This past week I was invited to see an advance showing of Finding Dory. I loved Finding Nemo as a kid, and so I was pretty darn excited to see Finding Dory, and anticipating a great show.
Finding Nemo was such a beloved film, they had big shoes to fill. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if they could do it. Would it basically be the same thing as Finding Nemo? Would it be just an ordinary (but cute) fish story?
Let’s just say, I was FLOORED by the end of the show. It was so much more than I ever expected that it could be.
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I won’t give away the secret details of the movie, because I don’t want to spoil it for any one, but it is set 1 year after Finding Nemo ended. Dory is living “next door” to Nemo and Marlin and they all seem quite settled and happy. Then, Dory has flashes of memories of her parents. She’s apparently forgotten them, and Nemo helps her remember. Every time she has a flashback to her childhood she will say different facts and Nemo remembers for her (SO MANY FEELINGS).
You slowly uncover the story of Dory’s history and it’s a sad but beautiful one. In traveling across the ocean to find Dory’s parents that she had forgotten Marlin and Nemo learn a lot about themselves and the viewer can see lots of lessons of loyalty, family, love and patience.
I was not expecting it to be such an emotional movie, but it was! The way Dory’s parents helped her with her forgetful condition was really moving and inspiring to me as a mom. Marlin, still learning to let go and be more flexible is a great lesson for lots of adults and kids alike and there were lots more little heartwarming lessons too, like never giving up on your family and sometimes family goes beyond blood.
Along with all the heartwarming moments there were a LOT of funny ones too. The octopus Hank totally stole the show. He was hilarious and it was really neat how he and Dory were able to help each other in the end.
They bring in lots of new, and REALLY funny characters. I was worried that new animals would be fairly flat character-wise but that was not the case. Everyone was adorable and had so much personality.
Warnings – in my opinion this was a wonderful movie for kids and adults alike, I’ll definitely be letting my 5 year old and 3 year old watch it. There weren’t any dark/scary scenes and no “bad guys” to scare little ones. The only warning I’d give is if you have a particularly empathetic child. If your kiddo doesn’t really understand Dory’s mental condition, the thought that it’s possible to forget your parents could be alarming. There is also one scene where Dory has essentially a fish panic attack. It’s filmed from the perspective of Dory and is a bit stressful. I didn’t see either as an issue for my kids at all, but those are the main things to watch out for if deciding to take your kids to see it or not.
All in all, I love it. I felt like it ended perfectly and baby Dory is literally one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.
Be sure to check out all the adorable FREE coloring and activity pages we have that are Finding Dory themed! The kids love them!
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