Movie Praise: Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur

This past Monday night, the kids and I bundled up and headed out for a “big kid date” to see Disney Pixar’s newest film The Good Dinosaur. Of course, my kids are Mouse addicts, so they had been eagerly anticipating this movie since the first previews started showing on the Disney Channel and of course, I had been looking forward to it since I received the 2015 slate from my friends over at Disney Pictures.

The Good Dinosaur wants us to imagine a world where dinosaurs had never ceased to exist and live happily, working and playing on their own. The main character in the story is Arlo, a goofy, awkward, fraidy-cat Apatosaurus, who just can’t seem to make his (literal) mark on the world. Never seeming to get ahead, Arlo accidentally finds himself lost only to be “rescued” by the critter (a human boy) that had been set him on this disastrous path.

The human boy has all the characteristics ofa typical house dog, only with crazy mad fearless hero skills. He doesn’t speak a word but the two unlikely friends quickly learn how to communicate and trust one another. It’s that trust that helps Arlo eventually overcome his fears.

The digital scenery is absolutely stunning. Some of the best that I think I have ever experienced in animated film. There are more than a few times in the movie that it is hard to tell that the story is animated. I don’t say this often but I would highly encourage you to watch the film in the digital 3D. The special effects are spectacular and worth the extra investment.

Personally, I would not say that The Good Dinosaur is my new favorite. It just didn’t grab me by my emotional heartstrings the way that the majority of Pixar movies usually do. While Arlo and Spot definitely have a special relationship with one another, there just wasn’t the broad cast of characters that make you go from laughing to crying in .01 seconds throughout the entire film. My kids both thought the T-Rex family was a riot and picked up right away that it was a play on the classic cowboy movie. Personally, I got a kick out of Forest Woodrush (The Pet Collector) and would have loved to see him pop back in again. He reminded me of Filmore in CARS. Eph had his entire spiel memorized in one setting, so obviously it was catchy moment.

Here are the kids (unedited) mini reviews:

Lu: There were a lot of sad parts. When the little boy lost his family and then he goes back to the dinosaur and the dinosaur scoots him back. That makes me cry. It was a good movie. It was joyful. 

Eph: The movie was very good. I liked it. It was one of the best Disney Pixar movies I have ever seen. I didn’t like the part where the Dad died because it was really sad. I liked the part where they teamed up with the T-Rexs to catch the cattle. The pterodactyl were scary.

[Spoiler Alert]

• There is one point of the movie where Arlo and Spot eat some poisonous fruit and begin some weird hallucination sequence. My kids thought it was hysterical and completely understood that there was something with the fruit, however, some kids might have other questions. Just be prepared.
• There is a very familiar (think Lion King) death scene in the movie. If your kids are sensitive to death, I would prepare them for this part. I don’t think it will take away from the overall story.

Since we are in the middle of our adoption, Lu and I were very moved by the part where Spot finds a new family. She caught on immediately that he was being adopted and it brought a few tears from both of us. That quick scene speaks volumes about the grief of adoption and I suspect many people will overlook the intensity of the moment.

Overall, I think you will find the The Good Dinosaur a heartwarming, beautifully depicted movie, perfect for the big screen this holiday season.  In theater’s now, make plans to go see it this weekend.

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Disclaimer: My family and I were provided tickets to see The Good Dinosaur in exchange for our honest opinions. Images courtesy of Disney Pictures.