Pixar is a flawless studio, putting out good to amazing animated films time and time again….. if you forget about Cars 2….. and this is absolutely no exception. ‘Finding Dory’ is the sequel to one of the most beloved animated films in ‘Finding Nemo’ and it has been 13 long years since we were gifted with that amazing film. This not only had to live up to the expectations set by its predecessor, but it also had to develop its own story to not feel like a quick cash grab, and that’s exactly what it did. What this film did wonderfully is have those callbacks to Finding Nemo that are there for fans to enjoy but not beat you over the head with them, or use them as main plot devices again. They’re quick, play into the nostalgic elements, service the plot briefly and then they get onto the main story at hand, how all callbacks should be handled. As usual, the animation is absolutely glorious, seeing the ocean we all remember come to life again was great to see. All of the vibrant colours in and out of the water were animated stunningly, and suck you into the world.

The humour in this film is also just great, there were never any massive laugh-out-loud moments, but the movie was consistently very funny, and of course, most of that humour came from Dory, with a tonne of side characters pitching in. And besides 2 or 3 jokes that were exclusively for kids to enjoy, pretty much all the other humour really hit, giving everyone something to enjoy. In terms of the plot, it was very well paced, tied together with Finding Nemo very well, and did a great job at telling Dory’s story both in the present and through flashbacks. It was a very enjoyable journey that we were on with Dory the whole time and her interactions with other characters and their personalities made for some really great, funny moments. But this is Pixar we’re talking about here, and not everything is fun and games, they of course have to bring along the feels.

All of the emotion in this film had a purpose, they didn’t put in these moments just to get a reaction out of audiences. Themes of family, love and losing those you love are strongly portrayed constantly throughout the film, and some of these scenes are absolutely gut wrenching. They play with those heart strings on multiple occasions throughout this film, but they do balance it out really well with the positive humorous scenes. The talent added to this film with Ed O’Neil, Ty Burrell, Idris Elba, and the returning cast of Albert Brooks and Ellen Degeneres all add to the film and play very interesting and amusing characters. So no matter who the film is focusing on you are always just as entertained as the previous scene.

So in the end, Finding Dory is a very good family film that fans of the first film will enjoy, parents will enjoy, kids will enjoy, it’s a load of fun and emotion for everyone. The animation is flawless, humour is there, great characters……. you know what? All you need to know is that it’s a Pixar film and you can trust that you are going to get a good amount of enjoyment out of it. And also wait for the After Credits Scene right at the end for a very cool and funny scene.

8/10