Finding Dory Review

I watched Finding Nemo when it first came out, and thought it was pretty okay. I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t particularly hate it. But oh boy. Finding Dory punched me right in the feels. Here’s why:

Warning: Spoilers below.

The plot is similar to finding Nemo, and we find out that Dory has lost her parents for years. She slowly starts remembering all the details, and pieces everything together. With Nemo’s help, they end up at a Marine Institute, or, simply put, aquarium, where she was born. She meets old friends like Destiny, a whale shark, and Bailey, a Beluga while, but also meets new ones like the cranky mimic octopus, Hank.

Of course, there’s a happy ending, but to me, the movie serves as a commentary on the treatment of disabled people. Marlin condescends to Dory and insults her to her face, betraying his frustrations, while in contrast, Dory’s parents encourage her and show her what she had achieved, no matter how much she messed up. There is, obviously, a parallel commentary on how the less and more empathetic factions of society react to people with disabilities.

Then, there are the secondary chatacters. Bailey, the Beluga whale, supposedly is unable to use his echolocation ability, but the real reason he is unable to do so is because of his negative self-talk. Similarly, Destiny is short-sighted, and in less obvious ways, she also suffers from the same self-fulfilling prophecy as the whale. When they decide to encourage each other and work together, they show that they can achieve great things–again, a testament of positive reinforcement.

Finally, when Dory reunites with her parents after many long years, they don’t berate or scold her. They tell her of what she has achieved, which is to remember to do a certain thing, believing that she will come home one day. And that, to me, was so touching about their reunion.

Finding Dory is a must-watch for everyone, especially teachers and parents to be. It’s more than about love and family; it’s about positive reinforcement, and how a little encouragement goes a long way (pun not intended).