The Good Dinosaur

My mother's one request for the weekend of Thanksgiving was that the four of us (me, my husband, Mom, and Dad) all go together to see Pixar's newest film, "The Good Dinosaur." My mom is a self-proclaimed Disney fanatic and I... was raised by her so yeah, some of it rubbed off. I have always been endlessly impressed by Pixar's contribution to cinema and of course I was overjoyed that we got two Pixar movies this year for the first time ever!

"The Good Dinosaur," is about a world in which the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs actually missed allowing the prehistoric creatures to live for millions of years after they normally would have. With this longer planetary lifespan, the dinosaurs developed and advanced much the way humans do. The herbivores learn how to cultivate farms, the carnivores become ranchers, and the carrion birds become bizarre cult following crazies. It's a cute concept that was executed well however, the story beyond that is not especially original or groundbreaking. The runt in a family of Brontosauruses is struggling to prove his abilities and his worth to earn a place of honor within his family. Through the trials of this struggle, his father is killed and he is flung far away from his family's homestead. He befriends a pet-like humanoid creature and together they attempt to make their way home again.

The most extraordinary thing about this movie is the animated scenery. It is beyond gorgeous. It is precisely animated to the point of photo-realism. The mountain ranges, rivers, and trees are all just stunningly beautiful, it is unfortunately that it is the backdrop for such a mediocre movie.

My suggestion is to wait until it comes out on bluray and then watch it so you can see how incredibly far Pixar has come since that first Toy Story movie which had both feet firmly planted in uncanny valley.