"The Good Dinosaur," the latest movie from the folks at Pixar, takes place millions of years ago, where dinosaurs do not become extinct and wind up co-existing with prehistoric man. Neil Rosen filed the following review.
In the past, the heralded animation studio Pixar never released two films in one year. But on the heels of "Inside Out," that changes with their new movie "The Good Dinosaur."
In an imagined, alternate history of our planet, a large meteor doesn't hit the Earth millions of years ago. So, dinosaurs do not become extinct, and they evolve into kind-hearted creatures who develop language, family values and farming techniques.
This is the story of a young, timid dinosaur named Arlo who's afraid of his own shadow. When a huge storm leaves him far from home, separating him from his family, he befriends Spot, a prehistoric boy who acts more like a puppy than a human. Together, these two try and beat hazardous elements as well as scary creatures as they try and find a way back home.
From a visual perspective, the movie is strikingly beautiful. Using a technique called photorealism, the backgrounds - which include rivers, mountains and fields - wowed me.
It's the conventional story that's a bit lacking here. With the exception of the "Cars" movies, Pixar films like "Up," "Monsters Inc." and "Ratatouille" usually work brilliantly on two different levels, one for kids and one for adults. But "The Good Dinosaur" is strictly for kids. They'll love it, but adults, after they stop marveling at how gorgeous it looks, will get restless.
I will say that it does manage to hit you emotionally by the end. But make no mistake, it doesn't effectively pull on your heartstrings as well as "Toy Story 3" did.
"The Good Dinosaur" was a troubled production that went through many re-writes as well as a late-in-the-game directorial change. It winds up borrowing elements from "The Lion King," "The Jungle Book" and "How To Train Your Dragon," yet it doesn't really come up to the level of any of those movies.
Overall, it's alright. I do recommend it for children, but there's no real humor in it, and I've just come to expect more from the folks at Pixar.
Neil Rosen's Big Apple Rating: Two-and-a-half apples, but kids will rate it higher