‘Dory’ makes for a good movie, not a good pet

Thirteen years later, Dory gets her own story in the slightly misleadingly-titled sequel Finding Dory.

A few years later, Dory is reunited with her clown fish friends Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence, this time), remembers her parents and goes on a quest to find them. The clown-fish, having found Nemo in the original movie more than a dozen years ago, now joins in the search for Dory’s parents. Which kinda makes it hard to know who or what she’s trying to find. The film’s greatest new twist is a mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) named Hank and voiced by the great Ed O’Neill.

Remember her? That’s Darla, the niece of the dentist from “Finding Nemo”. Or is it too late?

“Finding Dory’s” success also should help tamp down studio fears that their one sure thing – sequels – are going out of fashion, as Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass”, Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” and Universal’s “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” all failed to catch on with cinemagoers. One last thing, Dory is now sitting on an approval rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes (after 157 reviews), a bit lower than Finding Nemo’s 99% (254 reviews). In addition, we are introduced to new characters like Hank who tries everything to prevent Dory’s freedom. We also get a third act that somewhat drags as the story hits its emotional climax about 20 minutes before the end of the film and then somewhat limps towards the finish. The supporting cast has equally amusing characters, voiced by Kaitlin Olson and another “Modern Family” actor, Ty Burrell. My favorites were Idris Elba and Dominic West (The Wire on a rock) as a couple of territorial cockney sea lions, forever tormenting a fellow sea lion, the mono-browed, crazy-eyed Gerald.

At three-odd minutes longer that the first Finding…, you can’t not ask why.

If your family includes a Disney-Pixar fan who’s blind or visually impaired, you’re in luck.

One super-quick trip across the ocean and they’re in California waters, waiting for another of Dory’s half-forgotten memories to surface.

Sigourney Weaver is a good sport with a running gag, and constant Pixar presence John Ratzenberger is on board, only as a different character. The attractive story about a little bird who learns a life lesson from an unexpected source is touching and applicable to every viewer regardless of age.