The funny thing about being picky is that the simplest things can distract from the more important ones. For some reason, any little misstep can force me into relentlessly seeking out weak points in a film or show. And when it's something I've tangled with before, it begins to get a little grating. Thus, we have yet another entry into the "Dinosaurs Who Shouldn't Be Able To Talk But Do" category of distractions.
When I reviewed Walking with Dinosaurs a while back, I praised the CGI dinosaurs and landscapes, and it's easy to see why: as much as I dislike talking dinosaurs and modern humor in an environment that has no need for them, the aforementioned flop at least had wonderfully realistic imagery. The difference is, however, that the dinosaurs used here stick out like a sore thumb against the photo-realistic backdrops. Combine that with a plot reminiscent of Ice Age and you have The Good Dinosaur.
The Good Dinosaur is a film about how a cowardly dinosaur and a feral human child bond, while practically everything in the prehistoric world attempts to kill them. Aside from the normal wild dinosaurs (which for some reason are all either crazy or have southern accents), the roster of enemies includes poorly-placed rocks, branches, lightning and the occasional flat surface to trip over.
I'm not kidding: more than half of the problems in the film stem from our main dinosaur Arlo's apparent lack of depth perception and self-preservation combined with his enormous cowardice. Every moment, Arlo is tripping into something, falling off a ledge, or getting scraped up after taking a panic-induced fall. This guy could give Fluttershy a run for most timid character.
Is it me, or do all of these modern dinosaur films have this same issue? Timid main characters, repetitive story, and sometimes weak humor interfering with the otherwise nice animation. The difference between The Good Dinosaur and the previous entrant in this category (Walking With Dinosaurs) is that the former has a better story arc and humor, while the latter offers better dinosaur animation.
My huge issue with this film, however, comes not from the animations, but from what it's used to show sometimes. For a kid's film, there is a LOT of shots of Arlo getting injured. Scrapes, bruises and cuts are clearly visible all the time. I nearly left the theater when Spot the feral child rips off a large insect's head on screen, revealing the flesh underneath. Who wants to pay to see things be decapitated?
OVERALL RATING: 5/10
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A few further notes:
-Sometime later in the film, our hero and his pet come across a T-Rex family, who share stories of how they received scars. The elder Rex explains that he got into a fight with a crocodile, where he drowned the reptile in his own blood. Can we just skip the 'Homeward Bound' story and see that incident instead? It sounds much more interesting.
-Are ALL cattle rustlers in films hillbillies? Don't hillbillies have anything better to do in film?
-Are the Pteranodons in the film, who flock together, give themselves strange names, and follow the belief that 'The Storm Provides' cultists, or a commune? I'm getting serious Our Town flashbacks here, and it doesn't help that the song is still stuck in my head.
-The 'First Snow of the Winter', that apparently is so dangerous, really has no effect on much. I wouldn't go as far as to call it the deadly 'First Snow' as much as the 'Mildly Annoying Half-Inch of Powder'. Here in Colorado, to call that dangerous would be laughable.
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