The Good Dinosaur is the second Pixar movie this year and it’s a visually impressive feat.
But does it live up to all other expectations?
I wish that I could say that this has all proven unfounded.
In truth,The Good Dinosauris neither an extinction-level event nor a magnificent achievement in family entertainment.
Depending on age demographics, your mileage will vary.
In fact, Spot (voiced by a young Jack Bright) has no singular line of dialogue.
Arlo is the youngest of three Apatosauruses.
Of course, theyll meet some interesting and colorful characters along the way.
The best ofThe Good Dinosaurs features is an apparent conceit from director Peter Sohn.
Overtaking the troubled project, he rightly pinpointed the thrill of seeing dinosaurs animated in photorealistic environments.
By contrast, Sohn quite deliberately evokes the iconography of great American Westerns by the likes of John Ford.
This character allows the film to enter the bizarre for something that feels refreshingly unlike so many familiar tropes.
There is also a family of Tyrannosaurus Rex voiced by Sam Elliot, A.J.
Buckley, and Anna Paquin.
Played as bigger-than-life ranchers, the T-Rex fill the screen with that aforementioned mythic Western playfulness.
Yet, the heart of the movie must obviously remain with Arlo and Spot.
And that is the real problem withThe Good Dinosaur.
It would be unfair to damn a family film that will work for exactly that kind of audience.
Rating:
2.5 out of 5
