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The Good Dinosaur Review

By Matthew Passantino

The Good Enough Dinosaur

Can you hear that? That is the sound of everyone scrambling to reorganize their list of the best Pixar films - that they just made in June - to see where "The Good Dinosaur" fits.

The behemoth animation studio has released their second film of the year, which puts "The Good Dinosaur" at a severe disadvantage. Coming out on the heels of June's "Inside Out", anything would seem second-rate. While I can't say "Inside Out" is my absolute favorite film from Pixar, it is one of their most original and thought-provoking. "The Good Dinosaur," while cute and charged with Pixar's brand of emotionally resonating moments, feels too generic and thinly plotted, given we know what this studio can offer.

"The Good Dinosaur" begins with the interesting concept of an asteroid missing Earth, leaving the dinosaurs untouched. We then meet Papa (Jeffrey Wright) and Momma (Frances McDormand), who are waiting for three eggs to hatch. They get their oldest children, Buck (Marcus Scribner), Libby (Maleah Padilla) and our titular dino, Arlo (Raymond Ochoa). The family is always working hard to make sure they grow enough crops to sustain themselves for the winter. Buck and Libby have no problem completing their chores but the timid Arlo is scared of any movement. He is clumsy and often subject to his sibling's teasing and torture.

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Poppa has built a silo, where they store their crop. On that silo, each member of the family has put a muddy footprint to show they have "earned their mark." Arlo has yet to do so and feels like the outcast of his family. We get some classic inspirational Disney speeches from Poppa, to show his support and faith in Arlo.

Arlo just wants to make his father - and entire family - proud. He wants to earn the elusive mark on the side of the silo. As with most Disney movies, tragedy strikes the dino family, which separates Arlo from everyone else. Arlo is intimated by his own unintimidating shadow, so being out in the world on his own is terrifying for him. He meets a kid - often referred to as a "critter" - who he holds responsible for being separated from his family. The kid runs around like a dog, sniffs and pants like one, too. He catches animals in his mouth and doesn't speak. He is later named Spot, which is a bit on-the-nose.

The various shades of green and blue blend and pop throughout "The Good Dinosaur," making it a visual treat from start to finish. Thematically, "The Good Dinosaur" feels far too broad from the studio, which audiences hold in high regards and with higher expectations. Fom the journey home story, coupled with the mismatched friends aspect, we've seen what "The Good Dinosaur" is trying to do many times. Even the father-son relationship feels straight out of "The Lion King," with some images of Poppa and Arlo begging the comparison of the Disney classic.

But this is Disney and Pixar; when you feel like you might not be totally into the movie, they bring you in with an emotional wallop. Even when the story feels like it's getting repetitive - Arlo falls down and hurts himself A LOT - we are drawn in and want to root for the clumsy protagonist. There are individual moments of great beauty in this film - it's just a shame it doesn't feel that way as an entire movie.

I'm not a Pixar completest, like most. I've loved several of their movies - "Toy Story" series, "Wall-E", "Finding Nemo", etc. - and simply enjoyed many others. I've disliked a few, even when it wasn't fashionable to do so (sorry, "The Incredibles"). Devout fans may sneer at the simplicity of "The Good Dinosaur", probably because they were expecting "The Great Dinosaur".

What did you think?

Movie title The Good Dinosaur
Release year 2015
MPAA Rating PG
Our rating
Summary The visuals pop and there is enough emotion infused in this minor Pixar effort to make it worth a trip to the movies.
View all articles by Matthew Passantino
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