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THE GOOD DINOSAUR. Directed by Peter Sohn, with the voices of Raymond Ochoa, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand and Sam Elliott.
REVIEW: Michael Rechtshaffen
Disney/Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur is a visually breathtaking work of computer-generated animation that is ultimately unable to compensate for a disappointingly derivative script.
Despite the workable premise, which imagines a world in which dinosaurs have been spared extinction and ultimately can co-exist with humans, the film proceeds to tread an awfully familiar path.
Following in the footsteps of the truly inspired Inside Out, this year’s second Pixar effort can’t help but feel safely benign by comparison, and although it contains some darker, more intense moments, it will likely skew to younger, dino-obsessed viewers.
The runt of the family litter, Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa) is a timid Apatosaurus who’s encouraged by his father, Poppa Henry (Jeffrey Wright), to make his mark in life.
He’s unintentionally put to the test when his dad is tragically killed (cue The Lion King) while helping him pursue the critter who had been getting into their corn supply. Subsequently separated from the rest of his family, Arlo eventually catches up with the pest, a grunting, growling wild boy he comes to name Spot (Jack Bright).
Their tender, largely unspoken bond serves as the film’s emotional heart and soul as they venture out into those gorgeously rendered wide open spaces. – Reuters/ Hollywood Reporter