The Good Dinosaur

• Directed by Peter Sohn
• November 10, 2015 (Paris) / November 25, 2015 (US)

Voice Cast

• Arlo-Raymond Ochoa
• Young Arlo-Jack McGraw
• Spot-Jack Bright
• Butch-Sam Elliott
• Ramsey-Anna Paquin
• Nash-A. J. Buckley
• Thunderclap-Steve Zahn
• Downpour-Mandy Freund
• Coldfront-Steven Clay Hunter
• Poppa Henry-Jeffrey Wright
• Momma Ida-Frances McDormand
• Buck-Marcus Scribner
• Young Buck-Ryan Teeple
• Libby-Maleah Padilla
• Forrest Woodbush-Peter Sohn
• Bubbha-Dave Boat
• Lurleane-Carrie Paff
• Earl-John Ratzenberger
• Pervis-Calum Mackenzie Grant

A timid Apatosaurus living on a farm with his family must travel through dangerous territory with a young human after being washed downriver to return home.

Imagine a world where an asteroid didn’t wipe out the dinosaurs. This is the premise of the world of The Good Dinosaur. No lizard people though. That would be a cool movie, but certainly not one for children and nothing that would be made by Pixar. The movie is about a meek and timid young dinosaur named Arlo that must grow into his own and prove to himself that he is not the coward he believes while leaving childhood behind.

What I found interesting is Arlo’s father is tough and stern but also compassionate. Often today when the father does that he is just a d!ck. The pushing and prodding of Henry is not out of cruelty or some kind of neglect. He just wants his son to mature and be strong. As with any Disney movie a parent dies (here the father) setting into motion the final growth of the main character.

In a bit of a Planet of the Apes twist in this world of dinosaurs, humans are a bit of a pestilence that must be dealt with. While the dinosaurs don’t ride out on horses to slaughter or capture humans, they do tend to catch them and beat them with a stick until they’re dead. There is no missing that. Arlo has no stomach for such a measure which eventually leads him to bond with a human he names Spot that gets them both into trouble and aids in Arlo’s personal growth because of that trouble.

If anything, The Good Dinosaur is a coming-of-age survival Western. Arlo finds himself far from home and now the child has a journey back to his family. On the trip he encounters dangerous locals. In this case they are predatory dinosaurs standing in for outlaws. His nurturing/caring side is refined by protecting Spot from those same killers. He even gets an Obi Wan that puts all the lessons in perspective. On the journey he learns to control his fear that has been a hindrance since birth. He does not overcome it but learns how to handle it. Sprinkled into that are lessons of family and friendship.

The animation is stunning. The dinosaurs and any mammals are rendered in a more fanciful style. Everything else from the storm clouds to the grass to the trees looks insanely authentic. This is about 10 years old and it looks better than some films produced today.

In 90 minutes things move steady. There’s plenty of action and humor but no songs. This Western survival story with dinosaurs focuses on narrative. The Good Dinosaur just lacks a little bit of a punch. Maybe that’s part of the reason it failed to be a success. The strong emotional impact this story should have is not there. There is emotion but nothing that resonates. It just kind is.

It falls short in building the relationship between Arlo and Henry or Arlo and his mother Ida or even Arlo and his siblings. These are just supposed to be the people that he loves or realizes he loves. They are supposed to be his motivations to get back to where he lives but you never get the sense that there is something there to try to get him to reconnect with them. Given this weakness, there are two points where he could easily abandon his journey and hook up with some other dinosaurs and do his own thing. 

A world populated with talking dinosaurs that do pretty much everything humans do never gets that weirdness played up. We never get very much of the world as it is beyond predatory dinosaurs being pretty much predatory dinosaurs and herbivorous dinosaurs being farmers. Is there a town nearby? Maybe a scene or two that is a bit of a joking play on the Western town but with dinosaurs. A moment where Ida seeks help to find Arlo would have worked too.

But there’s something here. It has a lesson in the film. It’s about more than just the adventure. The point is the needs of life need to be tempered with a little bit of heart and you must face your fears and not give in to them.

The Good Dinosaur is a good movie. Not great but very good. It’s entertaining and silly and there are some good laughs. Good family viewing.