When Finding Nemo released in 2003, I was 21 and already raised on a steady diet of Disney princesses, happy endings, and fantastical stories. When the Pixar movie hit theatres I went to watch it like I had watched hundreds of movies before. But I came out, quite the different person.
Pixar and Finding Nemo had stunned me with their vivid colours, simple depiction of characters, and created a world below the ocean surface in a manner none of us would have ever dreamed of! Nemo was all of us – defiant, stubborn, and itching to branch out on our own and prove our worth to the world. Dory, was like the goofy aunt – there is one in every family – who we love to death! And Marlin reminded us of our own dad – looking out for us, admonishing us, reminding us of dangers every step of the way. Sure, it was formulaic but it never failed to put a smile on my face. After all that is the true mark of a good movie isn’t it?
Finding Nemo created an impression on my mind that stayed with me long after those college days and well into when I was about to start my family. I watched it when I was pregnant, eager for my unborn child to hear those sounds. I wanted him to like the movie as much as I did. When he turned four I decided to watch the movie with him (now we own the Blu-Ray version) so he could learn about never backing down in the face of danger, to ‘just keep swimming’ when all else fails, and to learn that help can come from the most unlikeliest of quarters.
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Cut to 2016. Finding Dory is here and I knew I just had to watch it. I had no idea how they were going to make it better, after all what else could they do! Dory, a blue Tang fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres was the breakout star from the first movie and here was her moment to shine in the spotlight. There was so much excitement surrounding the release of this film!
For me, Finding Dory was exactly like watching Finding Nemo. Sure they celebrated Dory’s disability, but the storyline seemed vaguely familiar enveloped in stunning visuals and great voiceovers. There was the across the ocean adventure, and the search for loved ones, help coming in from unexpected quarters, and the lessons we all want our children to learn…in short Finding Dory was Finding Nemo!
So this time around forget using it as a movie to enthrall and entertain our kids. Forget using Nemo or Dory as a teaching tool. Let’s instead go watch this movie with our friends just to celebrate the years gone by since Finding Nemo; or just to see if we have grown since then; or simply just for an evening out that reminds us of where we were 13 years ago.
After all the greatest lesson is, “When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do, just keep swimming!”
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