June 21, 2016

Dave Chen writing about Finding Dory at /Film.com
Both of these characters feel like cheap jokes. For the kids that are in the audience, they send a pretty clear message: It’s okay to laugh at people who are different, or who aren’t as smart as you are. Sure, Dory is differently abled. But she doesn’t fundamentally look/function different than most of the other characters in the film. Becky and Gerald, though, are fair game. For a movie that’s all about how anyone can achieve anything, that’s disheartening and inconsistent.
As I watched Finding Dory with my 5 year old I found myself thinking the same thing. When the two sea lions barked the weirdo off the rock my initial reaction was to laugh along with the rest of the theater. Then I thought about it for a second and realized that it wasn’t funny… and felt kinda mean.