'The Good Dinosaur' impossible situations and anxiety lead to mediocre Pixar fare with end redemption
The Good Dinosaur fails to gain traction in its first act for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the main character just isn’t likable enough. Arlo is the frightened runt of the litter who is picked on by his stereotypically, footballish older brother and his overachieving older sister. The fact that Arlo is frightened of everything makes for one good gag, but the family is drawn in such archetypal brushstrokes that they become caricatures rather than the characters that Pixar is known for.
Not only is the family derivative, but the storyline is all too familiar and hits beat after beat of stories movie audiences have already seen in a way that they have already been seen. There is no arguing that every story of a genre is basically the same, but the way the story is told is what makes the difference. Here Pixar gives audiences The Lion King with dinosaurs as a wave of wildness washes away dad who was trying to teach his son a lesson. It gives the cinema a hand and a dinosaur silhouette reminiscent of Brother Bear. It gives people a story wherein the ending is all too clear long before the movie is over.
The only thing that saves the first half of the movie is the ancillary characters are funny and engaging. The scene with the prairie dogs is laugh out loud funny. The Pet Collector is strange and adds just enough weirdness without going overboard. However, Arlo keeps finding himself in one impossible situation after another.
Yet, with all of these flaws, the movie finds its footing in the second half somehow. The visuals were striking and beautiful. What Pixar did with the stormchasers was amazing. Even with the Jungle Book ending where everyone ends up with his or her own kind, Pixar still adds enough magic and detail to make an emotional movie.
Sanjay’s Super Team
Based on a mostly true story, the director of this Pix produced short offers up a little piece of himself and his personal history. In that sense, it is interesting. However, there is no surprise and no suspense in this short. Everything happens in the way that it is expected to. It is possible that those who has fathers when they were young would be touched more by this story, or it just may be an okay piece of animation without the traditional emotions that Pixar has become known for.
Qrempucu
Viewers of The Good Dinosaur were treated to a special treat when cinemas in Malta showed an original short film before showing the standard Pixar fare. Taking its cue from an old Eurythmics song and its misheard lyrics, “Qrempucu” is a Maltese short film that features a strangely proportioned anthropomorphic mouse who seeks the big cheese. Playing off a popular moon myth, the storyline is relatively predictable, but that does nothing to eliminate the charm of the short. Sweet dreams, indeed.
Not only is the family derivative, but the storyline is all too familiar and hits beat after beat of stories movie audiences have already seen in a way that they have already been seen. There is no arguing that every story of a genre is basically the same, but the way the story is told is what makes the difference. Here Pixar gives audiences The Lion King with dinosaurs as a wave of wildness washes away dad who was trying to teach his son a lesson. It gives the cinema a hand and a dinosaur silhouette reminiscent of Brother Bear. It gives people a story wherein the ending is all too clear long before the movie is over.
The only thing that saves the first half of the movie is the ancillary characters are funny and engaging. The scene with the prairie dogs is laugh out loud funny. The Pet Collector is strange and adds just enough weirdness without going overboard. However, Arlo keeps finding himself in one impossible situation after another.
Yet, with all of these flaws, the movie finds its footing in the second half somehow. The visuals were striking and beautiful. What Pixar did with the stormchasers was amazing. Even with the Jungle Book ending where everyone ends up with his or her own kind, Pixar still adds enough magic and detail to make an emotional movie.
Sanjay’s Super Team
Based on a mostly true story, the director of this Pix produced short offers up a little piece of himself and his personal history. In that sense, it is interesting. However, there is no surprise and no suspense in this short. Everything happens in the way that it is expected to. It is possible that those who has fathers when they were young would be touched more by this story, or it just may be an okay piece of animation without the traditional emotions that Pixar has become known for.
Qrempucu
Viewers of The Good Dinosaur were treated to a special treat when cinemas in Malta showed an original short film before showing the standard Pixar fare. Taking its cue from an old Eurythmics song and its misheard lyrics, “Qrempucu” is a Maltese short film that features a strangely proportioned anthropomorphic mouse who seeks the big cheese. Playing off a popular moon myth, the storyline is relatively predictable, but that does nothing to eliminate the charm of the short. Sweet dreams, indeed.
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