Another long-awaited Disney-Pixar sequel has just been released and is already setting records in theater sales. Finding Dory is the story of the sweet and funny blue tang, Dory, who famously helped Nemo’s dad, Marlin, find his lost clownfish son through some crazy adventures and hilarious mishaps in Finding Nemo. Many of the principle characters from the first movie are back, including Marlin, Nemo, and Squirt the sea turtle, in this story of Dory’s search for her parents, after realizing that she was actually remembering things from her childhood, before they all got separated by the ocean tides.
Adoption at the Movies does a great job of breaking down the individual elements of the story line, including the adoption connections that children might feel while watching, the good messages and lessons of the movie, and the difficult or potentially scary things to which a child might react. It’s worth noting that the blogger offers this advice regarding the themes of loss, self-blame and family of origin: “Parents should make sure that their kids can handle the hard parts (prescreening this one might be a good idea) – Dory’s disappointments and sadness will be too hard for some kids – but otherwise this one seems to have a lot of potential for kids ages 8 and up or so.”
Also incredibly helpful in this blog’s review is a list of “Questions for Discussion” that parents can use to help a child process and understand what feelings or thoughts might be evoked by the movie. The review does include some spoilers to the plot line but only in light of helping parents make an informed decision on the issues that the movie covers with regard to their own child’s ability to handle the story.
As an added bonus, Adoption at the Movies also reviewed of the “short” movie, Piper, that is included in the viewing of Finding Dory.
Thanks so much for sharing this; I hope it’s helpful to folk!