"The Good Dinosaur" asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? In this epic journey into the world of dinosaurs, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of. Written by Pixar.

Official Sites: Official site | Official site Spanish
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 25 November 2015 (USA)
Also Known As: Untitled Pixar/Dinosaurs Project
Filming Locations: New York City Studio, New York City, New York, USA  

While the year of 2014 was the first in nearly a decade that didn't feature any film from Pixar Animation Studios, 2015 marks the first time that this pioneering studio has released 2 films in the same year. The first was Inside Out which signalled a much-awaited return to form for Pixar after their quality slump in the past few movies. The second arrived just recently in the form of The Good Dinosaur that employs Pixar's signature thinking process that begins with the idea of "what if…" and is a technical marvel but purely from storytelling perspective, it's one of their least impressive works.

Set in an alternate timeline in which the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs missed Earth, The Good Dinosaur introduces a world that's still ruled by these giant reptiles and concerns Arlo; the youngest member of an agrarian family of Apatosaurus who's unable to adjust due to his timid nature. But when a strange set of events separates him from his family & throws him in an unfamiliar territory, Arlo finds an unlikely friend in a human child and takes an epic journey through the wild to return to his home and in the process also learns to confront his fears & discover his true capabilities.

Directed by Peter Sohn, who helmed the Pixar short, Partly Cloudy, The Good Dinosaur has bits n pieces of Pixar's patented fusion of breathtaking animation with emotionally resonant storytelling that appeals to viewers of all ages, it falls incredibly short of the high standards this studio itself forged over the course of its existence for the story, characters & humour present in the screenplay is more intended for the younger members in the audience, which isn't really Pixar's thing, and even though its second half makes up for a lot of drawbacks in the previous half, the overall experience still remains more or less underwhelming.

If The Good Dinosaur was the product of any other animation studio, nearly everyone would be raving about its 3D animation but since it isn't, this aspect is easily taken for granted for we expect nothing but extraordinary computer animation from the studio that's responsible for the very existence of it in the world of animation filmmaking. And the tradition continues in their latest entry for it is quite possibly their most photorealistic work to date. The picture is breathtaking to look at, each frame is extraordinarily detailed & every image seems highly lifelike. But the characters retain their cartoonish look which, at times, creates friction with its insanely realistic-looking background.

But all that jaw-dropping work in the animation process is rendered useless by its unoriginal story, in addition to its surprising inability to make us care for our protagonist. The narrative takes its inspiration from existing classics but is unable to recreate the emotional depth that was so evident in those gems. There's still some creativity & imagination to be found in this flick, as visible in human roles played by different species of dinosaurs. The humour is quite childish, voice acting is finely carried out, the background score by Danna brothers is fitting for the most part, and of all the characters, it's only the human child who is able to impress the most and manages to steal the show, quite effortlessly.

On an overall scale, The Good Dinosaur is technically accomplished in every manner but it falls short in the storytelling standards we've come to expect from Pixar Animation Studios. It certainly makes up for an enjoyable, entertaining & family-friendly entertainment but in the long run, I highly doubt if it will be as cherished as Pixar's finest efforts. An amusing mixture of ordinary direction, mediocre screenplay, uneven pacing, underdeveloped characters, apt voice performances, stupendous photography, astounding animation, appropriate score & slapstick humour, The Good Dinosaur may not live up to its high expectations but it isn't entirely devoid of the usual Pixar charm and is still capable of putting a smile across many faces, if not all.