Not many were asking for a sequel to Finding Nemo. Nemo was found, everyone was happy, and an overprotective father felt the satisfaction of letting his child go off into the world. It's an emotionally satisfying finale to that emotional roller-coaster of a film. Why anybody would touch that is beyond me.
But here's Finding Dory. It takes place a year after the first film, and centers on Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) and her quest to find the family she lost when she was just a small fry. Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolance, replacing the now 22-year-old actor from the first film) join their forgetful friend on another ocean-spanning adventure.
Thankfully, the movie isn't about our three fish friends running into trouble crossing the ocean. We've already seen that. An early scene in the movie has Dory, Marlin and Nemo swimming away from a dangerous predator, and it evoked the first film and its many chase scenes a little too much. It's the only scene in the movie like it, as the bulk of Finding Dory largely takes place in the fictional Marine Life Institute in California.
This opens the door for that clever Pixar humor. Taking place in a Sea World-esque aquarium, one great scene has our heroes dodging the grabby and rough hands of children in a touch tank. From the point of view of the poor fish inside the tank, it's a perfect example of what Pixar does best.
Another Pixar trademark is a colorful cast of characters. There's a grumpy octopus missing a tentacle named Hank (Ed O'Neill), a near-sighted dopey whale shark named Destiny (Kaitlin Olson), a beluga whale with a concussion (Ty Burrell), and a very territorial sea lion (Idris Elba). Maybe a few kids will buy their stuffed animals, but this cast of supporting characters holds nothing to Crush the Turtle, Bruce the Shark, the "Tank Gang," those damn seagulls and, of course, Dory from the first film. None of the Finding Dory supporting characters bring down the film, but it's a pretty lackluster group after what came before.
For the characters that return, Marlin and Nemo are largely pushed off to the side and could've probably been taken out of the movie entirely. This is truly Dory's adventure, and the character's ditziness never gets annoying in the lead. You'll still find yourself laughing at the character's shtick. A third movie would probably be pushing it though.
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