After "Toy Story 3" was released back in 2010, Pixar has started to put out more and more follow-ups to their previous critically acclaimed films this decade. I loved the aforementioned "Toy Story 3", loathed "Cars 2" and thought "Monsters University" was pretty good but not as great as the first film. So, I really didn't know what to expect with "Finding Dory", the sequel to one of my favorite animated movies "Finding Nemo." I was nervous thinking it was just going to be a film that was going to be on par with Pixar's previous film "The Good Dinosaur", but at the same time I was excited hoping it would be as fun and clever as "Inside Out". And luckily enough, it was another winning movie from Pixar. "Finding Dory" is a great sequel that keeps up the excitement, makes you guess where the film is going to go and is just straight up fun and funny.
One year has passed from the previous film, and out favorite short-term memory loss fish Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), finally remembers something, her family. With the location being at "the Jewel of Morro Bay, California", she set outs with Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (now played by Hayden Rolence) to go find her parents. When they arrive off the coast in California, Dory is captured by marine biologists and taken to a marine life institute. While she's in quarantine, she meets a very grumpy octopus, no wait a minute, septapus as he has lost a tentacle, named Hank (Ed O'Neill). She asks him to help her find her family in the institute in exchange for a tag the biologists have placed on her which would take her to an aquarium in Cleveland. Meanwhile, Marlin and Nemo are trying to figure out how to get inside the institute to find Dory through any crazy means possible.
The best part of "Finding Dory", like most Pixar movies is the story. It's crazy fun. It's exciting, funny, emotional, suspenseful, and keeps you guessing the whole way through which is what I really expect for a movie. The animation is also a great part of the film. Just like the first movie, it's beautiful. The colors are eye-popping, the underwater world is mysterious, and the institute looks like a very nice place to visit. The characters once again are too many to count. Ellen DeGeneres is great as usual, Albert Brooks is pretty great, and I especially love Ed O'Neill as Hank. This octopus can blend into almost everything, which leads to some really funny comedy. Oh yeah, speaking of the comedy, this movie is hilarious. I think I was bawling my eyes out from laughing hard at this movie and I nearly got hiccups laughing too hard. The emotion is also where it needs to be. Some scenes in this movie can be a tear jerker. Even though I didn't cry watching movies, I was very close to doing so watching this film.
Personally, "Finding Dory" is the best Pixar sequel since "Toy Story 3". No doubt in my mind. It could be as good if not even better than "Finding Nemo". I am dead serious. I really love this film. It's great. I can probably go on forever praising this movie, but I probably shouldn't. All I can say is go check it out. Trust me. It really is worth your time.