It can’t be as good as Inside Out, can it?
Pixar are filmmakers known for the quality of their films, despite being a bit off form in recent times… Until Inside Out came out earlier this year. The Good Dinosaur is the product of two new films in one year from Pixar; however, being released as the second in one year means the limelight has already been taken by Inside Out, and being shown in the same window as Star Wars has meant it’s fallen short in the box office — but totally undeservedly. Now, to review!
Looks pretty good.
When the film first started I wasn’t quite sure what to think. Well, other than, “Is that water real? What about those trees? And those mountains?”. I realised that they were not real, and so I was aptly impressed by the mind-bogglingly realistic computer generated environments and the beautiful world Pixar had created for the adventure coming. Who for, you ask? Arlo, the third of three babies of a farming couple who at first sounded odd with their voices, but only until I got used to it after about 30 seconds. The voice acting is very good, actually. Anyway, Arlo turned out to be a bit of a coward compared to the rest of his family, and was made to feed the birds they had in an enclosure on the farm – which led to numerous amusing encounters. Eventually, his dad realised Arlo was a bit of a dweeb, and made him catch something that was eating their food for winter. What was it? A kid, of course! Some serious shizzle then happened and the drama enfolded, leaving Arlo alone in the wilderness, until he befriended the kid, who was aptly named Spot.
As Arlo’s quests get more and more dangerous, it gets more and more gripping, exciting and emotional, through a plot that twists and turns within various different settings which all bring different side-plots and side-characters which never fail to deliver, and gradually gets worse and worse for Arlo. It does this through numerous perfectly crafted dramatic sequences, scenes which forced me to relate to Arlo, with every bump to his head feeling like a bump to my own. Furthermore, his bonding with Spot made for a more light-hearted feel to the film to be introduced, in amidst all the drama and sadness; with Spot’s actions being both intriguing and amusing. With Spot, also, came some pretty intense emotional stuff, which almost provoked crying three times for me. The way Pixar force you to relate, and bond, with Arlo and Spot really is incredible.
The film also has a nice Pixar sort of feel to it that can’t quite be described, though it is unique in that it does not at all focus on comedy, and more on the drama and character building than any other film they’ve done. However, this is a good thing, especially considering there is a fair amount of lines in the film that were particularly funny – a lot of them in the western-like section of the film, with the rustlers, who really are fantastic.
Verdict:
The Good Dinosaur is a better film than Inside Out in my opinion, with escalating drama, action and emotion within a great story which follows fantastic characters; with the most impressive animation I’ve ever seen. It’s not Pixar’s finest, but it’s not far from it.
So I give it: 90/100.
– Speedy.
Stuff and That. 
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