At the end of The Good Dinosaur, I was left with conflicting emotions: the movie is visually beautiful, artistically solid, internally consistent, and emotionally stirring... but why wasn't I satisfied?
After pondering it for a while, I think the problem is in the core of the movie. Not that it doesn't have one, but it has several, and never really settles on what that is. Is this a coming-of-age tale of Arlo's steps into adulthood? Is it about the bonding between a dinosaur and his boy? Or how former antagonists can become friends once they know more about each other? Is it about learning how to overcome your fears? Is it the hero's journey with a jurassic cast? Is it a beautifully-rendered nature documentary? In truth, The Good Dinosaur is all of these things at once, and ends up leaving each one in various incomplete stages of storytelling.
The film is further hampered by the muddled character development; while you do feel for Arlo and Spot, it's uncertain at the end just how they have grown from their adventures, making the whole thing feel simply like a loose sequence of set pieces, only some of which are strong enough to engage the viewer into becoming invested in their growth.
In the end, The Good Dinosaur is exactly that — good. But one wishes it was great...
A beautiful movie hampered by a scattershot theme
At the end of The Good Dinosaur, I was left with conflicting emotions: the movie is visually beautiful, artistically solid, internally consistent, and emotionally stirring... but why wasn't I satisfied?
After pondering it for a while, I think the problem is in the core of the movie. Not that it doesn't have one, but it has several, and never really settles on what that is. Is this a coming-of-age tale of Arlo's steps into adulthood? Is it about the bonding between a dinosaur and his boy? Or how former antagonists can become friends once they know more about each other? Is it about learning how to overcome your fears? Is it the hero's journey with a jurassic cast? Is it a beautifully-rendered nature documentary? In truth, The Good Dinosaur is all of these things at once, and ends up leaving each one in various incomplete stages of storytelling.
The film is further hampered by the muddled character development; while you do feel for Arlo and Spot, it's uncertain at the end just how they have grown from their adventures, making the whole thing feel simply like a loose sequence of set pieces, only some of which are strong enough to engage the viewer into becoming invested in their growth.
In the end, The Good Dinosaur is exactly that — good. But one wishes it was great...