Finding Dory - Movie Review

Following up a beloved classic like 'Finding Nemo' is a long stretch. Not only the film revolutionize the level of what animation could become during its release, its heart-wrenching theme of fatherhood instantly resonates with those who have seen it. 13 years later and we got a sequel with 'Finding Dory', which reunites the original roster of talents from the original including director Andrew Stanton.

While its predecessor is ultimately flawless on its own, 'Finding Dory' at least tried to come up with something new instead of going for the easy route of rehashing every event of the first one.

The film deals with the short-term memory loss disorder of Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), which led her to be separated with her family from her younger years. An event of remembering a small fragment of her past suddenly gave her a chance to get over it, with the help of his clown fish friends Nemo and Marlin, to go back to where she originally belong.

Clocking in at an hour and a half, the movie moves swiftly and every scene felt like nothing is being wasted. The fast-paced nature of it is what makes the experience of going on a trip with Dory such a fun one. The first half of the film is where it excels, constantly debunking audience expectations right through the viewer's faces as its reoccurring humor.

Everything about it was perfectly normal until it goes right into the final act, uncertain of what direction does it want to go. The frequent shifting of tone got a little bit too distracting especially with the supposedly tear-jerker scene, which was immediately interrupted with a dragging rescue sequence that took a lot of screen time. The newly introduced characters in the form of two whales was very distracting and annoying to the point of doing unhealthy decisions that completely disregards the charm of the film.

'Finding Dory' is a decent addition to the Pixar filmography. It's not the best nor the worst, its somewhere near the lower portion. The movie's fun and all, but it really needed more emotion and edge to fulfill the excellence it could've been. It did not keep swimming.

The geek rates it 6/10!

'Finding Dory' is now showing from Walt Disney Pictures Philippines. Rated G by the MTRCB.