Review of The Good Dinosaur (2015) by Christopher E — 18 Oct 2016

Although it is a visual masterpiece, "The Good Dinosaur" isn't one of Pixar's most memorable films.

What if the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs never hit? Taking this concept and expanding on it, "The Good Dinosaur" follows the story of a young and fearful dinosaur that gets separated from his family. As he tries to make his way back home, he befriends a more wild and untrained human that will help him learn to face his fears and fight back.

Pixar is one of today's strongest franchises. They hold many classics under their belt and they've still managed to impress with many of their recent releases. Even though "The Good Dinosaur" has some good moments, its lack of a meaningful narrative holds this movie back from being another classic. Pair that with its familiar formula and this movie falls short a bit.

The best thing about this movie was the visuals. Huge applause toward the editors and animators of this film, as it was one of the best looking animations of the year. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and the character models are top notch. Everything looks perfect, from the big moments to the small details. This is definitely one of Pixar's best looking films and one of the most eye pleasing ones. It certainly made for some cute and memorable moments that are certainly poster worthy.

The voice actors were solid for the most part, although I didn't really find many special attributes appealing about them. No one really took over their role and stood out to me. Everyone filled their roles just fine, but there were a few characters where their voices did not match their personnel at all. For the most part, the voice actors were fine.

The screenplay was mediocre, at best. The message is there and they have the general idea, but the lack of creativity and meaning really hinders this film. The dialogue was very mundane and straightforward, while the actual story wasn't very gripping or interesting. Kids will have fun on the adventure, but it's certainly not a note worthy story.

The film was also unclear on what it was. There were some moments that seemed like they were pushing their PG rating, while other moments that were cut too short due to their PG rating. It didn't seem like there was one, clear central vision that they acted on. There were many things that made this movie messy and the lack of direction didn't help.

In the end, the movie was suitable enough. It's okay but it won't be remembered too far in the future. I'll still give this movie a fresh rating due to its amazing visuals and appeal toward kids, but it doesn't have much more than that.