Finding Dory (2016), PG, ★★★1/2

Hank and Dory.

Let's go back in time about 13 years ago in which Finding Nemo was a critical and commercial phenomenon as it was remembered as "one of the best animated films ever made". Notice, that the biggest compliment does not include "animated Pixar films" because it was that good. It is a technical and storytelling achievement that made us remember the aquatic experience and its lovable characters from Marlin and Dory to Crush, the turtle. In my opinion, it is definitely in my top 5 Pixar movies of all-time. It is a great masterpiece. With a sequel that many writers took the time to craft, they have a made well-made and briskly paced movie that is both touching and steadily humorous.

The movie opens with a flashback with a young Dory (voiced by Sloane Morrow) that is with her parents, Jenny and Charlie (both voiced by Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy). They help her coping with her short-term memory loss making up a rhyme. Dory worries that she'll forget her parents, making her parents hug her that they won't. One day, she gets separated and when years pass, Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) keep searching for her parents and asking other fish until he bumped into Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) who was also asking other fish where his son, Nemo, (voiced by Hayden Rolence) is.

A year after Nemo was found, Dory has been living with him and Marlin by the sea anemone. She wakes both of them to start the day. They all go to Nemo's class in which Mr. Ray (Bob Peterson) teaches a class and while he talks about the sting ray migration, he mentions an undertow, which triggers Dory's memory as to her family could be but she remembers that her parents is in California. She begs Marlin and Nemo to go on her journey. Later, after a ride with Crush (voiced by Andrew Stanton) and the turtles, Dory gets scooped by two people and taken into a quarantine area into the Marine Life Institute which she meets a grumpy octopus named Hank (voiced by Ed O'Neill).

Albert Brooks as Marlin.

I had a great time with this movie as the movie captures again the technical and colorful aspects of the ocean again as I was, again, in the theatre and thinking that I was not watching a movie but I was at an aquarium. However, in my opinion, I felt like this sequel was at a smaller scale because most of the movie is taken place at the Institute or close to the Institute. But, again, the movie has great supporting characters that are funny and takes to another level of creative dialogue and character interaction that make us get involved with their banter.

Ellen DeGeneres' voice performance as Dory is a perfect match and is one of the top vocal performances ever because even though she has the right amount of humor, she has some heart and also some distinct sadness underneath her character. But, also, as a package, it is a disabled character. They deal with disability in a restrained and beautiful way as to how she lived throughout her life and how her memories are coming back. Albert Brooks as Marlin is still brilliant. Ed O'Neill is the standout as the octopus, Hank, as he delivers the right balance of grumpiness and silliness with the interaction between himself and Dory. Ty Burrell, Kaitlin Olsen, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy are all good. There's not an irritating character in the movie.

My only criticism that prevents me to give it a great rating is that the movie is still somewhat familiar because it is like the first movie. It is about Marlin and Nemo finding Dory for the remainder of the movie as she is finding her parents. The last 10 minutes were too quick and becomes a bit arbitrary. However, the humor throughout the movie is what supports this family-friendly experience. Even though the sequel lacks the fresh premise and the emotional heft, the movie is still an artistic, brisk and comedic movie that makes a very good addition to the Pixar canon. You and your family will be having a good and magical time once again beyond the sea.

By the way, the animated short, Piper, in front of the movie is an emotional and fantastic little short that conveys aqua phobia from a baby bird's point of view. I loved it. One of my favorite Pixar shorts.

***1/2