Well, everyone, today, we revisit, and give a second review to a lesser known Disney/Pixar film that happened to be one of my very first film reviews a little over a decade ago, when I first started movie reviewing, and just did it just on Facebook. And now, I shall review this a second time around for my blog viewers to see as well. So now, let’s now review a Disney/Pixar film that was released back in 2015, just a few months after the company also released the first Inside Out film. It is the one, and only The Good Dinosaur.
Plot: In an alternate timeline, when the meteor goes past Earth, and doesn’t destroy the dinosaur population, dinosaurs begin to do activities like farming, cattle ranching, and more. Arlo (Raymond Ochoa), the Apatosaurus, and his family are a herd of farmers. One day, when he chases a human boy that’s been taking food from his family’s silo, they both get swept up into a river that causes both of them to be far from home. Now, can Arlo, and the human, whom he names Spot, put aside their differences, and work together to find their way back home?
So, now that The Good Dinosaur has reached its 10-year anniversary as of November of this past year, does it still hold up even after being around for that long? Well, in many ways, yes, and, in others, there were elements that probably didn’t seem to work as well as the filmmakers might have hoped.
First of all, though the film does give the audience to breathe in many spots that probably worked to a little bit of a fault. Okay, let me explain! We do have a good amount of character development. However, there are some scene that might have overstayed their welcome a little much.
What’s even more is that there are some moments that might be a little too intense for a family film.
One other thing to mention is that there can be moments where this Disney/Pixar film might feel like it might be for a little more of a younger audience than for teens, and adults. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it is still for even those age groups too. It’s just that The Good Dinosaur seemed to sometimes feel like it was more for kids, and didn’t seem to hit those more mature, and emotional beats that many of Disney/Pixar’s before this film, and after, seemed to.
Nevertheless, there are many elements that make The Good Dinosaur still really enjoyable. First of all, there’s the score my Mychael, and Jeff Danna. I’m not sure why these film composers seemed to incorporate some Irish music into this score. Well, for whatever reason, it still seems to work really well. That is especially since this is a film that involves farming. What’s more is that the Irish music, and all the other instruments that are incorporated in this score, work just beautifully.
Next, there is the animation. First off, the designs of the characters are really great, especially for a Disney/Pixar film. What’s even more is that the backgrounds, and cinematography is overall phenomenal. Some of the backgrounds, like the mountains, and rivers, almost look very realistic, and look like live-action backgrounds. It just came, and still comes, to show how well the animation industry has become even more revolutionary particularly in the world of Disney/Pixar, and maybe even other animation companies both around the time that this film came out, and after.
Next, there is the storyline. Again, it might not be quite as strong as some of Disney/Pixar’s other entries. However, there is still emotion, heart, and a great amount of creativity put into this film. I mean to have dinosaurs like the Apatosaurus kind be farmers, T-Rexes be cattle ranchers, you name it, how could you not appreciate having a film with a unique spin on a story that revolves around dinosaurs?
Arlo’s relationships with his family, and with Spot, the human, is done really well. Yes, his relationships with maybe some of his family members, like his siblings, could have been fleshed out a little more. Still, his relationships with characters like with Spot, and his parents, are done, and handled well. There are some very heartfelt, and emotional moments that go along with moments with some of them as well. Finally, since T-Rexes aren’t the villains this time around, it may come as a bit of a surprise as to who, or what is the villain this time around.
Finally, the overall message about learning to conquer fears in one’s life are handled really well. I remember a friend of mine pinning out that because of the way the whole message of fear, and conquering it being handled in a rather creative way, The Good Dinosaur could maybe be used as a Sunday school lesson, or maybe could be used in Christian community groups. Can one go so far as to say that? Well, though I’m not sure that I would go quite that far as to say that, that whole lesson that is portrayed in this film is definitely one that serves as a reminder as to why learning to overcome fears of any kind is really important. Truly, it helps make The Good Dinosaur a really good fable as a result.
And that’s my review for The Good Dinosaur. Yeah, either because The Good Dinosaur had some production problems along the way, or some other reasons, the film doesn’t quite live up to its potential. Nevertheless, it works in more ways than not. There’s creativity, emotion, heart, great animation, fun characters, and many other elements that help make The Good Dinosaur worthwhile. It may not be quite as much of a classic like many other Disney/Pixar’s other entries like Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Inside Out, you name it. Still, it is worth seeing, and teens, and adults, will still enjoy it, despite the possibility that kids might like it a little more so in this case. If you’re one of those people who hasn’t seen The Good Dinosaur in any of the ten years of this film’s existence, definitely see it on Disney+, check it out from the library, or whatever works for you. After seeing it, you’d be surprised by how fun, and engaging this movie still is. Again, see it, and see what you think!
Final Rating: 8.5/10
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 