The Good Dinosaur (2015)
there will be some spoilers
Pixar used to pitch one perfect idea after another, but after a decade of animated dominance they showed their first sign of slowing down. Thankfully, it was only a small pitstop on their road to more success and they kept on releasing amazing movies after that. Because, movie like 'Cars' was merely a scratch in the paint of a beautiful piece of art, at least until the follow up came along, which caused complete engine failure and Pixar has never recovered since... that is, until 'Inside Out' turned everything upside down and resurrected the studio for good. But Pixar had to find a way to pass their peak somehow, which of course is a doomed project from the very beginning; in this case, the beginning of man. 'The Good Dinosaur' may not match its predecessor, but maybe it will leave its mark on an already fantastic filmography even so?
When I got my first glimpse at the next Pixar project, through pictures and handpicked film clips, the expection held and ultimate reaction received was about the same as those dinosaurs giving a damn about that humongous meteor, which just flew straight past them. I doubt I have to make it much clearer than this, when I say that my expections for the actual movie were rather low; but hopefully the movie will rise above that and not below, since that would leave Pixar extinct for good. Thankfully, 'The Good Dinosaur' is much better than expected, but unfortunately not far and beyond its titular description - "Good". This film has a story that feels kind of fragmented and loosely fumbled forward, which is no surprise given the fact that this movie had 7 different writers credited. Well, Pixar films do tend to have a lot of writers attached, which, like a parting river, causes things to flow in a few different directions; but maybe it isn't exactly the different directions but moreso the actual water in those rivers, which is too poor to take in? But shouldn't it all come from the same source, that is Pixar Animation Studios? Yes, perhaps, but rivers do run dry once in a while or turn into a waterfalls only to take one hell of a drop. To some degree, 'The Good Dinosaur' is that movie, though hankfully, the magical Pixar fountain can still be felt throughout - only not all the time or even often enough.*
Where the film finds its footing though, is within the visual storytelling. Some of the more superior scenes are mostly free from dialogue and combined with the beautiful background animation, this dino-movie dares to rise above stone age material and deliver something far from dull and dreary. In particular there is one scene, involving branches and mud, which sticks out from the bunch as an emotional and engaging element to the story. Where the film fails though, is when it suddenly don't know what to do or what kind of film to be, which result in a nausiating nose dive directly into a supposedly kiddie-friendly acid trip of some sort. Of course, there is also the wise dinosaur and his wild friends, the flying hamsters and the bug being beheaded by the small cave man; a scene, which might be the nastiest and most inappropiate ever in a Pixar flick. Yes, despite the uneven blend of photorealistic backgrounds and cartoonish character animation, this movie is pretty damn dark even when hinting at harmlessness.
Everything leads to a pretty satisfying intense final act, which is ultimately a little too predictable as is the whole story when all comes down to it. The themes and morals feels so outdated by now and the movie isn't exactly trying to hide this fact. The photorealistic enviroment is ever so beautiful though, full of detail and shots of sunlight, which might lead one to wonder how it would look if Emmanuel Lubezki ever shot an animated film... kind of like this I would imagine. Anyways, the film is actually well directed and is overall a solid animated film. I guess it has enough visible flaws for me to dig through for hours, but sometimes the surface of things is enough to enjoy - especially when it is surfaced entertainment from Pixar. I give this one a pass, but I hope for something much better in the future...
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