BY CLAIRE ORERTLY
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Pixar’s movie The Good Dinosaur is cute and interesting with top-notch graphics and good use of characters. A young dinosaur named Arlo and his family – which consists of him, his parents, and his two siblings – were miraculously able to survive the extinction of dinosaurs many years ago and are living in the modern world. When a horrific rainstorm hits, poor little Arlo is separated from his family, but luckily meets a young boy named Spot who vows to help him through his journey back home.
The plot was similar to other childrens’ movies in the sense that it has the theme of friendship and family intertwined, but what was new to me was the way it was presented.
Pixar, in general, has produced a lot of movies following the getting lost and needing help returning home plot, but The Good Dinosaur just had a more sincere and sweet feel to it. Comparing it to other children’s movies, it mostly reminds me of the Toy Story series, simply because of how it pulls at the viewer’s heartstrings because of the relationships between characters.
Overall, the movie was really cute, and that’s the only word that could sum it up as a whole. I’m quite a sucker for adorable little kid movies and while typically the newer movies are not as good to me, this one had a lot of similar attributes like the movies I used to watch as a kid.
Like in any movie, there has to be some kind of antagonist for the protagonist to defeat. In The Good Dinosaur, it seems like so many things go wrong in so many ways and it was a bit too depressing, especially for children. While I was okay with it, had I been a younger age (like the age range the audience is meant to be), I probably would have been really upset. While parts of it are upsetting to watch, the morals and theme of the movie are appropriate for their audience. The movie teaches kids that overcoming your fears is crucial to survival, and the earlier you learn that the better off you will be.
Another life lesson that taught is that making connections with people is important. Sure, being independent and strong are good attributes to have, but if you do not have family and friends, no one will be there to help you when you need it the most.
