The Good Dinosaur (2015)


Pixar week continues with one of their more recent films, The Good Dinosaur.

The Movie:

 The Good Dinosaur is the 16th movie from Pixar, and the second released in 2015 (after Inside Out), the first time Pixar released two movies in the same year.  The movie had a somewhat troubled production, going through a director change and a complete story re-write.  Though The Good Dinosaur received generally positive reviews, it was not praised on the same level as many other Pixar films.  It has the lowest box-office earnings of any Pixar film.

The Good Dinosaur takes place in an alternate history in which the dinosaurs did not go extinct 65 million years ago, but instead continued to evolve into a more structured society,  The title dinosaur is Arlo, a young Apatosaurus who lives on a farm with his family.  Arlo is the runt of his siblings, and he wants to find a way to prove himself and "make his mark."  When he finds a young human boy stealing corn from the silo, Arlo chases him away, but ends up falling in the river and washes downstream.  Arlo and the boy, who he calls Spot, form an unlikely friendship as Arlo tries to make his way back home.

So does The Good Dinosaur deserve its reputation?  Somewhat.  It's not a bad story, but it's pretty much by-the-numbers.  The problem is that Pixar has produced so many great movies that one that is just good tends to feel even more lackluster.  Coming out so shortly after the highly-acclaimed and more unique Inside Out doesn't help The Good Dinosaur to stand out.  The movie is also hurt by the fact that the scenery is so well done that the rest of the movie pales in comparison.  The natural landscapes look almost photo-realistic.

The music is written by Mychael Danna (who won an Oscar for The Life of Pi) and his brother Jeff Danna.  The score is probably the other highlight of this movie.  In many ways The Good Dinosaur is a western, and the score would feel right at home in any classic western.

One more thing.  Being that the movie is a western, it's quite fitting that Sam Elliott voices a cattle-driving T-Rex.

Presence in the Parks:

 You might think that since there is already a dinosaur-themed land at Animal Kingdom, The Good Dinosaur would fit right in.  However, since the movie was not a hit, it seems unlikely that it will find a place there.  The movie got a little push in the parks around the time it opened, but that was pretty much it.

As for the other dinosaur themed attractions around WDW, we'll get to those when discussing our next dinosaur movie.

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