The Good Dinosaur: Movie Review
Disney/Pixar animator Peter Sohn makes his feature film directorial debut with “The Good Dinosaur”, a beautifully animated and wonderfully entertaining story about overcoming fear. Sohn who is also an established voice actor has been with the animation house for over a decade and his experience is crystal clear.
Millions of years ago, a meteor struck Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. Well, what if that meteor actually passed us by? That is the set up for “The Good Dinosaur”. In the present day, dinosaurs still roam the Earth and they are on top of the food chain. Poppa (voiced by Jeffrey Wright) and Momma (voiced by Frances McDormand) are dinosaur corn farmers. With the help of their three children, Buck, Libby, and Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa), they grow and store food to feed them through winter. Farming comes naturally to Arlo’s siblings but not to him. He is not only clumsy but he is afraid of everything.
When Arlo is tasked to protect the food supply from critters, he is unable to bring himself to kill the one he catches. The critter also happens to be a human boy (growls and howls by Jack Bright). After letting the human boy go, Poppa takes Arlo on a hunt to complete the task. If you have seen any Disney movie before, you know when a parent takes his/her child out into the wilderness for a life lesson, the parent most likely won’t make it. No surprise here, Poppa doesn’t make it.
With winter coming soon and Poppa no longer around to maintain he farm, the family must work harder to prepare. When the human critter comes back, Arlo winds up falling into the river chasing after it and now he finds himself lost in the wild. It turns out he is not alone. The human boy comes to Arlo’s rescue and even tries to help feed him.
After a chance meeting with the Forrest Woodbush (voiced by the filmmaker himself), Arlo names his human friend Spot and together they work to try and find their way home. At first Arlo blames Spot for the death of his father but at the two grow closer, he realizes that it wasn’t the fault of his new friend. Arlo and Spot must make their way through deadly weather, over steep mountains, and survive run-ins with a group of storm chasing pterodactyls, lead by Thunderclap (voiced by Steve Zahn). Fear still holds Arlo back, but as the story progresses, he begins to find the ability to be brave.
“The Good Dinosaur” features some of the most life-like locations I have ever seen in an animated film. At times the leaves and water looks 100% real. It’s just an absolutely stunning looking film. What makes a great animated film to me is when adults find as much enjoyment as kids do. When it can relate to all ages, that is when you have something very special and “The Good Dinosaur” does that.
By: Marc Ferman