Review: Film: The Good Dinosaur, by Julie Renee Phelan

Thumps from 1 to 5: Thumps of 4.

The film, The Good Dinosaur, a tearjerker, is a partial animation coupled with real images by Pixar. The film appeared to be rushed to release for this holiday season. The animation with real images is nothing to write about. The story takes place about 65 million years ago—the dinosaurs are personified; they speak and behave similar to humans, while the human like character behaves like a dog. It is an interesting exercise in humility, and understanding that there are different points of view. The viewpoint was similar to the Planet of the Apes, but I was a bit confused as to the purpose of the transposition. From what I was able to gather, it is a story about overcoming fears and coping with natural loses, while still making your mark.

I thought the message was positive, but for the younger audience, the message was lost in the movies length. The movie is one hour, and forty minutes. The children as children often do during a lengthy sitting became restless. I believe Pixar should have tested the film on an audience composed of children rather than releasing a film that takes an adult mind that can pay attention long enough to follow. There were a great many scenes that could have easily been deleted, which would have kept the continuity, and left the children in the audience with some understanding of the story.