Starring: Frances McDormand, Jack Bright, Jack McGraw, Jeffrey Wright, Maleah Nipay-Padilla, Marcus Scribner, Peter Sohn, Raymond Ochoa, Ryan Teeple

Director: Peter Sohn

Genre(s): Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 100 min

Grade:  A-

Although the folks from Disney-Pixar have always gone above and beyond in my opinion, I still forget that. When I attend a kids movie, I take along the kids in my house and I settle in for an hour and a half or so of entertainment for my kids. I don’t expect to get too much entertainment or meaning out of it as an adult. Yet, I always do.

The first few moments of Disney-Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur are sweet and familiar. For the rest of the story, the movie follows a template many Disney movies have followed: underdog starts life as a runt and watches everyone else succeed. Runt tries to make a difference but continues to fail. We begin to root for the Runt. Then, the Runt is forced to go out on his own and prove himself. In the end, he ends up doing greater things than anyone, teaching us a lesson about inner strength or believing in oneself.

The movie is predictable in many parts, too. Arlo, voiced by Raymond Ochoa, is a little Apatosaurus who has trouble making his way in life and measuring up to the rest of his family. His parents mean well, and they are more than supportive, but Arlo still frets over not being able to do anything of significance. It takes a tragic accident and being lost many miles from home to get Arlo to finally get the gumption to prove himself. You figure out from the beginning the path he will take and that he will eventually get back home.

There are plenty of interesting characters in the movie, including Arlo’s sidekick, Spot, a Neanderthal boy who walks on all fours and barks like a dog. The relationship between Arlo and Spot is interesting, and there are many things kids and adults alike will pick up on. Really deep thinkers will see some significance in the fact that Arlo, a dinosaur, is aided in his trek home by the dog-like Spot, a human. I’m sure the makers of the movie intended to make some subtle comments about ecology and the fact that a human is not at the top of the food chain in this story. However, there are so many things to glean from the movie that I doubt anyone will notice much or care.

The movie does not sugar-coat the topic of death, nor does it hide anything about “survival of the fittest” in nature. There are plenty of scary spots in which very young (I’m thinking younger than 7) may feel the need to crawl up on someone’s lap; but the makers of this movie seem to present all the blood and guts stuff in a way that young viewers will be able to handle it. I only looked at my 4-year-old daughter twice to see if she was alarmed. She wasn’t.

On the trek that eventually leads Arlo home, both he and Spot meet up with some villains and some helpmates. Sam Elliott lends his gravelly cowboy persona and voice to the patriarch of a clan of T-Rexes who are herding buffalo-type dinosaurs across a landscape that looks a bit like Wyoming.  Their gate across the prairie as they keep the herd in line looks a little like a galloping horse.

There always seems to be some type of funny little characters running around for comic relief when we see a Disney-Pixar film. This time, they are in the form of funny little prairie dog type creatures.  There are also some hippie-type “surf dude” pterodactyls and some hillbilly velociraptors.  The humor isn’t as abundant and consistent as it is in some Disney-Pixar films, but again, you end up not noticing or caring too much. There’s enough entertainment and fun stuff to make up for the hit-and-miss humor.

In addition to the surprise of Sam Elliott’s voice coming out of the craggy T-Rex cowboy, there is a funny little sequence which is a bit of a throwback to the 60’s, with Spot and Arlo getting into some red berries that cause them to hallucinate. I was also surprised at how eclectic the soundtrack was; there is a bit of country-western, some Native American music, and some wonderful epic-worthy orchestral pieces in there. The music always seemed to fit the scene and the mood. Quite good.

Perhaps the biggest stars of the picture are the visual effects themselves. They are stunning. I kept turning to my wife and asking her if the backgrounds were actual photographs.  The wide screen, the 3D effects and grand cinematic quality of the whole movie is, well, stunning. I can’t think of a better word.

There are some brilliant moments in the film, especially when Spot (who does not talk), communicates with Arlo. In one particular scene, both try to communicate the sorrow of losing their family with the use of sticks, drawings in the dirt, and facial expressions. Brilliant. In fact, I defy anyone not to be moved by the relationship between Arlo and Spot. Go ahead, shed a tear. You know you want to.

Pixar continues to produces great pictures. Just when I think I’ve seen them all, they throw out something new and compelling. Good for them.

No, I did not get just a couple of hours of a fun kids show; I got a poignant story on the importance of family, friends, and, as Arlo’s father says many times in the movie, “making one’s mark on the world.”

And that’s what Pixar keeps doing; making a mark. This movie will join the ranks of the “near classics” and will be around for years to come.