“The best things happen by chance,” says blue tang Dory. The best things can also be planned (for those of us without short-term memory loss) and going to see “Finding Dory,” at The Harbor Theatre this week will be one of the best planned things you and your family could do.

The special bond between family members, determination, overcoming personal limitations - and being accepted and loved, limitations and all - are some of the themes in this delightful, colorful feature film, “Finding Dory.”

Dory, you must recall, is the lovable character we first met in “Finding Nemo,” 13 years ago. Yep. It's been that long … I think anyway. No. Yeah it's been that long. Ellen DeGeneres is Dory's voice after fish babyhood.

The film begins six months after “Finding Nemo,” but with a bit of Dory's back story. Her parents, Charlie and Jenny (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton), teach Dory (Sloane Murray) a song, “Just Keep Swimming,” and explain that she has short-term memory loss - or as the small fry Dory says it, “short-term remembery loss.”

One day Dory gets caught in that undertow her parents told her to stay away from, but naturally she forgot, and gets lost. She keeps swimming while calling out “Helloooooo” looking for someone to help her find her way home. One day she swims into Nemo (Hayden Rolence) and his dad, Marlin's (Albert Brooks) waters and ends up living with them. Years pass.

Marlin brings Dory and Nemo to school and warns them about undertow. This rings a bell with Dory. She remembers her parents giving her the same warning and remembers she is trying to find her way home. All she manages to remember is something about the jewel of Monterey, California.

Dory says to Nemo: “I remembered something! That’s not possible, is it? Okay, is it like a picture in your head and then you think I’ve seen this before? I’ve just used the word before which means I’m remembering something! What was I talking about?”

She convinces Marlin and Nemo to help her get to California – clear across the ocean from where they are – how does she do it? Listen: Dory: “I miss them. Do you know what that feels like?” Marlin (slowly, sadly and knowing he's going to help her: “Yes.” Dory (brightly): “Then we better get going!”

How do they get there? Marlin tells Dory he “knows a guy.” And, Dude, that turns out to be none other than Crush (Andrew Stanton) and the other California turtles from “Finding Nemo.” Dory, Nemo and Marlin hang onto Crush's shell and they all ride the current to Morrow Bay. After the trio jump the current and say farewell to the turtles, Dory darts over to and through several sunken ships calling out for her parents and getting shooshed by creatures Dory can't see who are hiding under ship debris.

Dory ends up waking a giant squid who nearly succeeds in having Nemo as a snack, but he is freed with the help of Marlin and Dory, who has a plastic six pack soda ring stuck on her torso. In a moment of anger as he tries to comfort his son, Marlin tells Dory to go “over there” and wait because all she's good at is forgetting things. Bummed by his remarks, Dory begins swimming away. She looks up to see sunshine coming through the water … and the voice of Sigourney Weaver welcoming visitors to the California Marine Biology Institute where injured sea creatures are rehabilitated and released back in the wild or become an attraction at the Institute's aquarium or others in the U.S.

Dory swims to the surface and is scooped up by employees of the Institute. Once inside, and determined she remembers being there with her parents, Dory meets some fascinating characters, I mean, creatures. First is a mimic octopus named Hank (Ed O'Neill) who can go further than just mimic other sea creatures; Hank can morph into a wall or become part of a stairway Hank is in another tank and spies the tag put on one of Dory's fins, her passport if you will to a Cleveland aquarium's blue tang exhibit, but she doesn't know this and Hank only knows it’s his only way to certain captivity because he just can't go back into the ocean. He just can't handle it!

Hank agrees to help Dory find her parents – but she has to give him her tag. The adventures at the aquarium lead her to meet Destiny, a nearsighted whale shark (Kaitin Olson) and a beluga whale named Bailey (Ty Burrell) whose sonar abilities are non-existent (or so he thinks), and these two characters are as delightful as Dory.

Both Destiny and Bailey play a role in the search, as does Becky, a loon whose vision and brain power are both a bit sketchy; she is adorable with her fritched up hair and googly eyes. Dory: “I trust Becky.” Marlin: “You trust Becky. Becky is eating a cup.” Eh, maybe she needs extra fiber?

Other new characters that contribute to the overall charm of “Finding Dory” are two Cockney-accented sea lions, Rudder (Dominic West) and Fluke (Idris Elba). This pair advise Marlin and Nemo about how to best get into the Institute to save Dory.

Kids will love this film and so will their parents. And, don't feel like you cannot see the film without a child – the colors, and endearing, funny creature characters will make you feel, dare I say, happy? Yep, happy. And there are lines in the film that will bob right over the younger set's heads, but will be quite amusing to the adults in the audience.

And while everyone is laughing at the idiosyncrasies of the characters – most of whom have some kind of condition or phobia – from short-term memory loss to poor eyesight to a fear of the ocean – hopefully even the young ones in the theater will see that all of these characters are accepted as they are, “warts and all.” And isn't that what we all hope for? To be accepted and loved by others no matter our differences?

Despite her short-term memory loss, Dory is very good at making decisions and taking action in any given situation. As they search for Dory at the Institute, Marlin and Nemo stop and ask themselves, “What would Dory do?” Everyone, no matter their disability, excels in other ways.

“Finding Dory” is one hour and 45 minutes – but it won't seem that way - you'll be having too much fun. As Crush would say, the film is “most excellent, Dude!”

This Pixar-Disney Studios film opens Friday, July 8 at 7 p.m. “Finding Dory” runs through July 14 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, July 10.