Review of The Good Dinosaur (2015) by Nigel — 30 Dec 2015

I must have been one of the few Pixar fans to have been pleasantly surprised by The Good Dinosaur, having gone into the cinema with very low expectations having been told by the masses on the web not to expect another Inside Out, Toy Story or Finding Nemo. My expectations were so low, in fact, that at times during the showing I was willing the film to be bad just so I didn't have to be the one with the unpopular opinion at the end of it. As many people have pointed out, the visuals of the movie are indeed beautiful, with vast rocky landscapes that could easily be confused for real live-action video footage from Canada were it not for the colourful jarring cartoon beasts roaming through them. Not long into the film, however, these landscapes quickly become the backdrop for our very likeable protagonists, Arlo and Spot.

Whilst The Good Dinosaur could be criticized at times for losing sight of an overriding focus or narrative drive, it stands up to some of the best Pixar films in terms of comedy, wit and emotional impact. The mere sight of scruffily cute Spot and his canine-like animations had me in stitches by the mid-point of the movie, and a certain scene involving an unusual triceratops similarly had me in tears. Side characters are generally less memorable and seem at times to be regurgitated with not quite enough creativity, but I didn't personally find this to be much of an issue with the presence of two great contrasting characters at the forefront.

Although not the next Up or WALL-E, The Good Dinosaur still manages to eclipse most of the unimaginative and quickly-forgotten animated kids films from other studios that seem to be churned out on a conveyor belt year after year.