Finding Dory (Rated A)
Cast: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O'Neill
Genre: Animated Comedy Adventure
Dwight's Rating: 2.5 Stars

More than with any other studio, one can imagine that being an executive at Disney's Pixar Animation Studios must be one of the toughest, most nerve-racking, and most heart-straining jobs in the film industry.

In addition to having to appease millions of fans and critics all over the world, the company has set technical and creative standards by which all animated films are measured, following an incredible streak of successes -- most of which seem to be astounding improvements over their stellar predecessors.

Consider the unbelievable string of consecutive hits they've had since beginning with "Toy Story" in 1995: "A Bug's Life" in 1998, followed by "Toy Story 2", "Monsters, Inc.", "Finding Nemo", "The Incredibles", "Ratatouille", "WALL-E", "Up", and "Toy Story 3". In the middle, there was also "Cars" (2006), which while quite enjoyable and entertaining, was probably never really in the same league as masterpieces like "Up" or the "Toy Story" sequels.

However, things really changed in 2011. That's when "Cars 2" hit theaters, with "Brave" the following year, and then "Monsters University." These ranged from either just acceptable to unmemorable or just plain uninspired.

Last year saw a bit of improvement with the well-regarded "Inside Out." And for the first time ever, the studio released two films in the same year, with "The Good Dinosaur" in November. But 2015 would prove to be a mixed bag, with the former film becoming a huge box office hit, and the latter becoming Pixar's lowest-grossing release yet.

So it may not be too early to say that since 2011, Pixar appears to be on a downward trajectory, at least creatively. Is it because of competition? That has certainly intensified greatly. From DreamWorks Animation's amazing work with gigantic hits like "Shrek", "Kung Fu Panda", "Madagascar" and "How to Train Your Dragon", to 20th Century Fox's Blue Sky Studios and their "Ice Age" franchise, and to even Disney's own Walt Disney Animation Studios, which, with "Frozen", now has the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and with this year's "Zootopia" already at number four on that list.

If not because of the pressure, then perhaps the formerly deep well of brilliant ideas is just running very low or even dry. The studio seems to have entered an era of sequels (some might say regurgitations). With the exception of the "Toy Story" franchise - which managed to improve with each new addition -- this would seem to be the wrong move, especially with the lackluster critical response to "Cars 2". And yet, we now have a sequel to the beloved "Finding Nemo."

Focusing on the popular supporting character from the original, "Finding Dory" finds the wide-eyed, blue tang fish, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, is still suffering from memory loss every 10 seconds or so. The one thing she can remember is that she somehow became separated from her parents as a child. With help from her friends Nemo and Marlin, Dory embarks on an epic adventure to find them. Her journey brings her to the Marine Life Institute, a conservatory that houses diverse ocean species. Dory now knows that her family reunion will only happen if she can save mom and dad from captivity.

So the title is a play on words, as Nemo and Marlin have to both physically find Dory, and as she is searching to find the truth about herself. It picks up just a few months after where we left "Finding Nemo" 13 years ago.

The film was released in 3-D computer-animation in the United States. Alas, once again, we are being deprived of that format here in The Bahamas. Perhaps those seeing the enhanced version would have a more thrilling cinematic experience, but in regular old 2-D, there is certainly nothing visually special about it. In fact, it's almost underwhelming.

The story is "cute" and "sweet" enough. But there's an air of familiarity -- and not in the fulfilling, "welcome back home" sort of way. It just seems like we're doing retracing our steps in slightly different shoes.

There are some amusing moments, and actually some interesting new characters. Standouts include Hank the grumpy octopus -- the best character in the whole movie (including Dory!) -- played by the always-wonderful Ed O'Neill (TV's "Modern Family" and "Married, With Children"). There's a pair of mischievous sea lions with cockney accents, played by British actors Idris Elba -- the reigning voice-over artist of the year, fresh off his amazing turn in "The Jungle Book" -- and Dominic West (TV's "The Wire").

Other characters, however, seem to be there solely to provide some actors with some work or a paycheck. Destiny the near-sighted whale shark (the talented Kaitlin Olson, TV's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") and Bailey the beluga whale (funny man Ty Burrell, also from "Modern Family") are just a big yawn!

The biggest challenge for "Finding Dory" is living up to the exceptionally high standards set by its predecessor. It's perfectly fine family entertainment, especially for those who never saw the original. But real fans of "Finding Nemo" will likely be a bit disappointed.

So what is Pixar to do? "Finding Dory" is already a monstrous success. It had a huge opening weekend, breaking some box office records. But I'm quite concerned; this Pixar sequel era is far from over; apparently "Cars 3" (for goodness sake!) is slated for next year, followed by "Toy Story 4" in 2018, and "The Incredibles 2" in 2019. The only original story planned is "Coco" next year.

While expectations might for good reason be high for another "Toy Story", one has to wonder why and how the others were green-lit. Still, don't count Pixar out just yet. As with "Inside Out", released smack dab in the middle of this slump, the studio has proven it still is able to surprise. But undoubtedly, some folks will be having several very sleepless nights.

o Dwight Strachan is the host/producer of " Morning Blend" on Guardian Radio. He is a television producer and writer, and an avid TV history and film buff. Email dwight@nasguard.com and follow him on twitter @morningblend969.

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