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We review Pixar's latest, The Good Dinosaur. Read on to find out whether or not you should check it out for yourself--or wait for the next one

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‘The Good Dinosaur’ Fails To Tug At The Heartstrings

We review Pixar’s latest, The Good Dinosaur. Read on to find out whether or not you should check it out for yourself–or wait for the next one

There must be a fascinating backstory to explain how what is quite possibly the most labored-over production in Pixar’s history turns out to be one of their most pedestrian and average–I look forward to hearing it someday.

It’s no secret that this title was pulled from release last year for fine-tuning by John Lassiter himself, and the effort is still problematic after the first promising two minutes.

While still classier and lovelier than most animated fare, The Good Dinosaur is basically Bambi meets The Lion King with prehistoric creatures. It looks like someone was attempting a much more ambitious project and finally went, “Ah screw it, just make it The Jungle Book with dinosaurs and put this one to bed already.” There is hardly anything in this film that doesn’t feel like it’s borrowed from a better one from an earlier time.

It doesn’t help that the superior “Inside-Out” is still fresh and impressive to many of us; this movie is as safe as the previous release was unique. It has no moment that comes close to the emotion of when we learned what happens to imaginary friends when we grow up.

Besides the fact that I think small kids might be frustrated by the pace and sad tone, the biggest problem here might be that our hero (Arlo the fearful dinosaur) is kinda whiny and boring, plus the character design is not particularly imaginative or appealing. Quite rubbery, like a toy.

In fact, much of the character design looks like it would be much more at home in a Dreamworks joint like, say, The Croods. And (again like The Jungle Book) the movie feels very, very episodic. Let’s put it this way, I didn’t cry. It’s a Pixar movie about a little lost dinosaur and I didn’t weep like a little girl–that should tell you something.

At one point, I thought to myself that this was the only Pixar film that felt like someone had cut out all of the musical numbers and I wished they hadn’t.

And lastly, even though I’m loathe to offer spoilers, let me just say that with The Good Dinosaur the device of killing a parent to push the narrative forward in a Disney/Pixar movie has officially gone from cliché to ridiculous.

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You’re better than this, Pixar.

I reiterate, this isn’t a bad movie. Just a disappointingly average one.

(Loudinni specializes in reviews within 500 words, sans spoilers.)

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