Review of The Good Dinosaur (2015) by Ian H — 19 Jun 2016

The film's production turmoil and struggle to get to the big screen is apparent in this film that doesn't feel like a Pixar movie at all. Though the Good Dinosaur has a fun premise, it possesses one of the most annoying protagonists in recent memory.

Arlo, the titular dinosaur (the Good part is highly debatable), is your classic runt of the litter. He's a weakling and a total weiner. If he starts out like this and learns to be brave and selfless and strong, that's one thing, but by film's end he's the same selfish crybaby as he is in the beginning.

This isn't even the film's biggest problem, as it mostly functions as a mashup of The Lion King and Homeward Bound. There is potential for great, fun worldbuilding here and the writers lazily settle for the main antagonists being the pterodactyl version of the Lion King's hyenas.

There are no stakes, and considering how unlikable Arlo is, you kind of hope he doesn't make it so as to thin out the gene pool a bit. I know, I know, I'm being a jerk to this cute little dinosaur, and though my 2-year-old daughter likes him, she kept asking me what he was doing and as I narrated his ever stupid actions, the hate grew and grew.

The film's saving grace is the gorgeous animation of the landscapes. These are the most beautifully rendered 3D animated backgrounds I have ever seen, and there's a fun contrast between the landscapes and the cartoonishly animated dinosaurs and animals.

Honestly, the only reason I'm so mad is this thing is so half assed. It's lazy storytelling, and it feels like the product of overworking a script that maybe wasn't up to snuff in the first place.

I mean, they do nothing to disguise that the template for Arlo's old man was Mustafa, right down to Arlo communing with a ghost-version of him in the third act. As a result there's no heart, and no reason to see this unless you're really tired of watching the same movies over and over again and you need to watch something new to see if you're still capable of feeling things whilst watching Disney movies.