I'll get the cons out of the way so I can spend the rest of the time talking about what The Good Dinosaur does right. Really there is just one glaring con that I couldn't shake: The Western Theme. The film follows a cowboy-great plains motif which is fine, save it comes with all the stereotypes of that theme. The country accents. The slack-jawed yokel (which, ironically, is played by a velociraptor and they are supposed to be one of the smartest dinosaurs to walk the earth). Farming and rustling livestock. I don't hate westerns. In fact, some of my favorite movies are in fact westerns. I respect that Pixar was trying to do something different with an overused genre like dinosaurs but...westerns and dinosaurs just don't mix. It caused me to lapse in and out of the movie at times and that's never a good thing. If you can get past it, though, what you have left is a pretty good movie.
The movie centers around Arlo and Spot, a young brontosaurus and kid respectively. Their growing relationship over the course of the movie is really what makes the movie shine. As they grow closer and learn things from each other, you are watching a friendship form that is both funny and touching at the same time. Disney has always had a way of taking two different types of cultures and personalities and throwing them together to create a positive explosion. There were a couple of touching moments that I'm glad no one was watching my reaction to.
I would go on to state that this is also one of Pixar's best jobs imagery-wise. Some of the landscape shots make it hard to believe that the film is completely animated even if it is digital. Pixar took their time on this one and they got it right for the most part. All in all, I give The Good Dinosaur a 72.
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