Why every kid should see Finding Dory

First of all I love hyper violence in movie : I love splashing blood, limbs flying around and frantic music - Fight Club, Kill Bill, Sin City that’s my stuff- But boy I love Disney ! A part of me is a blood thirsty, violence craving monster and the other is a squishy pile of marshmallow which wants to cuddle under a blanket . Deep down we are all like this.

Yesterday I  sat in front of Finding Dory. It is hands down the cutest and  smartest movie I have seen in a while.  It is clever, heart warming (and heart breaking sometimes), funny and beautiful.

It gives acritical look on  human behaviour without pointing any accusing finger like a lot of environmentalist kids films and series (Fern Gully, "Captain Planet", Lorax etc..). In Finding Dory,  aquariums are shown in different ways. Its portrayal is very realistic- it presents an environment full of good intention ready to take care of sick fish and rehabilitate them while also underlining the harm and stress it can cause to fish and mammals. The “poke cove”  scene is very relevant of that – by letting young kids touch starfishes, sea cucumbers and sea urchins, stressing them out and terrifying them (most park have a "kid discovery" section like this) it contradicts the purpose of those place; to save and cure said animal.

Destiny’s case is also very telling- she is a near sighted shark whale; the dichotomy is very strong here as it seems logical that a sick animal would be taken care of in this kind of centre- the character says it herself, she is unfit for this world, can’t see a thing and bump into every walls. Billy the beluga’s reply challenges this assumption: “there is no wall in the ocean!”. And indeed it raises the question of wild life conservation: Better a sick animal in captivity so it can survive according to our assumptions ? Or better a sick animal in his own habitat, where he could die but also could live properly its life? 

This movie teaches a lot to kids. The beauty of this graphics helps a lot understand as well: We are confronted to a lot of beautiful but sporadic places within the oceanic reserve, divided into several area, with shops and human life in between. On the other hand the part in the ocean shows a homogenous place full of colour, differences in fish. Much like Finding Nemo back then, it shows the wonders of the oceanic world, its colours its vegetation it diversity. In Finding Dory there is a clear difference between the natural habitat and the artificial one.

It is wrapped up in a sweet story about roots and family that speaks to every children as, especially in the case of small children, parents are their whole world. As a result they can relate and get into the movie deeper.

To me this movie has an excellent environmentalist message for kids. It is not too judgemental, not too brutal and not too patronizing- It is a good complement to raise environmental awareness.