Now Showing
Just Keep Swimming
By Gaile Posadas
This amusing sequel, thirteen years after Finding Nemo, brings together the friendly-but-forgetful pacific blue tang fish with her friends, Nemo and Marlin, on a search for answers about her past. During the adventure, they will meet new funny characters who will aid in Dory’s quest.
The buzz is that 90’s kids are first in line on this upcoming movie. It’s no wonder since the first installment was released on August 13, 2003. Over a decade ago, these kids are all grown up but still hungry for its sequel.
Let’s recap Finding Nemo. Marlin, a clown fish, became an overly cautious father after his family was attacked by a barracuda leaving him and his son, Nemo, as the only survivors. Because of Nemo’s foreshortened fin, Marlin believes he is not as good a swimmer and is nowhere near ready for the dangers of the wide ocean. When Nemo swims too close to the surface to prove himself, he is caught by a diver. A horrified Marlin then sets out to find him. A blue tang fish named Dory, who has a really short memory, joins Marlin and complicates the encounters with sharks, jellyfish, and a host of ocean dangers. Meanwhile, Nemo plots his escape from a dentist’s fish tank. Remember it now? Yep, it’s the one that made us all cry when Marlin lost hope and abandoned Dory and Nemo behind. It has also made us all cheer to see the evolution of Marlin as a father who trusts and listens to his family.
Produced by one of the high caliber animation force, Pixar, this follow up movie showcases their unparalleled and rich graphic presentation they always provide to their audience, plentiful comical scenes (kudos to the voiceovers especially to Ellen DeGeneres as Dory), jam-packed action sequences, and most of all, tear-jerking moments. Dory returns in Finding Dory. Ever the cheerful and optimist, she’s still friends with Marlin and Nemo. Whilst on a trip to a string ray migration, Dory flashes back to her past. This forces her, Nemo, and a reluctant Marlin to travel across the ocean, with the help of the turtles from the first film, on a whole new adventure to regain Dory’s memory.
It conveys Pixar’s tradition of making movies and storylines that both children and adults can apply to their daily lives, which, in this sequel, centralizes to the importance of having a family. It is light and good-natured but with a nudge to the heart.
The ocean life is again its finest showcase and greatly appreciated by spectators. Just a little reminder for adults bringing their kids to see the movie: don’t buy them the fish for a pet, specially Dory or the blue tang fish. Unlike Marlin and Nemo, both clownfish, which are relatively easy to breed in captivity, breeding blue tangs will not be as easy as they do not survive well in aquarium tanks. Aside from that, blue tangs are found among fragile coral reefs in the Pacific. Fishing or fish collection for captivity will easily damage them. Marine biologists are now worried we might endanger Dory’s species in the wild. And we do not want that to happen. So we suggest just getting your kids stuffed Dory toys, pillows, or other merchandise that will not be harmful to the environment.
Much as we are thrilled for this film, we must also be cautious of our actions. It must be one of our priorities to save the environment from harm. After all, we want our little fish friends to, as Dory often says, “just keep swimming.”
