Finding Dory

Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Idris Elba, Sigourney Weaver, Ty Burrell, Ed O’Neill (Rated G – 103 min).

When Finding Nemo was released in 2003, the world went clown fish crazy falling in love with the story of a single father travelling across the ocean to retrieve his missing son. Disney-Pixar animation had made an instant classic with an array of unique characters including a large Australian contingent as Nemo ended up in Sydney. However much of the success came from audience favourite Dory, a blue tang fish with self proclaimed short-term memory loss.

Set one year after the Nemo recovery mission, it’s all happening again except this time Dory has gone swimming out into the blue yonder looking for her missing parents Jenny (Diane Keaton) and Charlie (Eugene Levy). This much anticipated long awaited sequel will not disappoint. You will laugh, you will cry, your heart will be crushed by the lovable innocence of Dory.

Flashes of recall begin to make sense for Dory when finding out she must have parents of her own and like a fragmented detective, she follows her instinctive visions through the connected ecosystem along with a little help from some new friends. With Marlin and Nemo in pursuit, the trio arrive at a marine life institute where Jenny and Charlie are apparently held in captivity.

The fun doesn’t stop here, it is only half of the adventure on hand full of heart, charm and memorable characters including Hank the incognito octopus, Destiny the near sighted whale, and Bailey the beluga with a broken sonar. Stimulating animation at its finest beaming with beautiful oceanic vistas flowing in natural colours.

While continually repeating the catchphrase ‘What would Dory do’, Ellen DeGeneres is particularly brilliant at not making Dory handicapped by her short term memory loss but rather using it as an outlook of life often unknowingly also getting her out of a jam.

No excuses from toddlers to grandparents, take the entire clan to the cinema for a wonderful complete family film. Warning: don’t leave before the end credits, there is an amusing extended bonus scene featuring Gill (Willem Dafoe) and friends from Finding Nemo.

Shane A. Bassett

Sydney Unleashed is one of Australia’s premier entertainment publications exploring the latest in lifestyle trends. From Sydney’s finest restaurants, cafes and bars to the hottest in gadgets, products, and home entertainment, Sydney Unleashed is your one-stop lifestyle platform.