Finding Dory (2016)

Thirteen years is a long time to wait for a sequel, and by the time Finding Dory arrived in cinemas in the summer of 2016, Pixar's original underwater adventure had already become one of the most beloved family films of the preceding decade. The follow-up reunites us with the forgetful blue tang voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, this time shifting the focus away from Marlin's frantic parental odyssey and onto Dory's own fragmented past: who her parents are, where she comes from, and how a fish with no short-term memory managed to acquire quite so many unusual skills. It's a premise with genuine emotional potential, and one that the studio had clearly been sitting on for some time before committing it to screen.

Andrew Stanton returns to direct, more than a decade on from Finding Nemo, the film that introduced these characters and set the bar for what Pixar could do with an aquatic setting. Stanton also directed WALL·E, and his track record with Pixar speaks for itself in terms of visual ambition and emotional storytelling. Here, the action shifts from the open ocean to the Marine Life Institute in California, a rescue and rehabilitation facility that gives the film a new setting to play with and a fresh supporting cast to populate it. That cast includes Ed O'Neill as a world-weary octopus named Hank, Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory's long-lost parents, and Idris Elba and Dominic West as a pair of territorial sea lions. Albert Brooks and the newly cast Hayden Rolence (replacing a then-teenage Alexander Gould as Nemo) return alongside DeGeneres as the film's emotional anchors. The voice work throughout is warm and well-judged, even if the material doesn't always give the performers as much to work with as it might.

For context, Finding Dory was one of the biggest animated releases of 2016, arriving in the same year as Trolls and a clutch of other family animations competing for the same summer audience. Pixar's reputation meant expectations were, frankly, enormous, and the film performed strongly at the box office. Whether it deserved that kind of reception is, of course, a different question entirely, and one that brings us to what our man Macca actually made of it.

Sequels to beloved films often struggle to recapture the magic, and Finding Dory doesn’t so much fail as quietly fade from memory. It’s not a bad film, the animation is gorgeous, the voice cast is charming, and there are moments of genuine warmth and humour, especially with the introduction of new characters like Destiny the near-sighted whale shark and Bailey the anxious beluga. Ellen DeGeneres slips back into Dory’s forgetful, relentlessly optimistic persona with ease, and the emotional core (her search for her long-lost parents) lands with quiet sincerity. But for all its technical polish and good intentions, the film never feels necessary. The original Finding Nemo was a story with a clear journey and emotional payoff; this one follows a similar blueprint (a cross-ocean quest, perilous encounters, undersea bureaucracy) but without the same sense of discovery. The plot hinges on Dory’s memory loss, which is ironic, because the movie itself is almost impossible to remember five minutes after it ends. The stakes feel lower, the obstacles less threatening, the resolution more predictable. It’s competently made, yes, and younger audiences will likely enjoy the bright colours and silly fish antics. But as a standalone story, it lacks urgency and originality. It rehashes the first film’s structure without adding much new, and the emotional points, while touching, don’t hit as hard. There’s no equivalent to “Just keep swimming” that lingers. Ultimately, Finding Dory is harmless and occasionally sweet, but also entirely forgettable. A perfectly fine sequel that does just enough to get by, without ever justifying its own existence. Ironic, given the subject.

And honestly, that irony at the end is the thing that sticks with me most. A film about a character who can't hold onto memories, and yet the film itself seems almost designed to slip through your fingers the moment the credits roll. I don't begrudge it its existence, not really. The animation is genuinely lovely to look at, and I smiled more than once. But when I try to recall specific scenes or moments with any clarity, I find myself reaching for nothing in particular. Pixar have made films that stay with you for years, that catch you off guard at odd moments, and this simply isn't one of them. It's the cinematic equivalent of a perfectly decent biscuit: fine at the time, gone without a trace.

Rating: ★★½  | Year: 2016  | Watched: 2025-08-08

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Finding Dory (2016) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
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Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus · fuboTV
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Physical: Amazon US

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