Ray (still respectively voiced by director/co-writer Andrew Stanton and Bob Peterson) both play crucial roles in the plot, but they still get maybe three minutes of screen time apiece. Sherman’s tank doesn’t show up until all the way after the credits. The seagulls only get a brief passing cameo. John Ratzenberger’s school of fish is omitted entirely. The vegetarian sharks only get a passing mention. Most other sequels might be lazy enough to take the previous film’s most popular running gags and comic relief characters and run them into the ground, but this film pretty much does the exact opposite. And it does so in way that’s really kind of genius: Trying something new. Luckily, I’m glad to say that while Finding Dory doesn’t come anywhere near the triumphant heights of the Toy Story sequels, the film does justify its existence as a worthy continuation of the original story.
And when an effort falls short - *cough MonstersUniversitycough* - the resulting film is quickly swept under the rug like it never happened.
There’s a very high bar to clear, but when the effort pays off - as it did with Toy Story 2 and 3 - it taps into nostalgia in a way that pays off HUGE.
This means that the prospect of a Pixar sequel is extremely high-risk/high-reward. A whole generation of kids have grown up with Pixar’s movies, which means that every one of those films has a huge legacy for any sequel to try and live up to. There’s nobody who really loves that movie or its characters, not like so many filmgoers of all ages love The Incredibles, Up, or any of the other treasured films made by Pixar in its prime. I know that Disney and Pixar have made sequels and spin-offs for Cars, but I think we all know that it was more for merchandise sales. And why they’re so squeamish about sequels in general. Which is probably why Pixar waited this long to attempt a sequel. As with everything else Pixar released within that time period, the film was heralded as an instant classic, with themes and jokes and iconography that are still catchy and appealing to all ages all these years later.
It’s hard to believe so much time has gone by - right now, there’s a whole generation of kids and teenagers who grew up watching this film. Finding Nemo came out all the way back in 2003.
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