The Good Dinosaur is a movie that I thought might never come to fruition. It had been discussed and was announced to be released in 2013, but obviously it got put off for awhile. They said the storyline had some fatal flaws and the entire thing basically got a re-haul. And I’ll admit, knowing about all of the issues it had, combined with previews that did not impress me, I did not have high hopes going into it.
That being said, I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. I don’t think it’s one of Pixar’s best films, but it is good. The “spin” that Pixar puts on their story is that dinosaurs didn’t get wiped out by the asteroid and are basically very human-like. We meet young Arlo and his family, who are Apatosauruses. They have a farm, and through a series of events (which I won’t specify to avoid spoilers!), he becomes separated from his family and has to find his way back home. On his way he meets up with Spot, a human who in this world acts more like a dog.
I feel like Pixar usually comes up with creative plots, but in this case the plot was somewhat straight forward and predictable. The majority of it was Arlo trying to get home, and meeting various other animals and obstacles along the way – that can get a little tedious for adults, though I don’t know that it bothers kids. While the plot was predictable, all of the bits and scenes within the story were well done. They were humorous, touching in the right places, and fun.
Arlo’s character is perhaps not completely unique either, but he is lovable. The runt of his litter, Arlo grows up into a young dinosaur with knobbly knees and scared of everything, unable to finish any of the jobs on his family’s farm. He goes through a pretty typical coming of age story, growing and learning along the way. His friendship with Spot is sweet and touching. Spot himself is more of a secondary character – less of a personality and more like a pet than anything.
One of the main things I heard before going to see this one was “bring tissues! It’s so sad!” So I went into it expecting to cry. And there were definitely a lot of sad moments, not just at one point. One part in the beginning, and then another scene in the middle that really tugged at the heartstrings – but I didn’t cry. And then there was one part at the end, where it all just caught up to me and the tears were flowing. So yeah, if you’re prone to crying, this one will probably get to you.
Visually it’s a really pretty film. There are a lot of stunning landscapes and nature is really brought to the forefront. I’ve heard some complaints that the dinosaurs look way more cartoonish than the landscapes. That’s absolutely true, but it didn’t bother me at all. I didn’t find it distracting or anything.
The best part of the movie was when Arlo has a run-in with another dinosaur (who looked to me like a triceratops but apparently was actually a styrcosaurus – shows how much I know about dinosaurs). I won’t describe it so as not to ruin it, but it was hilarious, weird, and unexpected, and felt like the most “Pixar” part of the movie.
Overall The Good Dinosaur is good. But that’s pretty much it, and we’ve come to expect more from Pixar. Words like “typical” and “predictable” are good to describe it. It’s more of a kid’s movie than we’ve come to expect from Pixar, which normally excels at creating movies that are loved by kids and adults. I did enjoy watching it, but it wasn’t one of my favorites.
Have you seen the Good Dinosaur yet? Are you interested in seeing it?
My kids have been dying to go see this film, so it’s awesome to get an honest review of it first! Looks like we might be waiting for the dvd release.
I imagine your kids will really enjoy it! There was a lot of good “kid humor” in it.
This is good to read. I’ve been wondering about taking my kids to see the movie and think I definitely will, but probably on a discounted day or wait until it comes out to RedBox.
Yeah, we got a deal for a $5 matinee so it was worth that, but perhaps not much more.
Sounds a bit like Finding Nemo, but worth a shot. I love children’s movies, especially Pixar, but I won’t go into it with high expectations. Thank you for the honest review, Becky!
Yes, I definitely noticed some Finding Nemo parallels. Also had a little bit of a Lion King feel to it.
Great review. I was thinking of seeing the movie and now I might just wait til it goes on DVD
Yeah, I don’t think it’s a must see in theaters but if you are planning to go to the movies anyway it might be worth it. Otherwise wait til the DVD!
Good review and very insightful. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this film but you painted a very good picture about what to expect.
Thanks! I read a lot of the mixed reviews too. It certainly wasn’t my favorite film, but I thought some of the reviews were a little too harsh and nit-picky.
I’m still debating on if I will go see it or not. It looks cute, but not stellar.
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I mean, I would have seen it regardless because I wanted to blog about it, but I don’t think it’s a must-see in theaters.
We haven’t seen it yet, and I really even haven’t seen the preview. We’ll probably wait for DVD. We just got Inside Out, and my kids loved it. They’ve watched it three times already since Thursday 🙂
I looooove Inside Out! I’m glad to hear your kids like it so much too 🙂 I wasn’t sure what kids would think of it. Definitely the much stronger Pixar film for this year.
I really want to see it too! Doubtful I can go to theaters with my littles but maybe!
Hopefully you get a chance – lots of littles in our theater!
Just saw this with the kids on Saturday and I thought it was really good! I didn’t cry like I did on Inside Out but Pixar movies hit me a lot harder now I’m a parent 🙂
I can definitely see how having the parent perspective makes those movies even more emotional!
Thanks for reviewing this I was curious. I love animated films but they don’t seem to live up to what I grew up with The Lion King, Beauty and The Beast, Aladin, etc… (I’m sorry other than a few good songs and a updated view, “You can’t marry a man you just met” didn’t find Frozen all that great) I do like to still watch the new one but this will be a red box or ABCFamily night
Or I guess by then ABCFamily will be FreeForm lol
I know what you mean. I find the more recent animated movies to be hit or miss. I enjoyed Frozen but not as much as those others you listed. I really liked Tangled and Princess and the Frog. But then the new one coming out next year, Zootopia, doesn’t look that great to me.
We went and saw this thanksgiving morning. I loved it visually! Agreed that the storyline wasn’t up to Pixar’s usual, but it was still better than a lot of other kid’s films!
Oh yeah, almost any Pixar film is better than most other kids films! They have a lot to live up to thanks to awesome work they’ve done in the past 🙂