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Disney/Pixar's "Finding Dory" is the best kind of sequel — one you didn't know you wanted or needed, one that reunites the audience with beloved characters in a welcoming, charming way.
Director Andrew Stanton, who made "Finding Nemo," returns us to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. This time, the focus is not on the neurotic clownfish Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) and his son, Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence), but with their memory-deficient friend, the blue tang Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres).
Dory has a sudden memory burst, recalling her parents and that they live somewhere near California, at "the jewel of Monterey Bay." She begs Marlin to help her get to California to find this jewel, and Nemo tags along for the journey.
The "jewel of Monterey Bay" turns out to be the Marine Life Institute, a seaside rescue and rehab center for aquatic creatures. Dory is taken in by the institute's biologists, but soon finds an ally in Hank (voiced by Ed O'Neill), an escape-minded octopus. Hank offers to help Dory find her parents in exchange for the ID tag the biologists put on her — the difference between being released into open ocean and getting a cozy new home in a Cleveland aquarium.
Stanton (who shares story credit on his script with Victoria Strouse and Bob Peterson) introduces a host of new characters in California. They include two sun-basking sea lions (voiced by Idris Elba and Dominic West), the near-sighted whale shark Destiny (voiced by "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star Kaitlin Olsen) and a nervous beluga whale, Bailey (voiced by Ty Burrell).
Once again, Stanton matches the perfect voices to his characters. DeGeneres was a perfect choice in 2003 as the eternally optimistic Dory, and her happy nature hasn't changed a bit. Picking Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory's parents is inspired, and the three of them produce solid laughs and moments of tearful pathos.
The movie has some inventive set pieces, such as Hank commandeering a baby stroller and Bailey using his echolocation skills to guide Dory through the institute's pipes (which, after a Sigourney Weaver voice cameo, is the movie's second sly nod to "Alien"). And, as is ridiculously common with Pixar, the studio's animators and tech wizards find new ways to top themselves — this time with the sinuous animation of Hank's many tentacles.
(For stellar animation in a different direction, the photo-realistic short "Piper" is a delight — a 6-minute charmer about a sandpiper hatchling learning about the tides for the first time.)
"Finding Dory" works as a worthwhile sequel to "Finding Nemo" because it respects the characters and the audience that fell in love with them. The movie's makers are as interested in befriending these fish as the rest of us are.
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'Finding Dory'
Pixar's fish friends are back in a lively tale that's a worthy follow-up to "Finding Nemo."
Where • Theaters everywhere.
When • Opens Friday, June 17.
Rating • PG for mild thematic elements.
Running time • 97 minutes, plus a 6-minute short, "Piper."