From the Editor’s Desk: Does ‘Finding Dory’ Live up to the Hype?

On Wednesday night, Natalie and I were lucky enough to be treated to a special advanced screening of Finding Dory. Since then, everyone has had the same question for us: ‘Is it as good as the first?’

We’re so happy to report that yes, yes it is. It’s wonderful. Finding Dory is funny and sad, serious and goofy—just like the first. As the title suggests, this time it is Dory who has gotten lost, so there is (once again) a big adventure/rescue mission at the centre of the story. However, the plot is otherwise fresh and original.

We loved that, just as in Finding Nemo, the movie’s message is all about family, love, friendship, ability and bravery. Instead of focusing on what makes Nemo different (his ‘lucky fin’) the focus is on what makes Dory different—her short term memory loss. We loved that the first film was all about a dad’s unwavering love and contained such a positive father-son relationship, and Dory expands on this, teaching the audience that family comes in all shapes and sizes.

The visuals pop, the jokes are funny, the kids had a great time, and so did we. If your kids are small, be warned that once again the film does deal with the heady subject of death. (In the first, Nemo’s mom dies in the opening scene. Here, the unknown whereabouts of Dory’s family makes for a few scary/ sad moments.)

Go see Finding Dory with your kids. You won’t regret it.

In other news, we were pleased to hear that Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (better known as CAMH) is opening three mental health walk-in clinics for young people in the city. This is fantastic news. It makes perfect sense that we need accessible, convenient, walk-in services for both physical and mental health to make it easier for everyone to get the help they need, when they need it.

The clinics, aimed at people aged 11 to 25, provide access to brief solution-focused therapy, peer support, system navigation, access to Internet-based tools, and onsite access to psychiatric services.

Here’s hoping we see similar clinics spring up all across the country.

What a terrible, tragic week it has been. The news out of Orlando has been especially unbearable. The Pulse nightclub shooting has got us at the office thinking about how we raise our children and the values we instill in them. Our writer Leslie Kennedy has written a powerful piece on how the Orlando nightclub shooting serves as a wakeup call to parents. It’s worth a read.