Title: The Good Dinosaur
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Peter Sohn
Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

What It Is: What would happen if the meteor that killed the dinosaurs missed? That’s the question posed here. We follow an Apatosaurus named Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) and his family which includes his Poppa (Wright) Momma (McDormand) and siblings Buck and Libby. As they prepare for the winter they are harvesting corn to last them throughout. Arlo being his normal skittish self-spots a human named Spot as the reason their harvest is deteriorating. When his Poppa asks him to “take care of it” he doesn’t. When they go after Spot to try and catch him an accident occurs that causes Poppas death. This sends Arlo into a spiral.

What We Think: With a patricidal scene reminiscent of The Lion King many will find other hints to previous Disney and Pixar films. That’s sort of the problem though it does not do much of anything original, that is completely unusual for this revolutionary studio. Look at their other film this year Inside Out not only was the idea completely original but the execution was fresh and the storyline just exquisite. Arlo’s journey is interesting if unoriginal, but nonetheless, it is a very good time. It lacks that Pixar charm so prevalent in their other films. It has moments of absolute animated beauty, also those moments that tug the heart strings.

Our Grade: C, In what it lacks there just isn’t enough to enjoy anything fully. It is an honorable effort indeed and I hope this isn’t indicative of what will happen going forward. What I mean by that is Pixar will now be making two films at a time and I hope that one great film and one not so good one isn’t the pattern. Arlo though adorable is too dang whiny. Take your kids to see this, see it yourself, just see it. It’s not terrible and you might enjoy it.