Finding Dory

Movie Name: Finding Dory
Year of Release: 2016

Director: Andrew Stanton, Angus MacLane

Stars: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Sigourney Weaver, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Bill Hader

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Adventure

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7

Synopsis:

Pixar Studios latest release is a sequel to one of their most iconic features, "Finding Nemo", which was released in 2003.  The film is equally a follow up for director Andrew Stanton, who after the unfairly maligned "John Carter" is back on his original animation roots (he also directed the beautiful "Wall E"). The film focuses on Dory, a blue tang fish, who is constantly being reminded of her lack of memory (or short memory loss, as she constantly states). Dory finds herself trying to find her roots and her family, and she ventures on her own, quickly followed by Marlin and Nemo who want to help her. She soon finds herself in the Marine Life Institute where she was born and where she hopes to find her family. It's up to her and her new friends to unveil where her family is and reunite them all.
Pixar's stories have been so incredibly successful because there's an underlying universal message that reaches beyond what is considered a traditional family film: their films is a result of a team work that aims to emphasize stories anchored in emotional truths, such as loss, love, family, courage, growing up, believing in one self. They manage to build stories that have a fantastic balance between humor and sentimentality, without ever being too maudlin. It has been a very successful venture for the studio, which has produced truly fantastic (and successful) features such as "The Incredibles", "Wall E"and "Inside Out". "Finding Dory" is almost a copycat of the original "Finding Nemo", with the focus now lying on Dory, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres who brings her type of unmistakable humor to the character. It's a film so beautifully animated, that the over the top story at times becomes completely secondary. It's still a gorgeously entertaining film, worth watching and enjoying.