When Sequels Are Better Than Originals - A Review on Finding Dory

We recently took our daughters to their first theater movie : Finding Dory.   I like Pixar movies for the most part and am rarely disappointed watching them.  While I liked Finding Nemo, I was bracing myself for a sequel that wasn't quite as good as the original.  It is just the law of sequels.   Was Karate Kid II as good as Karate Kid? Was 2 Fast 2 Furious quite as good as the original The Fast and the Furious?  However, I digress.  Anyway I can honestly say that I thought Pixar hit it out of the park with this one, and the sequel was better done than the original.  The humor was great, the message of parental love despite having special needs was refreshing, and overall the story was fantastic.  It was refreshing to see a movie that I could show the whole family with no objectionable parts.  My daughters sat through the whole movie without needing to get up, and I think overall the entire family enjoyed the experience.   This is what Disney Pixar movies should be about.  This is why I pay theater prices for an experience like this.  Without giving the entire movie away, here are the highlights of what I liked in Finding Dory:

1. Good acknowledgement of the original movie 

This movie didn't rehash a lot of the Nemo story but you also saw how the various parts fit in with the original story.

2. Exceptional setting at an aquarium park with lots of children involved.  

For anyone who has ever gone to an aquarium park with children, the scenes throughout were very familiar as well as funny.

3. Great introduction of new characters. 

Loved the sea lions, as well as the fish and creatures that were at the park.  That added some funny new characters as well as some complex ones that really added to the whole story.

4. Great theme of unconditional love.   

Hard to find this all the time in modern day movies, but this movie really showed the need to unconditionally love others despite any special needs they have.  This was refreshing to see and well delivered throughout this movie.

In conclusion : I hope Disney/Pixar continue to keep up the quality and substance of movies like Finding Dory.  It was great to be able to take my kids to a movie that we could all enjoy.   Two thumbs up for this one.