The first person to compare or disparage Pixar’s THE GOOD DINOSAUR because it somehow doesn’t stack up to the studio’s release earlier this year, INSIDE OUT, is going to get a smack. You can write a 100-page dissertation on the complexities and themes of INSIDE OUT and still have a whole lot more to say.
But THE GOOD DINOSAUR is an entirely different and hilariously bizarre beast, literally. To start, there are far simpler and more basic ideas at play, but they are ones that are in desperate need of being emphasized today. This is a story about friendship, family, overcoming fear, loss and home, and the film somehow covers all of that without getting schmaltzy or overly sentimental. And in true Pixar spirit, it also manages to be creative, original and a pure joy to simply sit back and soak in some of the most realistic-looking landscapes ever created using computers. The water, trees, rocks, all things natural look so real, you almost wonder if the artist simply rendered the characters over nature documentaries (not really, but I bet it crosses your mind).
In fairly stark contrast, the character designs of THE GOOD DINOSAUR are not meant to look real, and the contrast makes sense because if everything looked real, nothing would stand out the way these unique characters do. The premise of the film is that there was no catastrophic event in earth’s history (such as an asteroid) to wipe out the dinosaurs, so they simply continued to evolve for millions of years. The characters here aren’t meant to look like dinosaurs we know. There are snakes with tiny legs, pterodactyl-like creatures with more traditional bird-like qualities, the T-rex characters have longer arms, softer features and wrangle longhorn bison (more on that later).
The film focuses on a family of apatosaurus, led by parents voiced by Jeffrey Wright and Frances McDormand, who have three children, including the runt of the litter, Arlo (Raymond Ochoa), who is afraid of every loud noise or sudden move that comes his way, and it’s a source of constant frustration for his family, who encourage him to be less afraid, to no avail. In this dinosaur world, the creatures not only talk, they also build, grow crops and otherwise maintain farms so that they have enough food for the winter. If you don’t believe in evolution, you’re going to have a very tough time with this movie, because as ridiculous as it sounds that dinosaurs would do these things, when you see it play out, it’s kind of great and weirdly sensible, perhaps even plausible.
Through a series of tragedies and mishaps, Arlo is separated from his family, and he must begin the long journey home, with the assistance of a privative human boy he names Spot (Jack Bright), who doesn’t speak and is more like a pet dog than anything else, but he’s resourceful and can track anything. In what is essentially a road movie, THE GOOD DINOSAUR is best when it allows Arlo a chance to test his limits. Fear still rules his life, but he’s also forced to realize that he’ll never get back to see his family if he doesn’t overcome it. Certainly, watching Spot race into dangerous situations time and time again makes that a lot easier for Arlo. And there is no getting around that watching this pair together is about as adorable as it gets.
Long-time Pixar artist, storyboardist, and voice talent Peter Sohn (who also directed the PARTLY CLOUDY short) marks his feature directing debut here and succeeds largely because he keeps things simple: Arlo and Spot are on a journey, along the way they meet a variety of bizarre characters that are strange mashups of animals we know and dinosaurs, and Arlo begins to get the confidence he needs to survive in his harsh world. A great deal of credit also goes to screenwriter Meg LeFauve (co-writer of INSIDE OUT, who also gets one of four story credits on this film), who allows the two main characters to grow slowly with each new encounter.
Two of the best meet ups are with a group of trippy and hungry bird-like dinos led by Thunderclap (Steve Zahn), a demented creature who doesn’t believe he’ll go hungry because so many new eating opportunities come with each new major storm (his favorite saying is “The storm provides”; you can almost hear Jeff Bridges saying it). But the most enjoyable exchange happens with T-Rex Butch (Sam Elliott) and his two kids Nash (A.J. Buckley) and Ramsey (Anna Paquin), who rustle long-horned bison and dish out cowboy wisdom (and directions) to Arlo.
Although there are moments when Arlo tends to overtalk, there are also long sections of the film with no dialogue—easy to pull off when one of your leads doesn’t speak. THE GOOD DINOSAUR has one of the biggest hearts of any Pixar film, and there’s are back-to-back scenes at the end that will likely have you sniffling. I’ve certainly seen my fair share of gooey-eyed, overly emotional animated films in recent years, but this ain’t that. Nor is it a film that is as squarely aimed at children as you might believe from some of the character designs. There’s a mild element of violence (if animals eating other animals counts), and there’s even a sequence where Arlo and Spot eat some slightly spoiled fruit and start tripping, which might be the funniest scene in the movie.
As always, there’s also an absolutely fantastic short prior to the feature. SANJAY’S SUPER TEAM is a cultural alternative to the current rash of superhero films, directed by the great animator Sanjay Patel, and it will make you smile quite large. THE GOOD DINOSAUR is a classic example of what Pixar can do when it doesn’t feel the need to pander to either its younger or older audiences. It delivers the perfect blend of laughs, tears and life lessons, and features visuals that are at times impossible to believe. I can easily see myself pausing the blu-ray to look at details in a waterfall or tree branch or mountain range or clouds or insects. So much of the film works that it simply doesn’t matter than it might not be the best Pixar has ever done. It’s still better than most of the animated films I endure each year, and that made it even easier to fall in love with.
