The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur – Millions of years after the dinosaurs were not wiped out, a family of Apatosaurus’ live on a farm, sowing and harvesting their crops. Arlo, the youngest child who is scared of everything, tries to prove that he is worthy of the same respect given to his siblings. When he is swept away by a nearby river, Arlo finds himself alone and having to fend for himself but, befriending a fearless, primitive human child, Arlo discovers what bravery really is and sets off to find his way home.

The Good Dinosaur (2015) – Director: Peter Sohn

“The Good Dinosaur poster” by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Good_Dinosaur_poster.jpg#/media/File:The_Good_Dinosaur_poster.jpg

Rating: PG

Running Length: 93 mins

Starring: Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Jeffrey Wright

Genre: Animated, Drama

REVIEW: ‘THE GOOD DINOSAUR’

What if the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs had never hit the Earth, missing it entirely? According to Pixar, they would have evolved in a similar way to humans, running farmsteads and herding cattle while primitive humans began to live alongside them. Such a new plot concept has been disappointingly under-used in ‘The Good Dinosaur’ as so much more could have been done with the idea of the dinosaurs surviving for many more millions of years than they actually did; instead, here they simply act like humans.

The movie is a little slow to properly get moving and its protagonist, Arlo, isn’t a particularly strong lead, meaning that the audience struggle to warm to the movie for some time; however once Arlo’s character begins to develop, the film settles into a comfortable groove which, enhanced by the human boy, Spot, becomes more like the Pixar we know and love. It isn’t as comedic as other Pixar movie and is quite predictable but it is still enjoyable.

With plenty of drama that most families (but particularly children) can relate to and beautiful, realistic animation, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ explores the importance of family as well as each individuals place therein. It conveys the message that while love is unconditional, everyone should earn respect and even those who appear to be the weakest can show their mettle when the time calls for it. Although it can’t compare with many other Pixar films, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ holds its own and is bound to bring lots of entertainment for kids and adults alike.

CONTENT: IS ‘THE GOOD DINOSAUR’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Before the movie begins, there is a ‘Pixar short’ about a boy who enjoys watching cartoons of his favourite superheroes. This little story involves some intense moments where a villain with four heads and several arms attacks; it has a large mouth with sharp teeth and it roars aggressively at the boy and the heroes.

The youngest member of the Apatosaurus family, Arlo, is given a task to complete. He is told to go into a pen which he is reluctant to do. Once inside, a bush shakes and terrifies Arlo, shortly afterwards he is chased by a large, turkey-like bird. Another time when he enters the pen (again reluctantly), he finds a loved one in there who is seemingly hurt and he becomes very distressed.

Arlo’s father is keen to make his son braver and takes him out more than once at night to help him prove himself. These excursions can be quite intense with Arlo being afraid each time and his father not caring about his fear. During one, a storm takes the pair by surprise and becomes very dangerous, very quickly. Arlo is terrified, especially by the lightning; it traumatises him and becomes a feature of his personality throughout the movie.

Arlo is told by his father that he needs to catch a ‘critter’ that is stealing their food and kill it. Arlo is shocked by this request but is determined to make his father proud. A human boy is caught and aggressively struggles against his bonds but, as they are wrapped around his neck, he begins to suffocate and collapses on the ground, struggling to breathe. Arlo sees this as his opportunity to strike and stands over the boy with a large stick in his mouth, ready to kill him. However, his conscience gets the better of him and he does not hurt the boy.

Arlo falls into a fast-moving river, he is scared and unable to gain any control; he is dragged along by the current and repeatedly goes under the water. Eventually he is thrown against a rock which knocks him unconscious, he wakes up some time later down the river which is now calm and has washed Arlo up on a bank. Arlo is hurt with some cuts and bruises on his legs, he struggles to walk but soon recovers so his injuries are not too bad.

There are a few times when creatures run through foliage towards a protagonist. These moments are quite scary, especially as the creatures mostly appear to be aggressive and seem to be moving quickly in order to attack.

