Finding Dory - Box Office Review

In 2003 "Finding Nemo" won over movie watchers of all ages all around the world. It had memorable little bits of dialogue that continued in the popular culture long after the film left theaters. In fact, if you tell someone struggling with a difficulty in their life "just keep swimming" they might smile for a moment remembering that little song Dory sang. It only made sense that a sequel would follow. So let's dive in and take a look at "Finding Dory" in the box office review...

The story is a bit more involved than I imagined it would be. I wasn't sure how Pixar could take a fish with short term memory loss and make an entire film around the adventures of a mentally challenged character. They did it and they did it well. They even reminded the audience who the characters are and the story they originated from which was helpful considering this sequel took 13 years to make. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the backstory moved as well as the flashback portions reminding us of the original. 

The new characters introduced in this film were just as fun as the previous characters in the first film. Are they as memorable? Probably not but that's ok because the screen time we are given is enjoyable, thought provoking and humorous. The journey to find Dory's parents was also entertaining. Also, the special effects team did so well that certain scenes above water looked so good I had to blink a few times to make sure what I saw was digital and not real water. 

It's Pixar and as everyone knows these films always have a way of striking the emotional strings of our hearts and playing them to perfection. This film continued with that tradition. I'm man enough to admit that I did get a little misty eyed. I still suspect someone was cutting onions in the theater but I can't say for certain. It's not the film itself that created a beautiful heartfelt moment. It's the celebration of Dory being a character with a mental handicap still being able to achieve so much. This film did a spectacular job getting the audience to see how someone with a disability can still contribute so much to the community and still succeed in the matters closest to their hearts. The ending really tied all this together in such a beautiful way I felt the heart strings being tugged and it was a genuine emotional moment enjoyed in the theater. 

"Finding Dory" is in theaters now! I recommend a big screen viewing because the film is absolutely worth a ticket price and the animation is fantastic. I wasn't disappointed in this film at all and in fact I'm considering a second viewing. I absolutely abhor 3-D but am strongly considering seeing this a second time but in 3-D. I'm curious if there will be a bump in animation excellence with the added depth that only 3-D can give. I typically see 3-D as cheap gimmick to raise ticket prices without adding any extra value plus I hate wearing sunglasses in a theater. I'll wear sunglass in a restaurant to give off the appearance I'm a rock star but a theater just feels dumb, Any who, enough about me, go see this film!! 

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The Good Dinosaur: Box Office Review

When Pixar announces they are making a new film there’s a certain level of excitement that happens. They have built a reputation for emotionally moving, entertaining and thought provoking animated films that probably make Shel Silverstein jealous. Unfortunately, nobody has a career of home runs. Michael Jordan missed some shots during his career. Even Tom Brady throws an interception from time to time and that’s what I felt walking out of “The Good Dinosaur” this weekend. Pixar tried and failed to meet the level of excellence I have come to expect from their films.

The film opens with a “what if” scenario. What if a comet didn’t strike the earth and eliminate all the dinosaurs? Well, in theory, it’s plausible that dinosaurs and prehistoric man would co-exist, however briefly. This is a solid concept for story telling because it allows the viewer the chance to understand immediately what world we are about to enter. A world where dinosaurs and man co-exist on a prehistoric earth. That’s where it felt like the thinking stopped and the questionable took over.

The creative team behind this film decided that the dinosaurs would all sound like they belonged in a western film. So, the main dinosaur family sounds like cowboy farmers, the pterodactyls sound like stage coach or train robbing buffoons, and the Tyyannosaurus Rex family, led by Sam Elliott, really took the western cowboy rancher sound to the extreme. An odd choice, but they made a decision and stuck it… but they didn’t. For some reason, while every other dinosaur character sounds like a cowboy, the main dinosaur sounds like a normal city kid. Apparently accents aren’t hereditary and dinosaurs are born sounding western, except for one. This is not a learned accent. It’s a birthright and the lead character did not have this pattern of speech even though his family did. Bizarre.

The story is a coming of age tale for the young dinosaur. He must become a grown up dinosaur and face his fears head on. This film details the crucible that he must endure if he is ever to find his family again. He won’t do this alone either. He’ll have a trusty side kick human who acts like a dog. At one point the dinosaur and the kid get stoned on berries and the audience is treated to a weird drug trip montage which felt wildly out of place in a Pixar movie. This film felt like that scene in the movie “Elf” where they ship the children’s book that didn’t make sense because they didn’t want to go back and start over with a story that worked.

Then the ending, the dinosaur finds a family of humans for the kid before he heads back to his farm with the surviving family members that didn’t die (it’s Pixar, someone always dies). I thought maybe we’d have a scene where the kid finds the dinosaur and his family and both families live on the farm and it’s all happily ever after. Nope. The kid goes off with his adopted human family and the dinosaur finds his family on the farm. So, the moral of the story is, have fun with strangers but don’t get too close because you’ll leave them eventually because they’re different? I walked out of that film so confused. The animation looked incredible though. So while I was thoroughly confused I did love how real some of the scenic shots looked.

“The Good Dinosaur” is in theaters now! I give this film the earth destroying comet it deserves so this ridiculous story would not have been made. Let’s leave the dinosaur and human experience to the Jurassic Park franchise. They seem to be back on track finally.

Comment below if you’ve already seen it and share your thoughts! Join in on the fun of movie watching and share this post with anyone who you feel would enjoy another one of my Box Office Reviews.

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