Directed by: Peter Sohn
Written by: Bob Peterson, Peter Sohn, Erik Benson, Meg LeFauve, Kelsey Mann
Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla
Pixar has been known in recent years for some of the best animated movies of all time. While The Good Dinosaur is a new pinnacle from a visual perspective, its story leaves much to be desired when compared to some of their previous animated classics.
*Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead*
We're introduced to a world where the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs missed the planet completely, never allowing humans to develop into the dominant species. A family of Apatosaurus run a farm together. The father of the family, Poppa (Wright), is killed and the youngest child, Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) is taken by a river and gets separated from his family. Arlo also meets a human child named Spot, and together they make their way back to Arlo's farm.
This is truly Pixar's weirdest movie.
The pacing is uneven. They rush the first act, killing Poppa within twenty minutes and separating Arlo five minutes after that. However, they then meander though the second act with a series of events that don't add anything to the story; Arlo and Spot encounter some small furry animals and blow into their burrows to have them pop out comically, they go for a swim and Arlo gets covered in leeches, and they both eat some fruit that turns out to be hallucinogenic. These scenes don't matter though; sure, they're cute and show the growing bond between Arlo and Spot, but the movie has scenes that do that while also progressing the story.
The story itself is a lot of interesting ideas that don't really develop. The way they create a situation for dinosaurs and humans to co-exist is compelling, and the dynamic between Arlo and Spot is a nice reversal of the usual 'boy and his pet' dynamics seen in films like How to Train Your Dragon, but the movie doesn't do a whole lot with these ideas. The dinosaur characters are just all human stereotypes, and Spot being human doesn't do anything other than solidify the reversal of the dynamic, because there's no benefit to him being human, as he just behaves like a dog.
Visually, however, the movie is absolutely incredible. Seriously, the environments look real, and it's truly amazing to look at. The dinosaurs are designed with a cartoon look in mind. Unfortunately, this creates a disconnect between the dinosaurs and the world they live in. It's just another aspect of this film that's bizarre; either design choice is fine on its own, but when they're laid over each other it's unattractive.
The Verdict: The Good Dinosaur is by no means perfect in its storytelling; it poses an interesting idea, but never quite makes the leap to interesting movie. However, the visual appeal of the movie is undeniable. Its photorealistic landscapes are truly breathtaking to behold, which regrettably makes the to cartoon look of the dinosaurs off-putting. It's well and truly a kid's movie, and it's inoffensive, so I can generally recommend this to people; kids will like it because the movie's made for them, but others will find appeal in the film for its visuals or its more heartfelt moments.
Rating: 6.5/10
Published July 29th, 2016
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