Ellen DeGeneres teases transgender character in Finding Dory
It would have been long overdue after 16 previous Pixar films had been populated exclusively by heterosexuals. This time, it’s Marlin and Nemo who have to look for Dory, who has been abducted by the institute’s scientists. Andrew Stanton is once again at the helm here, co-directing with Angus MacLane and co-writing with the duo of Bob Peterson and Victoria Strouse.
As the title suggests, it’s now that surgeonfish who needs to be saved. The movie is about helping Dory, who suffers from short-term memory loss, to discover who she is and where she fits into the world. Personally, I really loved Hank, which is a combination of O’Neill doing strong voice work and the animators at Pixar really outdoing themselves with the creation of the octopus. “Plus, that film actually admitted the existence of tragedy at the beginning, something the new one never does”. For that reason, I have a tough time saying this is better than “Finding Nemo“. “Someone stood up and I said, ‘Yes, sir, ‘ and she goes, ‘I’m a ma’am.’ And I [was] so embarrassed”.
Energized by clues of remembrance, Dory, Nemo and a reluctant Marlin travel from Australia to California, where her search leads to the Marine Life Institute.
The reason for concern isn’t because Finding Dory isn’t a good movie.
Naturally, the question came up again when Finding Dory’s cast and creative team appeared at a press conference for the film on June 9. Likewise, we can see that Dory herself has been inverted: In the original was a purely comedic creation; now she’s tragic, her condition rendering her obliviously chipper but still oblivious.
Shooting on a Nikon D800, Joseph took a macro approach to photographing the fish, offering the viewer a chance to make eye contact and deeply connect with a lovely creature most only get to experience on screen or through aquarium glass.
Ellen, who voices Dory in the Finding Nemo sequel, addressed this too. “So we said, ‘Alright, let’s do it, ‘ so we made two Die Hard references in this movie”. The film explores Dory’s origins, and how her faults have caused her to not only be separated from her parents, but live on her own. For all its heart and humanity, this IS a movie about talking fish, and if some analysts and critics take issue with “Finding Dory” for inexact science, well, they must be a lot of fun at cocktail parties. It’s also messier: Gone is the tight, sharp wit of the earlier film, replaced by a looser style of comedy and an occasional over-reliance on shtick.