The Good Dinosaur

With how obsessed I am with Pixar, it's surprising that it took this long for me to watch The Good Dinosaur. I had read reviews saying it was no where near typical Pixar quality, but I didn't care, it was still Pixar. The movie wasn't bad, but considering Pixar's track record, it was a bit of a disappointment.

 For starters, it had an unoriginal and boring plot- with the story of two friends becoming lost then trying to find their way home and the adventures they run into on the way home. We've seen it a million times, and especially when their last movie was Inside Out, the simplistic plot just wasn't cutting it.

There's no denying that the backgrounds, setting, and environments of this movie are beautiful and almost lifelike, with possibly the best background animation I have ever seen. I mean, some of the shots are so photo realistic they look like you filmed somewhere like Colorado then just stuck the characters on it. Speaking of Rarely does one find a movie or show where there is more than one character with a physical of which, the characters seem out of place with how cartoony and unrealistic they are. They look like stickers on a photograph.

The music is decent, but nowhere along the lines of Michael Giacchino.

The characters are also decent, with Arlo and Spot both being fairly likable, albeit not complex. What is great though, is their relationship. It's a bit strange at first, with a pet and owner type relation, but not how you would normally see it. Arlo is a dinosaur and Spot is a boy, and it is Spot who acts like an animal and Arlo who is the intelligent, self-aware creature. It is really bizarre, especially seeing dinosaurs practice ranching and agriculture, but at least it's unique. 

Where this movie really shines is in said relationship between boy and dinosaur. In particular, one scene, where the two use symbolism in sticks and circles to demonstrate their lost loved ones- Arlo, his father, and Spot, his parents. It is a sad and heartfelt scene, one that shows that even though it isn't as great as Up or Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur still has the heart and soul of a Pixar movie.