The Good Dinosaur

I just said that I’ve seen all the non-sequel Pixar movies. That’s a true statement now because I finally viewed The Good Dinosaur last night.

Like Onward, it’s a movie that didn’t like up to Pixar’s lofty box office standards. The Good Dinosaur did later make a lot of money getting streamed, something I’m concerned about whether Onward can do when it’s free to Disney Plus subscribers already.

Although it’s not nearly as good as Onward (or most other Pixar movies), I am glad The Good Dinosaur recouped its money. Even B-grade Pixar (or C-grade for that matter) can still be special.

The main character, Arlo, is one of a set of dinosaur triplets – and the runt of the litter. He envies his brother Buck and sister Libby’s size and bravery, but their father dotes on Arlo the most, wanting him to grow into his own.

Then tragedy strikes, and little Arlo finds himself alone with a toddler caveboy in this alternate reality where dinosaurs never went extinct and now share the planet with humans.* The plot is overly simple – he needs to return home – and the attempt to spice things up by having Arlo and “Spot” encounter various other characters along the way doesn’t deliver any notable comedy or drama. The movie on the whole lacks quality laughs, which helps explain why some segments dragged and the movie could have benefited if 10 minutes were cut from the 100 minute runtime. It also lacks creativity, as there really isn’t any more to the story than the bland thing I just described.

HOWEVER, what it does have it heart. I counted three extremely moving moments, along with two other fairly moving ones. For that, and for the absolutely astonishing visuals in the movie’s water scenes, I have to give The Good Dinosaur a solid recommendation.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.

Bottom line: Don’t expect normal Pixar-level quality and you’ll be happy.

*Hmm, now I wonder if creationists get mad at movies like The Good Dinosaur and Jurassic Park for not acknowledging the alternate “scientific” theory that the Earth is only 6,000 years old.