The Good Dinosaur Movie Review

Disclaimer: I was compensated for this post but all opinions are my own.

Spoiler Alert: My review contains some specific details about The Good Dinosaur.

The basic plot line of the Good Dinosaur is a young man trying to get home after being lost. How he faces the challenges and grows up while he makes his journey.  I know it sounds simple, and there is the fact that the ‘young man’ is a dinosaur, but really that’s it in a nutshell.  The fantastic part is the magic, fun, and beauty that Disney*Pixar puts in the 90 minutes of the film as Arlo takes his journey and finds his way home. Now to some of our (my teen EJ and I) favorite parts of The Good Dinosaur.

Arlo and his Dog “Spot”

This is such a cute reversal on the the boy and his dog – the dino and his boy.  Spot does everything but scratch his fleas.  I especially liked the Spot character because so often we give human traits to animals. Disney*Pixar did a great job of giving animal traits to Spot.  My favorite scene – when Spot goes to the bathroom.

Family is What You Make It

While the main story line is about Arlo getting home to his family, what about Spot?  You won’t need words to understand when Arlo and Spot bond.

OMG The Scenery

I don’t use the term OMG very often, but that is the only way to describe the scenery in The Good Dinosaur.  Disney*Pixar worked hard on getting the details and the awesome beauty of our nation. EJ and I spent time during the movie and afterwards ‘discussing’ which areas are featured in The Good Dinosaur. After checking some of the technical notes I can report, Yellowstone, the American River, the Snake River, areas in Oregon, and Wyoming to name a few.  I also believe Monument Valley, but I could not confirm this. I’ve included links to images of these areas so you can see how beautiful they are in reality.  And also so that you can appreciate how hard the animators and artists worked to get this ‘right’ in the movie.

The detail in the scenery including the clouds, water scenes (over 200!), mountains and the gorgeous vistas, really work in the film. You can feel how large the world is to Arlo.  And that’s saying something considering that Arlo is a dinosaur.  How much bigger can you get?

What to Know Before You Go See The Good Dinosaur

In order to make a movie work, you must have a problem or conflict.  One of the conflicts in The Good Dinosaur is the death of Poppa and Arlo’s part in the circumstances (think Lion King).  Since the majority of the audience when I saw The Good Dinosaur was made up of young children, I wanted to share this fact with parents so that they can be prepared to discuss the death of a parent.

EJ, My Teen’s Point of View on The Good Dinosaur

I can’t speak for teen boys, but my teen girl loved The Good Dinosaur. When asked, she shared that she wants a Spot, and that the T-Rexes rocked.

I hope your family enjoys the movie as much as we did.

Here are some additional links for The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur Cast via IMDB.  So that you can match actors with the characters in The Good Dinosaur.  Check out Sam Elliot’s mustache. It is a great match for the teeth and smile of Butch the T-Rex dad.

The Good Dinosaur Single Moment Sweepstakes: Enter for your chance to win a Grand Prize vacation to Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida.  Contest ends 12/31/2015.

Fandango: Get a free music sampler when you purchase your tickets in advance. Link your free Fandango VIP and Disney Movie Rewards accounts.  Purchase your tickets to The Good Dinosaur on Fandango and receive a link for a free sampler of Disney*Pixar music.

The Good Dinosaur Soundtrack on Amazon.com
The Good Dinosaur toys and item on the Disney Store.
The Good Dinosaur Movie on Amazon. Take advantage of Amazon’s low price match.