This week, Finding Dory, the sequel to Disney-Pixar’s cult classic masterpiece, Finding Nemo will see it’s release on Blu-Ray Combo Pack. Being tasked with the challenge of crafting a sequel that would pay respect to the original beloved film, yet at the same time adding something fresh, new and nostalgic was of course, a massive challenge for the studio, but it’s a challenge that Pixar, and director Andrew Stanton truly paid off in spades. Finding Dory is one of Pixar’s most inventive and fun animated films to come out of the studio in recent years, and the films is a wonderful return to the Pixar formula. Finding Dory is also groundbreaking, not just in its technology and storytelling, but it also sets a promising precedent for the future of Pixar.
Since it’s very beginning, Pixar has been a studio built on creativity. The studio’s endless journey to create unique and original stories through technology led to the beloved films we know today, like Toy Story, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo. The future of Pixar however, largely remains heavily focused on creating sequels to their popular films, with sequels like Cars 3, Toy Story 4, and The Incredibles 2 filling three out of the four upcoming Pixar films. Has the studio built on creativity run out of ideas, and milking their properties dry? The refreshing reality is that Finding Dory reminds us that despite a studio built on creating sequels, there is still creativity to be found at Pixar.
There are many reasons why Finding Dory is the perfect follow up to Finding Nemo and it does a great amount of fan service to the original films, but at the same time bringing something creative and new to the table. It has no shortage of absolutely brilliant hilarity, and the film knows how and when to pull at the emotional heartstrings of the audience once again, all tied up in a wonderful Dory origin story that you never knew you wanted, or needed. Most importantly, it respects the original, and doesn’t differ from it, but also pays tribute to it. It’s something that Toy Story 4 will be challenged with when it hits theaters in the summer of 2018, and will be faced with the challenge of re-introducing another classic film while not deterring from the perfect ending that Toy Story 3 offered back in 2010.
Finding Dory might very well be the latest in a cash grab to nostalgic audiences that grew up with the original film, and due to a greedy corporate buyout and the search for more money, the Pixar landscape has become riddled with sequels and spinoffs. The final result of Finding Dory, however, keeps the Pixar brand alive once again, and reminds us that despite the lack of original films on the horizon, creativity at Pixar is still very much alive. The films outcome gives us a little bit of hope about the outcome of how those upcoming sequels films will be received going forward.
Finding Dory is the rare perfect film that learns to blend nostalgia with creativity and innovation, and adds a fun fresh chapter in the Finding Nemo franchise. It’s creative and fun, and full of hilarity and adds up to a truly wonderful fan service. After a few years of mixed bag results, for the second time since Inside Out, our faith in Pixar has been fully restored once again.