This weekend, “Finding Dory” swam into theaters and beat the competition to become the #1 Highest Grossing Domestic Movie for the weekend grossing a total of $136.1 million! Back in 2003, “Finding Nemo’s” opening weekend domestic gross was $70.2 million.

“Finding Dory” broke the box office record for the Opening Weekend Record for an Animated Film which was $121.6 million and previously held by “Shrek The Third”. The film also broke the animation record for the Largest Single Day and Opening Day amount with a domestic gross of $54.9 million.

Here is a list of the Highest Grossing Worldwide Movies of 2016 and as you can see “Captain America: Civil War” leads the way but both “Zootopia” and “The Jungle Book” are still chugging along. “Civil War” is now ranked as the 12th Highest Grossing Worldwide Movie Of All Time and “Zootopia” has just passed “The Dark Knight” to take the number 25 spot.

Source: Box Office Mojo

“Finding Dory” Is A Good Sequel To A Great Movie; “Piper” Short One Of Pixar’s Best

Can you believe it’s been 13 years since Finding Nemo was released? And I thought Alice Through The Looking Glass was a long time to wait for a sequel…

When last we saw Nemo, Marlin and Dory, everyone was happy. Marlin learned to have faith in his son’s judgment and that his son no longer needed his constant protection. Nemo was given the freedom to do things on his own and it created a better bind between father and son. Dory was accepted as a new member of Marlin and Nemo’s family and it was nice to know that she actually was part of a family when previously she just kept swimming aimlessly having no real attachments. Basically it was your definition of a happy ending.

When Finding Dory was first announced I was concerned because I felt, “Does this movie really need a sequel?”  The original ended perfectly. Why mess with perfection? I was also tired of Pixar going sequel crazy and not coming up with original animated features, which long ago they were known for. It brought back painful memories of Cars 2. I was not a huge fan of Cars, but the sequel really made things worse for the franchise. In Cars 2, Pixar had a supporting character become the lead in the sequel, and that really ruined the movie. Mater was a clueless, naïve character that was tolerable in the original movie in small doses, but once he became the lead in the sequel, he quickly became annoying because he was always meant to be just comic relief. I was afraid that Pixar did not learn from it’s mistakes and we were going to see history repeat itself.

The good news is that after seeing Finding Dory I did not feel the same way as I did about Cars 2. It’s a good movie, well written and a fun story. The only thing I would say is that I still feel a sequel to Finding Dory was never really needed, but it does nothing to harm the original and Finding Dory itself can stand on it’s own as a good Pixar movie. I would say it is not in the league of Toy Story, Monsters Inc or The Incredibles, but it’s not at the bottom of the list either. It’s somewhere in the middle.

As traditional with Pixar films, we are first treated to their newest animation short, Piper. Piper is a beautifully animated film and in my opinion even more so than Finding Dory itself. Piper is a young sandpiper that struggles trying to overcome his fears of the big world ahead of him. It’s nice to see a movie with talking animals but sometimes it’s even nicer seeing animals being able to communicate to us without words and that is what Piper does as we witness his world from his point of view. Piper does an excellent job of conveying the story with just expressions and emotion and the short is very reminiscent of the best classic silent movies. Hopefully we will get to see more of Piper in the future. I really think that the next Piper could progress to a full featured animated film. Finding Dory may not be ranked at the top of Pixar’s movies but when it comes to it’s short films, Piper definitely is up there.

Finding Dory begins shortly after Finding Nemo where we find Dory(Ellen Degeneres) now living next-door to Marlin(Albert Brooks), Nemo(Hayden Rolence) in the coral reef. Certain words and objects activate memories for Dory of her past that include the memory of her parents (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton). Remembering that she had loving parents makes Dory journey to find them. Marlin and Nemo join Dory on her quest along with some old familiar characters and some new favorites. Does Dory find her parents? Do we have another happy ending? You’ll have to see the movie yourself to find out.

