21 August 2003 | 0730H | Alabang
Finding Dory
Text by: Patricia de Castro | Photos by: Erica Batac
She’s blue, she’s cute, she speaks whale. She is Dory. She also seems to be very sought after. Why do I say that? Simple. She’s impossible to find. Mc Donald’s just recently released their Finding Nemo Happy Meals and already this particular toy is hard to find. After searching every branch of Mc Donald’s around Alabang, BF, and other branches around Makati and Taft, still we came up empty handed. It foesn’t matter what time of day you conduct your search either, be it early in the morning or late in the evening, it is practically impossible to get your hands on to one of those toys that not only speak whale, but squirt water too.Collect all eight, they say. It seems like most of Metro manila is only after one. You would think that it would be Nemo that people would go crazy over, after all, the movie is named after him, but it seems as if it is the blue fish with short-term memory loss that has drawn the attention of everyone. The simple activity of standing next to a Mc Donald’s counter will prove just that.
"Miss, wala na bang Dory?" You hear this phrase spoken not just by eager little children but by adults as well. In fact, it seems as if the elder generation is more persistent in the search for this unattainable Happy Meal Toy. In fact, some people even phone their friends to help them look for a Dory Happy Meal toy, and certain aunts and uncles have already left word with their nieces to look for a Dory toy for them as well. I myself have already purchased quite a number of meals and still haven’t gotten my hands on one. In effect, people are losing cash and gaining gut as the search continues.
The search for Dory has by far surpassed that of the Snoopy’s and the Winnie the Pooh dolls. It has become quite an obsession for some. Why Dory, one might ask? Is it because she is the cutest character? Or is it because her toy looks most like the actual animated sea creature? Or maybe it’s because the toy speaks whale too? The answer to this question differs from person to person so we will never really know the cause of the commotion over one small plastic toy. But whatever the reason may be, it seems to be important enough for may, making them relentless in looking, and eating for that matter.
In this country, the cartoon should be entitled Finding Dory rather than finding Nemo because she seems to be all - elusive. Maybe they realized that she is the most popular character and therefore produced only a few in order to maximize their profits? After all for as long as the promise of this toy still stands, people will keep buying the meals. That’s capitalism for you. Or maybe her short-term memory loss has kicked in and she has forgotten to drop by Mc Donald’s. For whatever reason, the search continues, and will not stop until she can be brought home. Just keep swimming.
