Disney and Pixar's latest film, The Good Dinosaur, features a very basic plot that follows a young dinosaur named Arlo and his critter (human) companion, Spot, in their quest to return home to Arlo's family. Without giving away any spoilers just yet, and also to point out that the plot really is almost entirely this simple, the movie is essentially about Arlo finding his place amid his seemingly stronger family, and returning home to them after being separated.
The major high point of this film is the stunning animation, primarily through the landscapes as the characters are very cartoony, and therefore a stark contrast to the backgrounds. Admittedly, it was quite jarring when the opening landscape changed to feature the more traditional, cartoon-like dinosaur characters. The film as a whole, at least in my opinion seems to be full of distinct contrasts like this, and I'm not quite sure whether this was the intended outcome, or simply my opinion.
In a way, the timeline of the story gives in to the deep contrasts I noticed in the film as a whole. The premise of "what if the asteroid that caused the dinosaurs to become extinct missed?" is an interesting one indeed, as the film therefore features very few dinosaurs living alongside creatures like humans and a variety of other more modern animals. More disorienting than the hypothetical situation of time continuing on without the dinosaurs ever becoming extinct, is the role reversal between dinosaurs and humans. The dinosaurs have seemingly human-like roles within their society, while the humans walk on all floors and act more like animals. The role reversal is interesting given the basic premise, but somewhat difficult to get used to if it isn't quite what you're expecting when you sit down to watch the movie. I recently read a couple of other reviews of this movie that related the roles of the dinosaurs to Cars. The world of Cars is quite interesting in that there are no people, only cars, and as much as I LOVE Lightning McQueen, and the franchise as a whole, it can be difficult to get over the fact that it is literally a world of cars-- The Good Dinosaur left me with similar feelings, of being in awe by the genius animation in terms of background design but a tad confused about the roles and relationships of the dinosaurs.
The Good Dinosaur also follows some conventions that are rather typical of Disney and/or Pixar movies. One notable instance of this is Arlo's father's death, which occurs while he is trying to teach his son a lesson about taking care of family, and ultimately ends up sacrificing himself to an overflowing river/mudslide to save his son. To me, the scene was very reminiscent of The Lion King, and while emotional, it was nothing that I wouldn't have expected from such a movie. Though the interactions between Arlo and the other dinosaurs in his family were entertaining, they were kind of short lived, and I would have liked to have gotten more out of those relationships before the major plot points took place. I'm hesitant to say that the movie lacked character development, because for the two main characters this is not the case at all, and I think the cartoony nature of the characters compared to the backgrounds could contribute to this feeling among fans. Although character development does not technically have anything to do with how the film is visually, the difference in animation between the detailed backgrounds and the more simple characters does take a little bit away from the emotional attachment the audience would feel for those characters.
My basic takeaway from the film is that while enjoyable for me, as an adult, this might be one of the few Pixar movies that gears slightly more towards children. Sure, there are some jokes the kids won't get, and the insane artwork in the landscapes will more than likely please adults over children, but the film on a whole seems to be better suited for children. Another reason for my feelings on this stem from the lack of actual dinosaurs in a film called The Good Dinosaur, and the lack of grizzly dinosaur fights or conflicts. The movies also strays away from some of the usual Pixar motifs in that, although it has its moments of intense emotion, it is nothing compared to Pixar movies of the past, like Up! or Toy Story 3. The story is heartwarming, and there are moments that will make you at least come close to crying, but it does live up to the same emotional levels as most other Pixar works.
I would not hesitate to recommend this movie to any Disney/Pixar fan, as the story is worked out great for any member of the family, even while I would say this movie is primarily geared towards the younger crowd. While the style of the characters, and the simple dialogue and plot premise point this movie towards a child audience, it was still very entertaining for an adult, and I can't wait to see it again!
I would give The Good Dinosaur a score of 7.5 out of 10. It was extremely enjoyable, and a breath of fresh air compared to many other Pixar movies that focus a lot more energy on emotions and character development. The animation of the landscapes is incredible, and even if you're not interested in the story, I would recommend seeing the film just for an art standpoint if you're really into animation because it is so well done.
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