The Good Dinosaur Peter Sohn

Granted, I have much higher expectations for Pixar films than those of other film companies, but Pixar is often able to meet or exceed those expectations.

However, the industry is hopeful that this week would represent an upward tick for box office receipts as “Good Dinosaur” and “Creed” debuts on screens.

The movie answers the question of what would have happened had the asteroid that killed dinosaurs around 66 million years ago missed the Earth, causing dinosaurs and humans to live together simultaneously in an “alternate timeline” type story.

Although mixing dinosaurs with the Wild West is a fun idea, it’s disappointing that the world Sohn builds feels empty compared to those in other Pixar films. Empire stated how: “it’s a pity that the story happening in front of it is so familiar and safe”. In exchange Arlo teaches the orphaned cave boy that family is not always blood relatives, but those that care for you, protect you and risk their lives for you.

Disney took its incorporation of humanized animals to a new level by making the main character a talking dinosaur, with his companion being a human child (who Arlo ironically names Spot) who acts like a canine by being overly playful and protective, using his intensified sense of smell to his advantage and even howling at the moon. One scene of illness after eating rotten fruit. Where they do some cool stuff with the premise of The Park being Open, but you wish you could see more of it.

But he is also more adept in the woods than the fearful Arlo, and the film’s most tender moments are in the wordless bonding between the pair of orphans as they navigate their way through terrain that appears modeled on the Rockies, somewhere near the geysers of Yellowstone. While director Peter Sohn and a legion of collaborators are out to tug at your heartstrings, they do it in such a clever and earnest way that the manipulation is practically invisible. On the horizon was a captivating view of what seemed like an endless terrain of mountains that sometimes got lost in the clouds. If John Ford is looking down at The Good Dinosaur from movie heaven, I’m sure he’d be smiling at the gorgeous computer generated landscapes and the nail-biting chases. People saw that with “Up”, “Inside Out”, and “Wall-E” as well as the “Toy Story” franchise.

Arlo remained the archetypal underdog hero. Both are great characters, espicially Spot.

It’s the latest from the Pixar juggernaut, a heartfelt story of friendship and courage aimed primarily at children whose more discerning parents might not find it as amusing.

Character animation is also lovely.

Strong, unique characters might have differentiated the movie from its predecessors and added depth and comedy to balance out the flatness and seriousness of the flick. Yes, The Good Dinosaur has a drug montage. “Mockingjay 2” is expected to finish the five-day period between $70 million and $75 million, while “The Good Dinosaur” will wind up with as much as $60 million and “Creed” should come in with around $40 million. This connected back to the motif of facing one’s fears and showed that one of the hardest and most rewarding things someone can do is to give up the person they love, especially if it’s what’s best for them.