B+Directed by Peter Sohn Starring Raymond Ochoa, Jeffrey Wright, and Jack Bright Review by Jon Kissel |  |
Animation champ Pixar has seen its reign threatened by competing animation studios, but in 2015, they shored up their position as producers of sophisticated fare for the whole family. Their summer release, Inside Out, was a critical and commercial hit, while their fall release, The Good Dinosaur, received modest reviews and was the lowest performing film in their history. Despite the let-down, The Good Dinosaur does a simple thing well. It's nowhere near the most novel plot Pixar's ever been responsible for, but its familiar story utterly entranced this viewer. There's room in cinema for bald rehashes, especially when they are done as well as they are in Peter Sohn's film.
Operating on the premise that the asteroid responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs missed the earth, The Good Dinosaur catches up to the terrible lizards eons later, still the masters of the planet but with the added benefits of language and agriculture. The central farming family of apatosaurs, led by father Henry (Jeffrey Wright) and mother Ida (Frances McDormand), grow corn and three children, a jocular son, a nimble daughter, and the runt, Arlo (Raymond Ochoa). Knobby-kneed and timid, Arlo is out-paced by his siblings in work output, but remains equal to them in their parents' affections. Henry understands that his son will likely never measure up to his physical prowess, so he gives Arlo less intensive tasks, like figuring out what's been stealing their corn. Arlo discovers a tiny feral human is the culprit, and in giving chase, he falls into a river and is swept away from the family farm. Arlo struggles to survive in the wilderness, but the human, who Arlo names Spot (Jack Bright), helps him find his way home.
This film isn't aiming higher than Homeward Bound, but the visceral thrills of The Good Dinosaur more than paper over the shallow plot. It's unclear why this film needed five writers, because the film is neither complex nor verbose. What it is, is captivating and melancholy and occasionally joyous. The unbelievable visuals help here, as Pixar is getting closer and closer to verisimilitude in the natural vistas on display. Even a small touch like the squish of Arlo's feet as he takes a step is impressive. Once the journey gets going, what's been done to establish the characters meshes with the world-building in a series of travel vignettes. A hunt for berries becomes reptilian 127 Hours. A strange drug trip caused by hallucinogenic nuts gives way to a ranching sequence with T. Rex's as cowboys, the lead here voiced, of course, by Sam Elliott. A short sequence of running up a mountain is a beautiful merging of awe and animation, played out on a non-verbal proto-human's face. Even as Elliott's T. Rex is spouting the most overused bromide about fear and courage, I'm too anxious for the next sequence to roll my eyes.
The Good Dinosaur is so elemental that it doesn't even have to be about dinosaurs. Any inter-species companionship on a dangerous trek would've worked with minimal alterations. This is one instance, however, where the film convinces me to turn my brain off and submit to the visuals. The Good Dinosaur worked on me, even as I'm being reminded of how derivative the story is, and that's coming from a studio that at its peak, is anything but, and therefore is at a higher standard. The animation and the simple emotion overwhelmed my critical faculties, making this film a success in spite of itself. B+
This film isn't aiming higher than Homeward Bound, but the visceral thrills of The Good Dinosaur more than paper over the shallow plot. It's unclear why this film needed five writers, because the film is neither complex nor verbose. What it is, is captivating and melancholy and occasionally joyous. The unbelievable visuals help here, as Pixar is getting closer and closer to verisimilitude in the natural vistas on display. Even a small touch like the squish of Arlo's feet as he takes a step is impressive. Once the journey gets going, what's been done to establish the characters meshes with the world-building in a series of travel vignettes. A hunt for berries becomes reptilian 127 Hours. A strange drug trip caused by hallucinogenic nuts gives way to a ranching sequence with T. Rex's as cowboys, the lead here voiced, of course, by Sam Elliott. A short sequence of running up a mountain is a beautiful merging of awe and animation, played out on a non-verbal proto-human's face. Even as Elliott's T. Rex is spouting the most overused bromide about fear and courage, I'm too anxious for the next sequence to roll my eyes.
The Good Dinosaur is so elemental that it doesn't even have to be about dinosaurs. Any inter-species companionship on a dangerous trek would've worked with minimal alterations. This is one instance, however, where the film convinces me to turn my brain off and submit to the visuals. The Good Dinosaur worked on me, even as I'm being reminded of how derivative the story is, and that's coming from a studio that at its peak, is anything but, and therefore is at a higher standard. The animation and the simple emotion overwhelmed my critical faculties, making this film a success in spite of itself. B+
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