Haley Noehren - Assignment #17- Nemo Reigns Above Dory

Ok, I don’t watch many movies, and I don’t even know the names of the actors in the ones I do watch. Recently my mother has embarked on a quest to make me more ‘cultured’ by watching some of the iconic movies of her childhood. Sadly, I couldn’t find a common director or genre between them so I resorted to the iconic movies of my childhood. I chose to compare Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, both directed by Andrew Stanton.

Finding Nemo- This movie was literally my childhood. As a tiny elementary schooler, the plot line had me gripped from the time Nemo touched the boat. The way that the story was told had me become attached personally to each character. I was mad at Dory because I thought she was annoying. I wanted to scream at Marlin (Nemos dad) when he went into that jellyfish patch. Most importantly, I wanted Nemo to find his dad again. For my little 5th grade mind, the movie was a success. I loved the character development of the different fish in the dentists fish tank. The movie made me feel like I was right there in the fish tank or the ocean, rooting for Nemo to find his dad the whole time.

Finding Dory- When I heard that this movie was coming out, I was concerned about how it would live up to the glory of Finding Nemo. I had loved Nemo so much as a child, I wondered how anything could be the same. Well for starters, I felt like the plot was basically the same. A fish gets lost/captured and the others are left to track that fish down. Along the way they run into a helping hand and it seems like they are gonna finally win. Suddenly, something unexpected happens and you begin to think that the two fish will never be re-united. Luckily, they overcome the odds and are finally together again. Basically, I’d say Finding Dory was just a recycled version of Finding Nemo. Yes, this one is about Dory finding her parents, but it follows the same general structure. While I might not be a fascinated fifth grader anymore, Finding Dory also lacked the magical and captivating characters that Finding Nemo had. Yeah Dory had that octopus dude, but Nemo had those turtles and sharks and crazy dentist girl and the seagulls. Dory lacked those iconic characters I grew to love.

Overall, Finding Nemo totally outperforms Finding Dory. The characters and plot are way more meaningful and entertaining in Finding Nemo. Maybe I glorified Nemo, but it can’t be any worse than Dory.