Review // The Good Dinosaur

[projekktor id=’22172′]

Set in a world where dinosaurs roam alongside cave men, The Good Dinosaur is a character study of a young Apatosaurus named Arlo (Raymond Ochoa). The fearful runt of a peaceful farming family, Arlo is given a great task by his father (Jeffery Wright) in order to teach him responsibility and teamwork. Overcome by fear he is unable to carry it out and the consequences are dire for his family. When he gets the opportunity to redeem himself he takes it, but an accident leaves him stranded in foreign lands far from his valley home. The story is pretty formulaic, it’s a boy and his dog narrative, however this time the boy is a dinosaur and his cute, courageous and silly pup is an orphaned human boy named Spot who only communicates in grunts and growls. It’s set up as a frontier style adventure filled with vultures, cowboys and vast landscapes. While the film tries to tackle some great themes – overcoming fears, friendship, family, forging your own path in life – it’s a little too predictable and feels more like a retelling of stories we’ve already seen, except this time there’s a dinosaur.

The photorealistic landscapes, clouds, and backgrounds are breathtaking. If you’re a sucker for good animation then The Good Dinosaur is a must see. There is incredible detail in the vast frontier land from the soaring hills to the lush trees and rushing water. I found that as I watched the film I had to remind myself that this was in fact animation and not some strange CGI/live action hybrid. The cartoonish characters are cleverly juxtaposed in the ultra realistic world. Friendly looking, cute, and incredibly accessible to a young audience, the computer generated characters are reminiscent of Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, cartoonish but believable.

The incredible score by composing brothers Jeff and Mychael Danna beautifully underscores the whole film. Great swells of emotion are emphasized by the moving score. The overall effect merges past and present, as the old style technique elevates a truly modern film.

While the film has its moments, and a decent story (in the text book term, a clear beginning, middle and end), the directorial debut of Peter Sohn lacks the heart string pulling, imagination that makes Pixar films magical.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.