Four stars. Rated PG, and needlessly, for mild fantasy peril
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.17.16
Best...
...sidekick...
...ever.
 |
| Dory, in search of her parents, eventually finds her way to California's Marine Life Institute. While searching the various aquatic zones, she encounters Hank, a foul-tempered octopus with a flair for escapes and camouflage. |
The hilariously confused, memory-challenged
Dory stole the show in 2003’s Finding
Nemo: no small feat, considering the engaging story and wealth of equally
colorful aquatic and avian characters. And yet, with this long-gestating
sequel, the folks at Pixar have done the impossible, by concocting a new
co-star who gives even Dory a run for her money.
We really shouldn’t be surprised,
since Pixar makes a habit of doing the impossible.
Finding Dory continues the saga of
everybody’s favorite blue tang fish, voiced with such delightful, off-kilter
haze by Ellen DeGeneres. As director/co-scripter Andrew Stanton explains, in
his film’s press notes, Finding Nemo
— despite its clearly happy conclusion — left perceptive viewers with an open
question: What would become of Dory?
Her attention deficit disorder
and short-term memory issues clearly weren’t going away, so ... what if she got
lost again? Remember, Nemo wasn’t the only fish “lost” in the first film; we
knew nothing of Dory’s origin, or what sequence of events put her in the path
of the fretting clownfish Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks), as he attempted to
find his “kidnapped” young son.
Obviously, this was the perfect
excuse for a sequel.
Stanton and his colleagues —
co-director Angus MacLane, and co-scripters Victoria Strouse and Bob Peterson —
have delivered the goods. Finding Dory
has the essential Pixar magic: appealing characters, well-cast voice actors,
zany sight gags, gentle environmental messages and, most importantly, a finely
tuned story that builds to a mirthfully exciting climax.
Rarely has defeat been snatched
so frequently, and cleverly, from the jaws of victory. Every time we think
things have worked out ... the rug gets pulled out from under us. Time and
again.
And we love it.
The story begins with some
essential flashback, as we meet young Dory, darling of protective blue tang parents
Charlie (Eugene Levy) and Jenny (Diane Keaton). Well aware of their little
girl’s memory lapses, they’ve constructed a nurturing environment of detail-jogging
“message songs” and visual cues (trails of carefully placed shells). Such precautions
work for awhile, but the inevitable catastrophe occurs: Dory and her parents
become separated, after which the forlorn blue tang embraces a new family by
bonding with Marlin, Nemo and their many friends.
But childhood flashes keep
drifting through Dory’s mind: images that suddenly remind her of the parents
somewhere “out there.” And a phrase: “jewel of Morro Bay.” Well, Morro Bay is
halfway around the world, which involves another long journey courtesy of
totally rad turtles Crush and Squirt. Marlin and Nemo (Hayden Rolence) tag
along — the former reluctantly and nervously, of course — and soon the three
friends find themselves off the California Coast, in sight of the
aforementioned “jewel”: the Marine Life Institute.
(Any resemblance to the majestic
Monterey Bay Aquarium is purely intentional; Stanton and his legion of Pixar
animators spent considerable time at the California landmark.)
The unexpected conclusion, then,
is that Dory spent her childhood in one of the Marine Life Institute’s aquatic zones.
But which one?
Naturally, the impulsive blue
tang immediately gets separated from Marlin and Nemo. Dory winds up in a
shipping annex, where she encounters a cantankerous octopus named Hank (Ed
O’Neill), who has a facility for escaping from his tank.
At which point, the already delightful
film enters an entirely new level of fun.
Hank is a dazzling masterpiece of
character animation. His tour-de-force displays of background-mimicking
camouflage never cease to be cleverly hilarious, his irritable asides equally
droll. The most amazing part is that he always moves like an octopus, with gloppy, slithering, multi-armed bursts
of activity that are accompanied by suction-laden sound effects that remind one
of a bathmat being pulled from the bottom of a tub.
He’s a never-ending source of
great sight gags, his personality firmly sketched by only two eyes and their
forever furrowed brows; there’s no visible mouth to unleash his cranky
one-liners, but that doesn’t bother us for a moment. Sharp-eyed viewers also
will notice what Dory realizes only after awhile: that Hank lost one of his
tentacles — along with, apparently, his sense of humor — somewhere along the
way.
Ergo, he’s technically a
“septapus,” but that doesn’t make him any less talented, as a swiftly shifting
escape artist. His grouchy personality also makes him the ideal foil for the
eternally sunny Dory, since he naturally lacks the patience to endure hearing
the same comment or question three or four times, given that she never
remembers having said anything earlier. O’Neill’s irascible growl is the cherry
on top.
Even so, Hank grudgingly agrees
to help Dory explore the Institute’s various realms. Along the way, she
re-unites with Destiny (Kaitlin Olson), a near-sighted whale shark who keeps
bumping into the sides of her tank, and who remembers Dory from when both were
youngsters; and Bailey (Ty Burrell), a beluga whale who wails because his
biological sonar skills seem to be on the fritz.
Marlin and Nemo, meanwhile, are
trying to get from the nearby ocean into the Institute. Not-so-helpful
suggestions come from lazy, Cockney-accented sea lions Fluke (Idris Elba) and
Rudder (Dominic West), forever protecting their beloved sunning rock from other
sea lion invaders; and a squawking, ill-kempt, easily distracted loon who might be persuaded into flying our two
clownfish to their desired destination ... if Marlin can bond with her.
Along the way, considerable humor
is milked from two phrases — “Sigourney Weaver” and “hands” — that become
clever running jokes. The latter also is subtly instructive, and might encourage
discerning adults to keep a more watchful eye, when their children aggressively
charge toward an aquarium “kid zone.”
Similarly, the story doesn’t call
undo attention to the occasional trash-laden ocean landscapes where Dory
wanders; the visual is simply there, as a sobering backdrop. And while
Destiny’s frequent head-bonks are attributed to her near-sightedness, this
obviously wouldn’t be a problem, if she weren’t confined to such a small tank. One
hopes these messages are received.
Marlin continues to be fussy,
nervous and overly protective, Brooks getting maximum mileage from the neuroses
that he has made such a signature tic, during his long comedic career. That
said, Marlin also gets most of the story’s emotionally powerful dialog, which
Brooks delivers with heartfelt sincerity. It’s always more dramatically compelling
when a tender line comes from a character who seems least equipped to deliver
it.
Levy and Keaton are appropriately
nurturing as Dory’s caring parents; Elba and West are a stitch as the lethargic
sea lions. We also get a fleeting cameo appearance by the possessive seagulls
(“Mine!” “Mine!” “Mine!”).
Thomas Newman’s orchestral score
deftly complements the onscreen action, which Stanton, MacLane and editor Axel
Geddes maintain at a lively clip.
As is customary with Pixar
features, this film is preceded by a short: Piper,
director Alan Barillaro’s adorable study of a young sandpiper that learns how
to dig into beach sand for food, while navigating the intrusive splash of ocean
waves. The animation is impressively lifelike — astonishing, really — and the
story is quite endearing.
All told, then, Piper and Finding Dory make a thoroughly enjoyable package. After the slight
stumble with last autumn’s The Good Dinosaur, Pixar definitely has regained its mojo.
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