Dory was a solid supporting character in Finding Nemo. She acted as the funny sidekick to Marlin’s obsessive desire to find his son, Nemo, in the vast waters. One of the biggest things that set Dory apart was the character’s short-term memory loss. However, she could still remember critical pieces of information, such as the address they needed to track down Nemo. Finding Dory understands Dory’s significance to the story and promotes her to be the title character in the film’s sequel. However, although the movie follows a similar concept of Nemo and Marlin searching for Dory, it is a somewhat different story.

In Finding Nemo, Marlin wanted to reunite with Nemo after he had been stolen away. In Finding Dory, although it is a reunion story, it is also a hunt to understand Dory’s past in depth. Finding Nemo never dives into Dory’s past, keeping her a fun opposition to Marlin’s seriousness. In Finding Dory, the character maintains the same charm while the movie takes the time to answer questions Finding Nemo never found the time to explain. As a sequel, Finding Dory got the opportunity to introduce new characters and show a new side of Dory, including finally answering questions about her backstory and what happened to her family.

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The Origin of “Just Keep Swimming”

     Walt Disney Animation Studios 

During Finding Nemo, Dory would sing “Just Keep Swimming” to keep things light and fun, as well as words of encouragement. For anyone who may have wondered where the song comes from, Finding Dory has the answer. The music had not been something that Dory came up with at the moment. Instead, it had been a song Dory had sung with her parents when she was a child. As a result, “Just Keep Swimming” became a mantra in the Finding Nemo and Finding Dory movies.

The phrase became synonymous with statements such as “don’t give up” or “keep going.” Although the song may not have been included in the movie because an overwhelming amount of fans were curious about the song’s origin, the way it was organically brought into the film allowed “Just Keep Swimming” to be a beautiful connection to Dory’s past. Finding Dory even reveals the backstory to how Dory knew how to speak whale.

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What Happened Next for the Main Trio

Rather than being a spinoff primarily about Dory without the rest of the characters, Finding Dory continues the found family Marlin, Nemo, and Dory have made. Finding Dory takes place one year after the events of Finding Nemo, and it is a sequel that acknowledges the growth each character went through in the previous film, while building the new story up. Marlin, Dory, and Nemo continued to live together and become a family. Their next adventure took them once again out into undiscovered waters on a quest to learn more about Dory’s history.

Finding Dory also did not strip away Marlin and Nemo’s relationship development. Although they remain individuals, Finding Dory does not rely on them having heavy conflicts or struggles against each other for the movie to work. Instead, Nemo is still adventurous, and although Marlin is not, he is more willing, open, and accepting of the direction his life has taken with both Nemo, and Dory in it.

Dory’s Family

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Finding Nemo is very much about the familial dynamic between Marlin and Nemo, while Marlin and Dory grow their own unexpected friendship. As much as Nemo, Dory, and Marlin may grow into their own family, the original movie never discusses Dory’s past with her parents. Granted, it likely would have been a storyline that took up too much room in what Finding Nemo was supposed to be. Still, since Finding Nemo never accomplished it, that gave Finding Dory the ability to. However, it is just as heart-wrenching as the first film, if not more. Dory has been stripped away from her parents at a young age when she gets too close to the undertow. Afterward, Dory spends her life wandering around searching for them, even though she can not remember them. Dory is all alone up until the moment she stumbles upon Marlin rushing after Nemo.

By giving Dory a more prominent focus, the movie goes back in time to show her relationship with her parents, then separates her from Marlin and Nemo in the present, to provide Dory with her own adventure by making new friends. It is a solid story, but the ending makes everything worth it. As Dory accepts that she may never be reunited with her parents, long-lost memories resurface just when she needs them the most. Following a string of shells, Dory is led right to her parents. Finally, after so long, the trio is reunited. Marlin, Nemo, and Dory’s found family expanded to include Dory’s parents, Hank, Destiny, and Bailey. However, perhaps what makes it so much better is most of these characters had felt lost or alone for so long and, through each other, have found a more prominent family to rely on.