DIRECTOR: Peter Sohn; CAST:
Raymond Ochoa, Jeffrey Wright, Frances Dormand, Jack Bright, Sam Elliot, Anna
Paquin, A.J. Buckley; STORY: Peter Sohn, Erick Benson, Meg LeFauve, etc;
SCREENPLAY: Meg LeFauve; EDITOR: Stephen Schaffer; MUSIC: Mychael Danna, Jeff
Danna, PRODUCER: Denise Ream; DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Studios; GENRE:
Animation; LOCATION: Pre-historic Times Running time: 100 minutes
Technical assessment: 3.5
Moral assessment: 4
CINEMA rating: VA (Viewers of All Ages)
MTRCB rating: GP (General Patronage)
Millions of years in an alternate
timeline when the asteroid which should have caused mass extinction of
creatures on our planet missed Earth, civilization is ruled by these behemoths. Young Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) is the youngest and weakest child in a
family of Apatosaurus (a.k.a. Brontosaurus) farmers. His siblings have no problem
adjusting to their responsibilities, thus, easily earning them their marks on
the family silo. But Arlo just can’t get over his fears and constantly fails to
do his chores successfully. In order to help Arlo, his dad Poppa Henry (Jeffrey
Wright) assigns him to kill the pest eating up their corn stored for the winter.
Arlo manages to ensnare the pest
and is surprised to find that he is a wild caveboy—Spot (Bright) but could not bring
himself to harm him. He lets him escape much to the displeasure of his dad.
They run after the child but is caught in the middle of a thunderstorm which
eventually leads to Henry’s death. Arlo blames Spot for his dad’s death and
chases him until the two are washed by the raging waters of the river. What
follows are predictable but charming adventures of Arlo trying to fend for
himself alone and Spot gaining his trust and friendship. At one point, Spot’s
life is placed in danger and Arlo realizes that he needs to forget his fears to
save someone he deeply cares about.The good dinosaur is visually fantastic as expected from the production companies of Pixar and Disney. Not only is the animation breathtaking, images are also genuine and natural. Pixar has upped their game again and delivered a fantasy film that feels closer to reality. The story is interesting and tender as we journey with Arlo in discovering his inner strength and deepening his friendship with Spot. For a change, the human Spot is the one amusing as he acts like a little puppy craving for attention. However, its pacing is a tad too slow for any age. Arlo’s voice actor does not help in making his character or the scenes livelier. The treatment lacks humor and is wanting of lighter moments to balance Arlo’s personality. Spot is amusing and occasionally keeps the audience from drifting away. Some scenes drag and honestly, the movie could have been told half the time shorter.
The message is effectively timely. Not only does it talk about friendship between different cultures or races or about self-discovery but more importantly the movie also shows how love leads us to forget ourselves and to commit to the common good. Arlo overcame his fear and insecurity not out of pride or desire to earn his mark, not out of the need to survive and protect himself, but out of love for a friend. And this same love led him to overcome his need to hold on to Spot and allow him to find a family with other human beings. These times, when hatred, self-centeredness, and individualism cause war, violence and division, it is good to be reminded that the journey to discover one’s self is not about accomplishment or glory but about discovering the value of sacrifice, family and service.