A large snake falls onto Arlo and aggressively rears up and hisses at him. This fright causes him to lose his footing and fall from a height. The snake falls with him and continues its attack on the ground. Arlo is very frightened; however the snake is bitten and scared away by another character.

Arlo and the boy (who is named ‘Spot’) eat fruit that has fallen onto the ground and has started to ferment. There is around one minute of the pair hallucinating like they are on mind-altering drugs. They see each others’ heads change size and shape and one grows extra eyes; the sky and landscape also bend and change colour.

A group of dinosaurs appear to be helping Arlo but soon show their true colours when they unexpectedly eat a cute animal that they have found. The leader of the group initially seems friendly but becomes increasingly unhinged as his intentions become clearer. His eyes become manic and intense while his demeanour gets more aggressive and as Arlo realises that both he and Spot are in danger, his fear rises and he struggles to decide what to do as their fate is entirely in his hands.

A very intense part of the movie begins with low clouds being broken by what looks like a shark’s fin cutting through, this moves around menacingly before several others join it. The musical score and reactions from Arlo and Spot suggest that whatever these creatures are, they mean to harm them.

Arlo and Spot are willingly (although reluctantly) used as bait to catch some creatures known as ‘Rustlers’. These turn out to be deranged dinosaurs that are very similar to Velociraptors. They are very aggressive, quick and work as a pack. Although Arlo and Spot are working with some other dinosaurs that help them and are able to fight the Rustlers, their attack is vicious and all of the ‘good’ characters are in extreme danger for around five minutes.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘THE GOOD DINOSAUR’ FOR KIDS?

The second Pixar movie to be released in 2015 (the other being the superb ‘Inside Out’), ‘The Good Dinosaur’ explores new ground as well as having plenty of standard plot lines that are recognisable and easy to follow. Due to some scary scenes and a young protagonist who is forced to fend for himself in a dangerous world, we recommend this movie for ages 6 and over.

The following ratings are appropriate for this movie which has a target audience of younger children, generally aged under 7.

• Violence: 3/5 (a child catches a huge flying bug, which is about the same size as him; the boy isn’t at all afraid and he suddenly bites its head off)
• Emotional Distress: 4/5 (both Arlo and Spot miss their families, some of whom have died which is indicated by sticks in the ground being pushed over and covered with earth. A character who has been presumed dead comes back but all is not what it seems and a loved one becomes upset when this character leaves them again. A character faces a difficult decision that is for the best for someone they care about and there is an emotional moment between the two characters. This scene lasts for around 5 minutes and becomes increasingly emotional until its end)
• Fear Factor: 4/5
• Sexual Content: 0/5
• Bad Language: 1/5 (a young dinosaur approaches some chicken-like creatures and says ‘alright you cluckers’. While this is likely to go over the heads of most kids, parents may not like the use of a word which is close to a strong curse word)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (After an intense attack, Arlo becomes aware of someone who is hiding in nearby trees when he hears a monotonous voice say ‘Hello, we’ve been watching you’. The voice could be a little creepy for kids, especially as Arlo sees several creatures with blank expressions before discovering who is actually talking to him. A large dinosaur tells Arlo ‘If you’re pulling my leg, I’m going to eat yours’. A character tells a story from his past and says that they ‘bit one croc in half’ and he drowned another ‘in (my) own blood’)
• The ‘Rustlers’ (as described above) are like inbred hillbillies and this rather prejudiced characteristic could be offensive to some people.
• Lightning is involved in a few scenes which creates a strobe effect. A scene towards the end has frequent strobing and lasts for around two minutes.
• Other notes: Deals with themes of family, strengths and weaknesses, cowardice, bravery, becoming responsible for people that you care about, discovering ones’ own inner strengths and learning that appearances can be deceiving so you shouldn’t trust every friendly person you come across.

Words by Laura Record

[amazon_link asins=’B018A2RAX4,B075YVK7BB,B00TV0S9AI,B00TV0SJ6C,B019E41T02′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’isthimovsui-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’b1c4d5c3-db00-11e8-90fb-b34d07c6ee6b’]