I’m starting to get the sense that all the Pixar movies are made the same way (barring Cars 2) and that the best one can only be determined by whether or not you enjoy the subject at hand. Some people like Monsters Inc. the most because of the interesting caretaker and global warming stuff that it’s talking about. Other’s might be preferential to The Incredibles because of its superhero trappings. I personally think Up is a perfect creation in the filmmaking landscape but that’s mainly because I’m tailored toward the idea of the pulpy action that dominated the filmmaking landscape of the serial. However, all of these movies seem to share a common ground. They all share the ability to drape a childish sensibility over otherwise mature themes, and Pixar’s done it for years. Minus the forgettable roller coaster ride that was Cars 2, all of their films have an aspect of that in there. That’s where the ideas of taste come in, though. The formula is so familiar by now that it’s harder and harder to drag catharsis out of their films, and with some of them if the interest isn’t in the subject the formula almost lies bare ( I mean why do people just ignore A Bug’s Life sometimes). Now, that doesn’t mean that any of the films are bad, just that they are similar in structure enough that a person could pick specifically what they wanted and stick to it. Most people just like every version here and Pixar often makes the films beautiful enough to sustain attention even if the subject isn't there. I like fish. Not enough to make a living out of it, but I like the idea of the danger that could reach a person in the unknown ocean, and that makes the idea of a completely underwater adventure fascinating. Finding Dory may use the same structure of dark themes hidden in a kids movie, but it’s one that takes place in the ocean so personally it's already exciting. Just as in its predecessor, Pixar has created a beautiful and serene world that holds a lot of danger for the stories little heroes. Speaking of the story, Finding Dory has Dory (Ellen Degeneres) trying to find her long-lost parents, but it extends into much further territory than that. The overall plot structure is very similar to Nemo, but that doesn’t end up mattering. The fact that we got to revisit such beautiful vistas, and enjoy some new ones is enough. The turns the story takes, much like other Pixar films also prove to be devastating, but there could have been more focus. During the climax, the film seems to just be throwing whatever it can out there just to make sure the characters end up ok like the animators decided the absolutely gut-wrenching “all is lost moment” of the film and then made up the third act on the fly to fix it. That said it’s still so interesting to watch the world that Pixar has created unfold. The new characters that have begun to populate them are as usual extremely well animated and have enough characterization that they start to feel connected to Dory, Marlin, and Nemo. A new character, a Septopus (watch the movie to figure that out) played by Ed O'Neill is a surprisingly deep character, and a snooty beluga voiced by Ty Burrell is hysterical. If anything Pixar has not failed to create some very personable characters. Pixar’s been using its formula for so long that it sometimes lacks the bite that it used to, but Finding Dory feels almost none of this tiresome feel. This is a sad, funny, and beautiful little movie. That said that may have to do with me liking fish. Finding Dory gets a 9 out of 10 .
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archive
December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |