Movie Review
Siddharth Martis
5 / 5
Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is a wide-eyed, blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss every 10 seconds or so. The one thing she can remember is that she somehow became separated from her parents as a child. With help from her friends Nemo and Marlin, Dory embarks on an epic adventure to find them. After I left the theater I immediately thought, “How long can a fish live outside of water and how long can I live without another Pixar movie?” I also promptly picked up Ratatouille and watched it within the next hour. Why? Because Pixar.
I’m not going to lie here, I freaking loved Finding Dory. Precisely because, like its involuntarily repressive heroine, it is unapologetically quirky, heartfelt, and above all charming. Is it better than Finding Nemo? No, but it doesn’t need to be. Much rather this does a fantastic job of differentiating itself from any other Pixar films to date, wearing its distinctive yet warmly nostalgic heart on its sleeve.
Unwaveringly energetic and filled to the brim with surprisingly topical humor, Finding Dory finds its footing thanks to Ellen DeGeneres’ impressive vocal work and a deliberately unassuming, yet remarkably resonant script. Ellen demonstrates her love for the character in every line, as she thoroughly embodies the hilariously simple-minded character in a performance for the ages.
Though DeGeneres does offer her best work to date, the real reason why Dory, as a character, works is simply the scripting behind her. Writers, Andrew Stanton and Victoria Strouse, really bring their A-game as they mask their richly emotional undercurrent in dazzling visual effects and laugh out loud humor. This undercurrent is a well-developed juxtaposition between the characters of Nemo and Dory, effectively bringing out the theme that even through the worst of times families will eventually find a way reconnect and stick together. A wonderful theme that is expressed on numerous occasions during the film, I found myself downright emotional in some scenes and misty eyed in others.
These moments of pure emotion don’t at all hinder the remarkably agile film as there is never really a dull moment in all the 97-minute runtime. In fact, the gorgeously frantic chase sequences and witty banter, especially between Hank the septapus and Dory keep the film as light as a feather.
Finding Dory is an outrageously fun ride that stands on its own thanks to hilarious humor, magnificent animation, a deeply poignant emotional core, and a knockout performance by Ellen DeGeneres.
I’m not going to lie here, I freaking loved Finding Dory. Precisely because, like its involuntarily repressive heroine, it is unapologetically quirky, heartfelt, and above all charming. Is it better than Finding Nemo? No, but it doesn’t need to be. Much rather this does a fantastic job of differentiating itself from any other Pixar films to date, wearing its distinctive yet warmly nostalgic heart on its sleeve.
Unwaveringly energetic and filled to the brim with surprisingly topical humor, Finding Dory finds its footing thanks to Ellen DeGeneres’ impressive vocal work and a deliberately unassuming, yet remarkably resonant script. Ellen demonstrates her love for the character in every line, as she thoroughly embodies the hilariously simple-minded character in a performance for the ages.
Though DeGeneres does offer her best work to date, the real reason why Dory, as a character, works is simply the scripting behind her. Writers, Andrew Stanton and Victoria Strouse, really bring their A-game as they mask their richly emotional undercurrent in dazzling visual effects and laugh out loud humor. This undercurrent is a well-developed juxtaposition between the characters of Nemo and Dory, effectively bringing out the theme that even through the worst of times families will eventually find a way reconnect and stick together. A wonderful theme that is expressed on numerous occasions during the film, I found myself downright emotional in some scenes and misty eyed in others.
These moments of pure emotion don’t at all hinder the remarkably agile film as there is never really a dull moment in all the 97-minute runtime. In fact, the gorgeously frantic chase sequences and witty banter, especially between Hank the septapus and Dory keep the film as light as a feather.
Finding Dory is an outrageously fun ride that stands on its own thanks to hilarious humor, magnificent animation, a deeply poignant emotional core, and a knockout performance by Ellen DeGeneres.