I’ll get into the good first. Find Dory is not a rehash of the original’s story. It’s a smartly written original story. It can have it’s emotionally sad moments at times, but it focuses more on it’s comedy. Even though the movie is called Finding Dory, Dory is never really lost and I would say a more appropriate title would be Finding Dory’s Parents. For the most part, the original voice cast returns and performs another excellent job.

The movie is a definite upgrade, animation quality wise, from the original. The original was beautiful, but it’s like the animators learned how to fine tune the underwater world to make it even more visually striking. Certain things that I noticed this time around were the reflections of the fish as they came closer to the surface. It looks more realistic and really glad that they found the time to focus on such detail.

The humor is even better than the first. Some of the new characters are very funny, especially the sea lions (Idris Elba and Dominick West) and Becky, the whacky loon. Hank (Ed O’Neil), the octopus that we have seen in trailers, is a real visual treat. I doubt Pixar could have accomplished such a technological marvel in the original, but due to the advancements in CGI animation, Hank movies all of his appendages very realistically and cleverly blends into certain objects with the use of his camouflage-like abilities.

OK, so here is the bad. I felt the movie becomes overly complicated at times. I kept thinking, “How is a kid able to follow this story?” I just think they could have cut some of the scenes out and made it a little more direct. It seems a little bit like Mission Impossible where Dory has to do several things in specific order to get to a location she believes that is where her parents are. Then when she does get there, it’s the wrong place but there are clues to where the right place could be.

Another thing is Dory’s forgetfulness. One of the first scenes has Dory awakening from her sleep going into Marlin and Nemo’s home, the anemone, and being shocked over and over again and repeating the process due to her forgetfulness. It could have been three times, could have been four, but it stopped being funny after two. You meet baby Dori, who is really cute, but just as forgetful as Dory. We get several long conversations with Dory and another character and then Dory is distracted, turns around and says to the character, “Hi. I’m Dory”. It happened a few times in the first part of the movie and I was afraid that this joke was going to be constantly used throughout the film. Fortunately, as the movie progressed, so did Dory’s memory.

We also meet two new characters, Destiny the whale shark (Katlin Olson) and Bailey, a beluga whale (Ty Burel). They looked nice and will sell a lot of merchandise but I honestly think they weren’t needed and didn’t add anything to the plot. I felt that they could have been cut out all together and made the movie tighter. The great composer Thomas Newman returns for the musical score but it lacks the emotional weight and memorable pieces from the original.

The bottom line is Finding Dory is a fun movie that both adults and children can enjoy, just don’t expect it to be better than the first.

I give Finding Dory 3.5 out of 5 stars. Would have been a 3, but Piper is that good.

Get your first look at “Piper” before he makes his debut during the theatrical release of “Finding Dory”.

In Pixar Animation Studios’ new short, “Piper,” a hungry sandpiper hatchling discovers that finding food without mom’s help isn’t so easy.

Piper is directed by Alan Barillaro (supervising animator “WALL•E,” “Brave”) and the short will debut in front of Finding Dory.

Audio Descriptive Narration Available in Theaters for the First Time

Via Disney Movies Anywhere App

 As Disney•Pixar’s “Finding Dory” swims into theaters this week, low-vision and blind fans are invited to enjoy the film alongside family members in theaters, thanks to a breakthrough in independent moviegoing. Smart-syncing audio description, a new feature introduced to in-home audiences four months ago on the Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) app, heads to theaters nationwide for the first time with the release of “Finding Dory.” Accessed via one’s own iPhone® or iPad® and a set of ear buds, the feature provides users with free audio description that elegantly narrates important on-screen action for those who can’t always follow along visually.

More than 21 million people in the United States are blind or visually impaired. While all feature films include a track for the blindness community, until now, these tracks have been accessible only by utilizing special gear provided by a limited number of individual theaters. The DMA app, downloaded via iTunes onto an iPhone® or iPad® running iOS 7 or above, accesses the mobile device’s microphone to “listen” to the big-screen presentation and syncs the audio descriptions accordingly so users can hear both the descriptive narrative and the film’s original audio. Pixar has invited members of the visually impaired community to focus group screenings for more than eight years in an effort to craft the narration in the most effective and enjoyable manner possible.

