Review: Finding Dory

Wow. What. A. Disappointment. I haven’t felt this let down from a Disney (all be it Pixar) film since Chicken Little. 

After waiting months for a possible time to go and see it (birthdays, work and other commitments) I managed to get tickets for a midday showing on a Sunday. Yes, it was near the end of screening time. Yes, the cinema was mostly empty bar some ladies with their children. Yes, there wasn’t the euphoric height of excitement when you’re surrounded by buzzing fans… but I wanted to enjoy it!

Leaving the screen, I desperately tried to find some positives as I didn’t want to be left with such a negative feeling towards Pixar after all – they were the people who bought us Toy Story! (Now that’s how you do a sequel!) so the three positives I could find were as follows;

1. The animation was brilliant. Sure, you could argue that Pixar never fails in terms of producing high-quality animations or that you would hope so given how much time/money was spent… but I don’t think you should diminish the fact that the finish was so aesthetically magnificent that every time the plot was sending you to sleep, you could still find some interesting to marvel at. 
2. I did laugh on occasions (with the “follow me” “you’re in a cup” stuff not to mention the “mummies and daddies” section), but it wasn’t as frequent as I was expecting or hoping for.
3. Baby Dory was super cute. It’s safe to say that the flashbacks to baby Dory with her big eyes and adorable forgetfulness

I was so keen to hold on to the fact that Pixar were way above producing something so mind numbing in plot that I started to clutch at straws in a deep and meaningful way. What if the repetitive nature of the film and the perpetual loop in the plot and script was there to essentuate how Dory must act on a daily basis, I thought. What if the way that Nemo never gave up on Dory is supposed to mimic how we shouldn’t write off Pixar. What if…? What if…? What if…? Then, I came to the conclusion that if that’s what they were trying to achieve, all they did was make me empathise with the people who try not to get frustrated with Dory because they’re watching and hearing the same stuff for two hours. 

On the plus side, the Pixar short that was on just before Finding Dory was lovely and so cute. It hit only appealed to the child in me that would be attracted to cuddling small fluffy animals, it also appealed to my maternal instincts and I did just want to wrap the little bird up and keep him safe! It was wonderful – full of remarkable animation! I’ve concluded that I must watch The Good Dinosaur soon and that I hope, with all my heart, it restores my faith in Pixar.