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Finding a Reason

Pixar movies usually tell a truly good, self-contained story. The only Pixar movie that begs for a sequel is The Incredibles (which coincidentally is expected to produce a sequel in 2019 - fifteen years after the first film). On the other hand, by this time next year there will be five films and at least fifteen shorts in the "Cars" franchise. Phew. Beyond box office receipts and merchandising, what justifies sequelitis from the studio that made its name by creating original stories?

I knew it was inevitable to compare Finding Dory to Finding Nemo, so I sat down and watched my Finding Nemo DVD the night before I headed to the movie theater. Nemo is still a fun, heartwarming adventure with countless quotable lines. "Fish are Friends, not Food." "Es-Cah-Pey.""Mine! Mine! Mine!" Despite the fantastic script and charming voice acting, the thirteen-year-old cgi is showing its age.

Finding Dory ups the ante in terms of cgi. The textures in particular stand out as the biggest improvement. Marlin's scales and Dory's freckles seem real enough to touch. The animators clearly spent extra time working out how to animate sand underwater. The extra attention to detail shows, but does that fresh paint of state-of-the-art cgi justify an unnecessary sequel? Couldn't the same team of talented animators at Pixar apply their skills to any project?

Here's where the justification really comes in: Finding Dory (even moreso than its predecessor) is a story of people with disabilities overcoming struggles that unimpaired people never will, and that's a story worth telling. The character of Dory has a more realistic portrayal of memory loss than any character in any other movie not titled Memento. The character Marlin expresses the same kind of frustration felt by family and caretakers of Alzheimer's disease patients.

While on an escapade, Dory befriends an Octopus with a missing limb who seems to suffer from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. This "Septopus" compensates for his missing limb by mastering camouflage. Despite his physical and mental impairments, Hank the Septopus braves the odds and helps his friends in need.

Other sea creatures overcoming impairments include a speech-impaired seabird, a nearsighted whaleshark and a beluga whose echolocation isn't working. The latter of the three is most interesting as his tankmates insist that it's "all in his head" - a criticism people with disabilities have heard too many times already.

Ultimately Finding Dory cannot supersede Finding Nemo; it never really could in the first place. Finding Dory can't beat the first film in terms of family fun; however, it can tell a true-to-life story about people who achieve greatness because of (not despite of) their impairments. This film is especially recommended to parents of children with impairments.

samsonlonghair wrote:Other sea creatures overcoming impairments include a speech-impaired seabird, a nearsighted whaleshark and a beluga whose echolocation isn't working. The latter of the three is most interesting as his tankmates insist that it's "all in his head" - a criticism people with disabilities have heard too many times already.

But it was all in his head. The first mention is that the vets found nothing physiologically wrong with him. And once he gets over his hangups it works.

Samson, great review! That is probably the best way to present the movie. I really want to see it, now.

marurun wrote:Samson, great review! That is probably the best way to present the movie. I really want to see it, now.

Thanks Marurun. That means a lot to me.

MrPopo wrote:

samsonlonghair wrote:Other sea creatures overcoming impairments include a speech-impaired seabird, a nearsighted whaleshark and a beluga whose echolocation isn't working. The latter of the three is most interesting as his tankmates insist that it's "all in his head" - a criticism people with disabilities have heard too many times already.

But it was all in his head. The first mention is that the vets found nothing physiologically wrong with him. And once he gets over his hangups it works.

There's some truth to what you say, Popo, but try considering it another way. People with depression, anxiety, seasonal affective disorder, ptsd, autism spectrum disorders, anorexia, sexual dysfunctions, and chronic nerve pain have all been told their problems are "in their head" and they just need to "get over it" as if it's that easy. Sometimes with the right medicine and the right counseling they can "get over it" in the sense that they can live a more-or-less functional life. That doesn't make the problem imaginary.

I might be reading too much into a character that got fairly little screen time, but this is my interpretation of it. I can respect your opinion too.

oh snap



Wreck-it Ralph sequel coming in 2018.

noiseredux wrote:oh snap



Wreck-it Ralph sequel coming in 2018.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!! Awesome! Loved the first movie.

Stark wrote:

noiseredux wrote:oh snap



Wreck-it Ralph sequel coming in 2018.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!! Awesome! Loved the first movie.

I'd watch it.

prfsnl_gmr wrote:

Ack wrote:Heh, yeah, I'm gonna have to check that out...though I will question if it really is the most violent. After all, the Italians made Anthropophagus...

I didn't think it was that violent...I guess I am just desensitized. The movie does, however, employ a lot of Italian horror conventions, and at times, I felt like I was watching a Mario Bava film...Again, it is a very odd film.

That makes me think about an old film trailer I saw before Hateful Eight at AD. I cannot remember the name for the life of me, but it has a similar idealism to Hateful Eight in that its a mixed cast of despicable character you all hate, doing horrific and bloody things to eachother. I guess you could argue a Horror or Thriller Spaghetti.

While I don't know what the level of violence was, I know that it was a very controversial film at the time, and is relatively unknown because of that.

If you want to see a violent controversial film, watch:
I bet ya thought I was gonna say Irréversible or Cannibal Holocaust.

No, I thought you would say what you did. I haven't heard of those other ones.