The Good Dinosaur

Although The Good Dinosaur features a simple storyline that wont blow you away, it remains endearing and heartfelt, with messages that will surely resonate with its target audience. As we follow Arlo's self discovery through grit and grind adventures with his new pal, Spot, there is a lot of excitement in every rough and tumble. There is also a great deal of laughter in each new character they cross paths with, with a trippy moment to boot ;).

This film, has as well, the most beautiful landscapes ever seen from a Pixar film, hands down. From lush forests, flowing rivers & serene sunsets, each was photorealistic and each was a visual attraction. Pixar kept its characters cartoonish however, and that contrast was a wise move which absolutely worked.

Sure, naysayers used to Pixar's imaginative storylines will have negatives to say for TGD, however, I find the family friendly plot has its charms and is well told. With likable characters (Spot, you are brilliant!) and fantastic backgrounds for an adventure-fueled film, there is definitely enough good here.

So this movie is probably a lot better than what you might have heard. But some parents may have some issues with the themes and things portrayed in here in general. It may be a bit too much for their children to watch. There are some adult situations here (as in life happens and the "brutality of it", without getting explicit), some dramatic moments that may stay in ones mind.

Having said that, you could say, that this is challenging and if you really think about it, animated movies in the past that are considered classics, had some horrible moments in them (without spoiling the moments, just two examples: Bambi and Lion King). Even the Last Unicorn had some dark themes in it. So maybe we try to overprotect children, where they don't need to be protected? It's a fair question though, but the movie handles it very discreetly and to the point.

After being blown away by Pixar's previous film 'Inside Out' (which is one of their best too), while not really deserving of so many 1- star reviews 'The Good Dinosaur' disappointed on many levels.

Not just lesser Pixar but a contender for their worst too, even more so than the often panned 'Cars 2' (which to me while not great was not that bad). It is a long way from an awful film, certainly much better than several reviews have lead you to believe (seeing as 1- star indicates no redeeming qualities, which is not the case here), but considering Pixar's usual incredibly high standard I was expecting so much more.

There are a number of good things here in 'The Good Dinosaur'. Much of the animation is spectacular, including some of Pixar's most gorgeously vivid colours and some of their most stunning and rich- in-detail backgrounds. The music score is both whimsical and energetic, and the film also benefits from some clever casting and very strong voice acting, Sam Elliot in particular stands out. Many have complained of Arlo's voice work, it wasn't a problem personally.

On top of those, 'The Good Dinosaur' does have some genuinely funny moments (mostly visual), parts that are genuinely touching, some thumping, thrilling action, a beautifully realised central friendship, an endearing lead character in Arlo and an inspirational main message (as a matter of fact, all the lessons and messages the film teaches are great). So a lot to admire.

However, 'The Good Dinosaur' does fall short. While there is much to admire in the animation overall, it also contains the least appealing character designs in any of Pixar's film, the photo- realistic look looks cartoony rather than realistic and jars against the vivid backgrounds . While keeping things simple can work in a film's favour, 'The Good Dinosaur' is rather too simple and straight-forward that the storytelling while not completely dull lacks momentum and veers on being too paper-thin and simplistic as well as being too predictable and familiar. Target audience is also an issue.

Adults may find themselves checking their watches, not that it's completely dull but unlike much of Pixar's other films it is not consistently captivating. And with children, while this viewer usually tries to not complain about anything being too dark or unnecessary and has been known to defend films criticised for that 'The Good Dinosaur' is an example of a film where that criticism is valid and understandable, because there is some dark and disturbing content (like a decapitation and a drug reference) that added absolutely nothing and quite frankly had no place in a family film. The violence is similarly gratuitous. The script is inconsistent in the laughs and emotional investment factors and is not as clever, witty, insightful or as intelligently structured as the writing for Pixar's best, coming across as even more paper-thin and simplistic than the storytelling and the dialogue itself is often cheesy and clichéd.

In conclusion, not as bad as most have made out but very much a lesser Pixar. Has enough good merits to make it watchable, but it's the only Pixar film to date to disappoint me. Very hard to decide between a 5 or 6, as it was actually not easy to rate, so it's got a 5.5/10 (somewhere in between). Bethany Cox

If you can make it through the tedious first third, it's not a bad little movie. The interplay between Arlo and Spot is generally enjoyable (the first really good scene is Spot trying to feed Arlo). The movie can be quite funny, somewhat thrilling, and occasionally touching.

So basically, if this was some kids cartoon from some lesser studio, this would be pretty good. For Pixar though, it's a big disappointment.

One of the film's biggest flaws is also one of its greatest strengths; the animation. On the one hand, the landscapes - forests, rivers, fields - have an amazing photo-realism that mark them as an incredible achievement in animation. But this hyper-realism makes the main dinosaur breed look terrible; they are about as realistic as the cars in Cars, and it's like someone filmed a sock puppet show in the Grand Canyon. It's the thing most reviewers seem to talk about, so it's rather amazing that Pixar didn't see the problem themselves.

It's not that the dinosaurs needed to look real, but the insistence on those giant, soulful eyes made the heads misshapen, and the colors are too clean and shiny to meld with the environments. Other breeds of dinosaurs and insects have an acceptable cartooniness, but Arlo is just annoying in design, creating a constant de-immersion signal.

The story is conventional and predictable, the emotional moments feel manipulative, but still, it's not bad as kid's cartoons go. But it sure isn't what we expect from Pixar.

I sat down to watch "The Good Dinosaur" with my family, that being wife and 6 year old son, and I didn't really have any idea that I would end up being as entertained by this animated movie as I was. I had thought that this would just be another one of those mass-produced generic animated movies aiming for the kids.

The story in "The Good Dinosaur" was actually surprisingly good, and it was told in a very entertaining way, and also in a way that kept the movie progressing at a constant good pace. There weren't really any dull moments throughout the course of the movie, and even the slower moments in the movie were good and had crucial parts to the overall storyline.

The CGI, style and textures in "The Good Dinosaur" were all very impressive. But of course, Pixar is well-known for that, and they didn't disappoint by any means with this 2015 release. The entire animated world was rich in color, details and very lovable.

As for the characters portrayed in "The Good Dinosaur", well there is something for everyone here. I dare say that much. Of course you have someone brave, someone lovable, someone daring, someone clumsy, etc. etc. It was all here. And they had managed to get together and impressive group of voice actors and actresses for the various roles. And for an animated movie, then the voice acting is essential.

"The Good Dinosaur" is the kind of story that you take to heart immediately and you will be entertained right up to the very end of the movie, that is for sure. And although you already know how the movie will end, it is still a good story to experience and an entertaining movie to watch.

This 2015 animated movie, like most Pixar movies, is of the type that you can watch more than just a single time. And it does stand out from many other Pixar movies, mainly because of the setting of the age of dinosaurs and the characters.

"The Good Dinosaur" scores a solid six stars out of ten rating from me, as it is a movie that has that ability to make you feel good, feel entertained and make you laugh all at the same time.