Film

Finding Dory

Finding Dory hands the wheel to the scatterbrained blue tang, sending her across the ocean chasing fragments of memory in search of the family she can barely recall. It's brighter, weirder and more emotionally direct than the original—Pixar using a fish who can't hold onto anything as a way to talk about disability, belonging and what family really means. Great for kids, quietly moving for adults.

TMDb rating7.0

If you liked this

Finding Nemo2003

The original, and still the sharper film—tighter story, funnier jokes, and it gives Dory's friendship with Marlin all the weight this sequel builds on.

But You've probably already seen it a dozen times; there's no surprise left in the reef.

Finding Nemo poster

Inside Out2015

Pixar's most inventive idea—turning memory and emotion into literal characters—handles the same themes of identity and belonging with even more imagination and heart.

But It's an emotional gut-punch aimed squarely at anyone who's ever felt confused by their own feelings—bring tissues.

Inside Out poster

Coco2017

A gorgeous, music-soaked story about memory, ancestry and what gets lost when someone is no longer remembered—Pixar at its most soulful and visually rich.

But It leans hard into grief and mortality; younger kids might need some hand-holding through the sadder stretches.

Coco poster

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Memento2000

Both Dory and Leonard build their entire lives around short-term memory loss—Dory trusts her fish, Leonard trusts his tattoos, but the structural trick is the same: watching someone reconstruct identity moment to moment, with nothing sticking.

A backwards-told neo-noir thriller about a man who can't form new memories, piecing together his own life from photographs and notes tattooed on his skin.

But It's a violent, morally murky adult thriller with none of the warmth or reassurance of a Pixar film.

Memento poster
More like this (8)

Moana2016

Another ocean epic, but from Disney's animation side rather than Pixar's—wilder colours, bigger songs, and a heroine navigating open water to find out who she is.

But If you're after Pixar's specific brand of comedy, this musical adventure feels different in tone and pacing.

Moana poster

Toy Story 32010

Proof that Pixar sequels can outdo the originals—an escape thriller wrapped around real questions about growing up, letting go and what happens to the things we love.

But It's more melancholy than nostalgic, and the ending has broken grown adults who weren't expecting it.

Toy Story 3 poster

Up2009

Another Pixar adventure that starts with loss and turns into something joyful and strange, with a house tied to balloons and a friendship nobody saw coming.

But The opening ten minutes are famously devastating—some viewers never quite recover enough to enjoy the rest.

Up poster

Zootopia2016

A buddy-cop mystery dressed up as a talking-animal comedy, with sharp jokes for adults and a genuinely clever plot about prejudice and belonging underneath the fun.

But It's Disney rather than Pixar, so the humour and pacing lean a little more toward fast one-liners.

Zootopia poster

Incredibles 22018

If you want more chaotic family-first animation with genuine heart, this superhero sequel balances slapstick and sincerity as well as anything Pixar's made.

But It's busier and louder than Dory, with less quiet emotional space between the action set pieces.

Incredibles 2 poster

Ratatouille2007

A gentler, funnier Pixar film about finding your place when the world says you don't belong there—as true for a rat chef as for a fish with no memory.

But No ocean, no sea creatures—if you wanted more water and fins, this is a landlocked detour.

Ratatouille poster

My Octopus Teacher2020

Hank's escape artistry and cunning in Finding Dory isn't exaggerated for comedy—this documentary shows a real octopus problem-solve, bond and outwit its environment in ways that make Hank look almost restrained.

A quiet, real-life documentary about a filmmaker who befriends a wild octopus off the coast of South Africa, discovering just how intelligent and emotionally present octopuses actually are.

But It's slow and meditative, occasionally heartbreaking—there's no comic sidekick voice here, just patience and water.

My Octopus Teacher poster

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea1954

Same studio's underwater fascination, seven decades earlier—proof that Disney's obsession with the ocean as a place of wonder and danger long predates computer animation, told here with practical effects instead of pixels.

Disney's own earlier ocean adventure, decades before CGI, built on gorgeous matte paintings and practical effects—Captain Nemo's submarine journey is still strange and beautiful to look at.

But It's a stagey, dialogue-heavy 1950s adventure film with none of the speed or gags of modern animation.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea poster

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Finding Nemo