‘The Good Dinosaur’, demonstrates bravery, too intense
The movie industry’s newest so called family friendly film, The Good Dinosaur, not only has stunning visuals, quality humor and messages of bravery and loyalty, it is surprisingly filled with many intense scenes of danger that do not seem fit for a children’s movie. This film although visually inducing, keeps viewers either heartbreakingly sad, or filled with anxiety throughout the journey.
The story takes place in an alternate universe where the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs missed the earth, and continues to present a quiet little farm run by a family of Apatosaurus. Momma, Poppa, Buck and Libby are all great helpers, each have their own job and are an important part of life on the farm. Then there is little Arlo, the runt of the litter, just trying to help when he is of use and dreams of ‘making his mark’ alongside his brave family members. When Arlo gets washed away in a flash-flood storm, he finds himself scared, banged up and lost miles away from home. Arlo soon realizes that the enemy he sought out after in the first place, the pint-sized human named Spot, turns out to be a reliable friend, and the two begin their journey back to Claw-Toothed Mountain.
I recorded the entire role in Good Dinosaur. They have now dismantled it and completely reimagined it, and it is a fantastic new story. So I’m gonna record again on it within the next month. Don’t worry. It’s coming and it’s gonna be better than I ever imagined.
— John Lithgow
The film has gotten mixed reviews. The Good Dinosaur has definitely not done as well as Pixar had predicted. It’s still up towards the top, but it is losing relevance fast.
Statistics are as follows: “The Good Dinosaur opened on Nov. 25th. Domestic Total as of Dec. 14: $90,084,251″ published by the site BoxOfficeMojo.
The Good Dinosaur was said to be in production as of the summer of 2011. News was announced this past summer that the director was removed from the project, and the release date was to be moved to late 2016. The entire film was rewritten, reanimated, and parts even recast.
“I recorded the entire role in Good Dinosaur. They have now dismantled it and completely reimagined it, and it is a fantastic new story. So I’m gonna record again on it within the next month. Don’t worry. It’s coming and it’s gonna be better than I ever imagined.” John Lithgow said, the voice actor of the character ‘Poppa’ to Eric Eisenberg at CinemaBlend.
Once it got rolling, the movie went far. The Good Dinosaur is fully equipped with phenomenal quality effects. The animated setting is nearly indistinguishable from real life setting in South Western America. There are some amazing visual moments in The Good Dinosaur created by Spots lack of language skills. He participates through a lot of pantomiming and good facial expressions.
“The best example? Arlo, who can talk, explains the concept of family by setting representative stick figures in the sand and drawing a circle of closeness around them. Spot takes it further by doing the same and then throwing burial sand over the sticks to communicate that he’s now alone in the world. But ultimately, he’s not — he has Arlo, and Arlo has him, and their friendship is a solid core for another excellent, if intense, Pixar adventure,” Barbara Shulgas from Common Sense Media said.
This production includes quite a few traumatic events for a children’s movie. There are heartbreaking deaths, as well as many gruesome ones. Multiple terrifying storms leaving characters at the brink of drowning. Arlo and Spot encounter many sharp toothed carnivorous animals who make an attempt to eat one or both of our main characters. The constant worry and fear that the characters portray can definitely be unsettling to sensitive viewers.
Overall the poor dinosaur and his pet human faced entirely too many obstacles for the time frame of this movie. What doesn’t help is the fact that Pixar’s animation is so well done that viewers feel so in the moment during each of these horrific events, causing anxiety and fear in the children and even adult viewers. The premise of the story is interesting, but after watching Arlo and Spot face obstacle after obstacle, it gets old. The message of The Good Dinosaur about bravery and friendship it truly beautiful, but the intensity of this film is much too strong for young children.
Liv Krusinski is a 16 year old student at SAHS. She is the In-Studio Camera Editor for the Broadcast team. Liv is APOCALYPSE READY. In her free time she...
Karisma Vang • Feb 8, 2016 at 7:51 pm
I love how this editorial gave both sides of the spectrum and how you didn’t give away anything. It was well written with many details, just enough for you to want to go see it! It was a great review to the movie and your opinion came through well. Nice Job!!
Grace Donner • Jan 8, 2016 at 9:19 am
Very in-depth article nice job! It was nice to get your opinion on both sides. The summary of the movie was a little confusing due to the amount of info that was provided but nothing was given away. Overall nice job with expressing your opinion.
Katie Hutton • Jan 7, 2016 at 12:55 pm
This article is written very descriptively and vividly. You described the movie very well and helped me understand what was happening without giving anything away. Well done!
Kaitlyn Wylie • Jan 6, 2016 at 7:39 pm
The review to the movie was done really well! It gave it a great review, and stated the meaning and thoughts of the film. I thought it was very well done. Their was a perfect amount of information revealed about the movie, and nothing was spoiled for people who did not see the movie. You did really well with the information given out.
DYLAN COOK • Jan 6, 2016 at 8:33 am
Being that I thoroughly enjoyed this film I was interested to see what others thought of it. You did a nice job of explaining why the film is significant and also what you liked and disliked. Also great use of language when describing setting and characters. My one recommendation is to keep some of the details of the plot more vague, this ended up giving away a bit more of the story than a trailer might which could potentially spoil someone’s viewing experience. That being said you did cover a lot of ground in regards to the production of the film which was nice to see.
Joslyn Reiche • Jan 5, 2016 at 6:43 pm
I thought it was a good review! I feel it has a little too much information about the movie but none of it gave way what truly happens which is what I enjoyed. I can still see it later and not have things spoiled for me. And the fact that you still have quotes even when you didn’t interview someone in person! Great information, fast information, and great review!
Sarah McCarthy • Dec 28, 2015 at 11:43 am
I really appreciated that this review didn’t highlight only the positives of the movie, but that it also included some of the negatives of the film. It was also interesting to learn that they completely redid and re-casted the movie due to the director change. That information was new to me, and I’m sure it was new to others. This review allowed for me to look at this movie a different way before seeing it, because of the new understanding I now have. Great review overall.