she comes from? How did she end up swimming into Marlin and what was she doing before that? Does she have family elsewhere? Well, the movie answers the questions we’ve been asking for over a decade… with a very shocking opening sequence.
Thanks Pixar, you’ve traumatized me. It doesn’t matter that Dory can’t remember any of it, I DO, Pixar. I DO.
Taking off a year after Finding Nemo’s ending, we see Dory, who is now neighbors with Marlin and Nemo, and the shenanigans she’s up to in the fishing school. Everything is cute and funny, until she’s involved in an accident during a field trip and this incident ends jogging her lost memory.
Naturally, she wants to pursue this clue to her past blindly. This is usually the part where I roll my eyes, however, unlike most main characters featured in movies… I can actually relate to her cause. I do not lack empathy, people; Finding Nemo was enough to make me feel sympathetic towards Dory, and just like its predecessor, Finding Dory plays with these feelings for over an hour straight.
Because yes, Finding Dory is pretty emotional, as it should be– its protagonist deals with short-term memory loss, after all. It can’t always be pretty, yet it doesn’t fail to deliver sweetness and tenderness, as we later learn that Dory wasn’t all optimist about her own situation in the beginning; she learnt this from her parents, who always encouraged her and taught her everything we saw in the first movie.
Excuse me –gross sobs–, I just love well-executed parallels.
Marlin and Nemo, of course, join Dory in the first-part of her journey until another incident occurs. Marlin then berates Dory, because Nemo almost dies for her carelessness. Hurt, she goes to the surface to ask for help to the animals in there, but is taken by humans to the Marine Life Institute instead. From there on, she has to continue her adventure without them– meeting for the first time and reintroducing herself to some old folks she has forgotten, like her childhood friend Destiny, a whale shark.
Marlin and Nemo, on the other hand, have to catch up and ‘rescue’ Dory. After they end trapped in a tank from the gift-shop due to Marlin’s lack of trust in Becky (a common loon who imprinted on Marlin and gave them a ride xD). It’s Nemo, this time around, who scolds his dad and tells him that he should trust Dory more. Marlin admits he’s in the wrong but, he can’t help but worry about Dory with her condition.
Just like Finding Nemo, Finding Dory tells the tale of someone dealing with special conditions and struggling to find their way in the world. Parental anxiety is a thing. However, a thing I liked was how they showed to the audience two different sets of parents– whilst Marlin was overbearing and made a fuss out of everything (not that one can blame it on him, the fish lost everyone but Nemo), Jenny and Charlie (Dory’s parents) believed in her daughter until the end.
One of the most beautiful quotes in this movie is: you can do anything if you put your mind into it. It may come off as idealistic for some people, but there’s another underlying message complementing to it: even if you yourself aren’t feeling confident you can make it, there is someone out there who believes in you.
In conclussion, Finding Dory is a beautiful movie, with an even more beautiful message. And an even more beautiful animation, haha.