In my “Summer Movies” preview where I listed which ones I was most anticipating and least anticipating, I singled out “Finding Dory” as something I was pretty lukewarm to, and–I hate to say it–but I was right. Welllll, I was at least right that I wouldn’t like it that much, despite all the box office bajillions it’ll eventually gross. Still, I’m having a hard time believing people are truly in love with such an uninspired cash-register play that clearly just exists to make money.
What Works: Dominic West and Idris Elba (in his second great voice performance of the year after “The Jungle Book”) score big laughs as a pair of territorial sea lions, and Ed O’Neil’s socially-phobic, chameleonic octopus is cleverly animated. [His movements and shape-shifting are some of the film’s most interesting visuals.] Still, those few bright spots are few and far between in a movie that feels longer than it really is…
What Doesn’t: This is largely subjective, but I just flat-out don’t like Dory. I find her annoying, and a little bit goes a long way. Naturally, a sequel based entirely around her wasn’t something I was really excited to watch, but it has bigger problems.
For starters, the setting is mostly set in a dank, “Saw”-like dungeon of an aquarium with a mud brown and gray palette, a complete downgrade from Finding Nemo’s exotic-blue ocean tones. The action feels dumber—like having an octopus drive a semi-truck is something even the stupidest monkey-movie from the 70’s wouldn’t have attempted—whereas Nemo’s at least felt connected to Earth. And the biggest problem is a feeling of deja vu, like the emotional climax (the reuniting of a parent and child) that is directly borrowed from “Nemo” right down to the part where the hasty reunion is interrupted to go save the sidekicks. All in all, having a part two centered around a character with short term memory loss—where some things are stated over and over again—only compounds to the repetitive feeling of unnecessary sequels.
What I Would Have Done Differently: For me, half the fun of a Pixar film is in the new world it creates, and that’s become a problem now that they’re so sequel-crazed (there’s also a “Cars 3” and–why God, why?–“Toy Story 4” in the pipeline). Last year, we had two original Pixar movies in “Inside Out” and “The Good Dinosaur” and both made my “Best of the Year” list. I would say avoid sequels, but especially avoid ones like “Finding Dory” that borrow the first film’s plot and emotional beats.
My kids liked it but I almost went to sleep.
Thank god they only make one every 8 or so years.