Finding Dory

Belonging is something we all hope to do.  Any sort of deep connection humans or animals form is vital to how life continues to operate as efficiently as it does.  What if you didn’t know where you belonged in life or who you are?  What if you struggled your entire life with remember every day conversations or tasks making life immensely difficult to navigate and socialize in.  These are primary issues focused on in Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory.  Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Finney return to voice Dory and Marlon in this sequel to the 2003 film Finding Nemo.  Instead of trying to find his lost son, Marlon is now on a quest to help Dory find her family and figure out who she’s connected to in life.

First and foremost, outside of being a visually stunning film the crux of what makes a movie about fish in the sea so compelling is that there are so many fantastic themes at play here.  You have friendship, family, acceptance of disability, and acceptance of self.  All of these themes are powerful aids the story uses to tell a universal story about how family can be anything and anyone and that we all belong somewhere in this world.  It’s a beautiful to teach to children and its one families can and should enjoy at the movies this year.

This movies story would lack any emotional resonance if it were not for the excellent voice cast used for this film.  The heart of this film is Ellen DeGeneres.  Dory is such a heartwarming character because she never wants to do any harm and seems to only be in the sea hoping to make friends and be understood or accepted.  This is a beautiful message for children and young adults.  Everyone as they are journey through life struggle to figure out where they belong and how they can fit in.

Dory, after the events of Finding Nemo, makes Marlon and Nemo her family.  I love the fact that because Nemo and Marlon have become her family she has forgotten she has a family.  There’s a real touching elegance to watching Dory find her place in the world and at the very same time she is also learning who she used to be and how afraid to tackle life she was back then.  Dory is a completely different fish now.  DeGeneres plays her as a relatively fearless and courageous animal.  To be honest, seeing Dory come into her own and realize that her weaknesses are in reality strengths made me cry happy tears.   As a person with a disability I always had a constant fear that I would never fit in and part of the reason I felt that was a lack of self-confidence.  I found Dory’s struggle for self-acceptance deeply mirrored my own and it is entirely shocking that when I left the theater I felt a little less different than everyone else and a little more I’m just me.  The storytelling and animation geniuses at Pixar not only knows how to reach everyone with this film but they also recognize the importance of reminding audiences that being different is not a bad thing and in fact it is special.

There are very few movies that touch me anymore these days.  A lot of times it’s because I have seen so many that any emotion I am supposed to feel seems planned or rehearsed.  Finding Dory is different because it is special and special because it is different.  There is a beauty in that message and my dearest hope is that people start to look at what’s special within themselves and accept every unique and special trait of the people around them.  If they can’t do that then as Dory says just keep swimming.