The Good Dinosaur (2015, PG)

As a kids’ movie, The Good Dinosaur is fairly good.  As a Pixar movie, it’s only okay.  Don’t get me wrong – there are some truly standout moments – but this film doesn’t approach of level of fine Pixar works like WALL*E, Up, or Inside Out.  (A couple of basic premise spoilers.)

In a hypothetical world in which the dinosaurs never went extinct, they’ve had millions of years to develop as a species, cultivating language, technology, and technology.  Arlo is a young Apatosaurus eager to “make his mark” on the family farm but struggles to keep up with his brother and sister.  It’s not so much his small size that’s the problem – instead, he’s held back chiefly by his fears, which continually get the better of him.  When a freak accident carries Arlo far from home, he has to dig deep and discover what he’s really capable of in order to find his way back.

Arlo is a nice, relatable protagonist, and his character journey, while a bit typical, comes across well enough.  (Side note – I really like how Arlo and the other dinosaurs are sentient and civilized but not hugely anthropomorphized.  It’s fun to see how quadrupeds like the Apatosauruses operate a farm.)  My issue with the main story is that it doesn’t quite have the heft that I’ve come to expect from Pixar.  There’s not a lot going on here that’s really exemplary in terms of ideas and creativity, and the execution, for the most part, gets the job done but fails to impress.  The storytelling feels watered-down, like we’ve seen it before – because we have.

The elements that diverge from this well-traveled path are very hit-or-miss.  I’ll start with the misses, so I can work my way up to the good stuff.  The whole film has a frontier slant to it, with different species of dinosaurs standing in for homesteaders, ranchers, rustlers, and the like.  Although it’s definitely something that makes the movie a little less standard-procedure and we get some amusing jokes from it (such as a T-Rex playing a giant beetle like a harmonica,) it doesn’t quite gel.  I get a sense that the movie never figured out what it wanted to be, that it took a more “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” approach to filmmaking.

But not all of the film’s ventures are missteps.  Just like I enjoy seeing the dinosaurs perform human-like actions without moving like humans, I adore the wild “critter” who becomes a pet for Arlo on his adventure, a feral human boy that Arlo names Spot.  Spot is a fabulous, hugely endearing character from top to bottom.  I love how doggish his movements and mannerisms are, I get a kick out of his loveable obliviousness to Arlo’s early irritation with him, and it’s wonderfully sweet to see how quickly he becomes devoted to his new friend.  Every moment in the film that really connected with me – creatively, comedically, and emotionally – involved Spot.  For me, the best scene in the entire movie is the quiet exchange in which Arlo tries to communicate the concept of family to his nonlingual pet, but really, Spot shines pretty much whenever he’s given the chance.  This right here is the hook that makes the film worthwhile, despite its issues.

Warnings

Some scary images for kids and thematic elements.