Earlier this week, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler included Disney Movies Anywhere among five winners of its Advancement in Accessibility Award, which recognizes achievements in communications technology for those with disabilities.

“Finding Dory” is the 17^th Disney•Pixar film to feature the complimentary audio accessibility via the DMA app, which is currently only available in the U.S. Audio synchronization technology is provided by Audible Magic.

Today “The Ellen Show” premiered a brand new trailer for “Finding Dory”. Check it out!

Disney•Pixar’s “Finding Dory” reunites everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, Dory, with her friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale? Directed by Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL•E”) and produced by Lindsey Collins (co-producer “WALL•E”), the film features the voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton.

“Finding Dory” swims into theaters June 17, 2016.

Crush and Squirt are back along with Marlin, Nemo and Dory in this first clip from “Finding Dory” called “Totally Sick”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL9hNsNSFTw&feature=youtu.be

The second clip shows Dory and her new friend, Hank, and is called “Meeting Hank”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T97cs_BlOf4

 

 

DORY AFTER DARK

Fans Invited to Dive into a Double Dose of Dory After Dark on

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Dory won the hearts of fans worldwide in 2003’s Academy Award®-winning “Finding Nemo.” This summer, that forgetful blue tang is back on the big screen in “Finding Dory.” On Thursday, June 16, 2016, the day before the movie officially opens in theaters, Dory’s biggest fans will have an opportunity to see both movies back to back with Dory After Dark.

More than 90 locations in North America will take part in this one-night event, when moviegoers will be treated to a late-night screening of “Finding Nemo” before joining a select few fans as the very first to see the much-anticipated follow-up, “Finding Dory.”

Kicking off at 9 p.m. (exact time may vary by location), Dory After Dark is more than a double feature, it’s a celebration that invites fans to dive in with Dory, Marlin and Nemo, plus new friends Hank, Destiny and Bailey. Guests will receive an event-exclusive Dory After Dark reusable bag and an “I Speak Whale” button. There will also be opportunities to share the experience throughout the evening with custom Snapchat filters.

Tickets are on sale now. Here’s a list of theaters: https://ohmy.disney.com/movies/2016/05/31/see-a-double-feature-screening-of-finding-nemo-and-finding-dory-at-dory-after-dark

Happy Mother’s Day. Or…Daughter’s Day. Holiday Mother? Either way, Ellen DeGeneres & Diane Keaton are here to help you share a “Happy Mother’s Day” from Finding Dory!

“Finding Dory” is in theaters June 17, 2016!

Entertainment Weekly has provided us with the first look of “Piper,” which is the new short that will debut before Pixar’s “Finding Dory”.

Before this summer’s Finding Dory plunges you back into the ocean, the new Pixar short film preceding the Finding Nemo sequel will offer you a prime spot on the beach alongside what could possibly be the studio’s cutest character creation yet: the big-eyed, diminutive little beach-dwelling bird, the eponymous Piper.

The inspiration for the six-minute short — about a hungry baby sandpiper learning to overcome hydrophobia — came from less than a mile away from Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California, where veteran Pixar animator and Piper director Alan Barillaro would run alongside the shore and notice birds by the thousands fleeing from the water but returning between waves to eat.

“Seeing the way these sandpipers react to waves and run, I always felt, ‘Gosh, that’s a film, that’s a character,’” says Barillaro, who began toying with animation software as a personal challenge to design a non-speaking character who was afraid of the water yet had to venture into it to eat. “It’s always fun to show a world we’re familiar with but from a different perspective. We’ve all been to the beach, but have we ever viewed water from just an inch off the sand? That could be very fearful from a bird’s perspective.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly