Of course, Finding Dory isn't a true story. But the characters are based on real sea creatures, the Great Barrier Reef and Morro Bay are real locations and awesome marine aquariums that rescue, rehabilitate and release do exist all over the world. (We have two in Sydney, and love visiting them regularly!
On the other hand, some of the things Dory does in the movies are not like real-life amnesia. Dory forgets many of her childhood memories. For example, she forgets who her parents are and how they became separated when Dory was a kid. Forgetting memories from childhood is not common in real-life amnesia.
However, a few armchair experts have pointed out the similarities between Dory's symptoms and a condition called anterograde amnesia. Anterograde amnesia can be caused by an injury or disease that damages the parts of the brain responsible for forming memories.
Short-term memory loss is a rare condition. It's also much more extreme than ADHD and executive functioning issues. Yet Dory's struggles will still feel very familiar to kids with attention issues. She's easily distracted.
These problems in encoding new information are hallmarks of anterograde amnesia. Dory describes her condition as “short-term memory loss” which is the way most people refer to the problem of encoding new information that is the hallmark of anterograde amnesia.
Film Theory: Is Dory a LIAR? (Finding Dory) - pt. 2
Is finding dory about ADHD?
Dory suffers from severe short-term memory loss, but a lot of what she goes through can be adapted to other contexts, such as the world, or ocean, of ADHD. Dory has trouble with multi-step directions, is easily distracted, and is very impulsive.
It's quite obvious that Dory has anterograde amnesia, which is the inability to form new memories. I also see many of the signs of ADHD within the character. I headcanon her as having an exaggerated version of ADHD because she gets distracted extremely easily and can't keep her attention on one thing.
Tasha Robinson from The Verge seems to pinpoint the overarching theme of the film in her Dory review when she states, “disabilities aren't the same as limitations.” Dory's parents and friends will work with her as much as they need to in order for her to feel safe and cared for despite any challenge she may face.
Dory, a happy-go-lucky Regal Blue Tang, suffers from anterograde amnesia, or the inability to form new memories. It was well-established in Finding Nemo that Dory has this condition, which is more commonly known as short-term memory loss.
And the first reason involves Dory's uncommon traits. “She has such a positive outlook and point of view on things,” MacLane tells The Post's Comic Riffs. “That is so unusual in modern characters — to have a very positive character who isn't [uttering] some kind of sarcasm. She is this positive id.”
Dory was initially supposed to be a male character during the pre-production of the film. Andrew Stanton admits to struggling with a writing block upon the character. That was until he overheard his wife watching an episode of the sitcom Ellen.
As usual, the Pixar team behind the movie did its due diligence, studying real octopuses (not octopi!) at the California Academy of Sciences and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
It mainly came down to the originality aspect that brought us to the conclusion that Finding Nemo is the superior film. Finding Dory might have done better had it been about a different character or a separate setting, but it had too many elements that were already covered by the first installment.
"Finding Nemo" came out in 2003 and was beloved for its storyline and (somewhat) accurate depiction of life in the ocean. Clownfish really do look like that and live in sea anemones. There is a "whale language" though Dory probably can't speak it.
Finding Nemo is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the 2003 film of the same name, produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The original film was followed by a sequel, Finding Dory, released in 2016. Both films were directed by Andrew Stanton.
The depiction of Dory's developmental disability came about in the storyboard process of figuring how to explain her memory loss. “I wasn't trying to literally say she's a representation of a specific (disability),” says director Andrew Stanton.
Dory, the small blue fish with a bad memory from the "Finding Nemo" franchise, is a blue tang, or a Paracanthurus hepatus in scientific terms. Native to the Indo-Pacific and found in coral reefs, these fish weigh around one pound and are generally 10 to 12 inches long, according to National Geographic.
One day, Dory has a flashback and remembers her parents. She decides to look for them, but her memory problem is an obstacle. She suddenly remembers that they lived at the "Jewel of Morro Bay, California" across the ocean when Nemo mentions the name. Marlin and Nemo accompany Dory on her journey.
Every person will face a situation where it feels they have no control. But Dory reminds us there is one thing we always have power over: our personal actions. She introduces a positive outlook on the idea that no matter how hard things seem, we must keep moving if we are going to get through it. “Just keep swimming.”
For Dory, a blue tang fish with short term memory loss, the solution to every problem is to just keep swimming. Dory offers to help Marlin find Nemo. In fact, she insists on it and doesn't take no for an answer.
In "Finding Nemo", I discovered sunken treasure—a multifaceted representation of disability. The protagonist, Nemo, displays a small, or "deformed," fin that is a congenital result of a fatal attack on his mother and sibling eggs—a corporeal characteristic that the story surrounds, yet does not drown in.
The companionship that emerges is completely genuine. Nonetheless, Dory and Marlin's relationship is a complicated and interesting one. Some view Dory as Marlin's companion and speculate that the two are actually lovers.
Dory's scars from her travel through the jellyfish in Finding Nemo (2003) have disappeared. They may well have healed in the time between the two films.
