(We've reached a point in the summer where it is possible that you have not seen some of these films, so potential spoilers are present from here on)
Don't misinterpret my overall thoughts on The Good Dinosaur, though. I still like this film, but I simply don't love it like I wanted to. I think the main reason I feel that way is due, oddly enough for a Pixar film, to the lack of memorable characters. Even as recently as yesterday, I praised Pixar's unrivaled ability to create some of Hollywood's most iconic characters, but that ability does not translate into success in this film. Instead of bringing to life another legend as a leading character, Arlo is merely a nice character that could have been so much better. His characterization comes across as if Pixar was primarily satisfied with eliciting the "how sweet" reaction in the viewer, therefore never taking the appropriate steps to develop Arlo into a worthwhile character. There is nothing particularly bad about his characterization; it just feels incomplete. Once again, the standard that Pixar has set in terms of characters, especially their leads, are just too high to present a character like Arlo who often lacks any resemblance of layers and dimensions. Furthermore, his sidekick, Spot, falls into the same trap. Spot had all the potential to be an intriguing and interesting co-lead character, but beyond a couple of nice moments here and there, the end result is rather unremarkable. Obviously, this film is intended to nurture and grow this relationship between the two, and yet, the relationship never feels authentic and real, even feeling quite forced throughout the film.
Additionally, the film's supporting characters are not given even remotely close to enough screentime to make an impression, and the frustrating thing is that some of these characters have the potential to be great ones. For example, the family of dinosaurs featuring Butch, Ramsey, and Nash star in some of the film's better moments when this family is onscreen alongside Arlo and Spot. They teach Arlo the value of pushing through his fears, and lo and behold, they also offer some comedy into this all too serious film. Their interactions act as some of the film's scarce highlights, but just as we are beginning to invest in these characters, they are off screen and never seen again. The same problem unfortunately strikes all of the secondary characters. Pixar has made a living by taking these sidekicks and elevating them to icon status, but once more, Pixar squanders the opportunity to do that in The Good Dinosaur. Again, it is not as if these characters are necessarily bad, but they certainly are not that good. They are essentially the very definition of mediocre when they could have and should have been excellent. Also, the cast for this film, in large part, does nothing to assist in the characterization process, too often offering subdued and uninspired performances. With the exception of Arlo and the aforementioned family, who are actually quite solid in this respect, every additional character is not assisted by the lackluster voice acting.
Now, on the more positive side of things, it is impossible deny this film's beauty. Pixar has always impressed with their animation, but there are some shots in The Good Dinosaur that literally take my breath away, especially those scenes which show the landscape from a broad perspective. Also, the music is superb, this time scored by Jeff and Mychael Danna. Taking cues from Michael Giacchino, the film's score is absent of any show-stopping compositions, but the included music perfectly compliments the action taking place onscreen. An example of this is at the film's conclusion when Spot finally reunites with his human family, which is without question one of the top two scenes from the film. I think therein lies the heart behind my frustration with The Good Dinosaur. There are glimpses of an immensely epic classic, but far too often, it is pulled back down into the mires of mediocrity. I will detail the film's disastrous production cycle below, but you can clearly see that there are competing visions at war throughout the film. This film never develops an identity of what it wants to be. Does it want to be a buddy comedy? Maybe an ode to nature in general? What about telling the story of a family connecting like never before? There is so much going on here that the cohesiveness of previous Pixar films is basically nonexistent. Plus, with the exception of some minor laughs, this film is not that funny. Now, that can be attributed to my comment above about this film being made exclusively for the sake of art, but I expect to laugh in a Pixar film, and I simply did not do that in The Good Dinosaur too often.
Maybe Pixar should have seen the writing on the wall when the problems began arising during this film's production. This film had all the potential in the world, but that potential is never fully realized. There are moments of tremendous wonder and spectacle, but those moments are almost always followed by disappointing sequences. The concept for this film is brilliant, and from a technical standpoint, it is a marvelous wonder. However, from a narrative vantage point, this film never feels important like other Pixar films. It just kind of exists, and that is it, and given the amount of incredible possibilities Pixar could have taken a film like this, that is quite the letdown.
Additionally, the film's supporting characters are not given even remotely close to enough screentime to make an impression, and the frustrating thing is that some of these characters have the potential to be great ones. For example, the family of dinosaurs featuring Butch, Ramsey, and Nash star in some of the film's better moments when this family is onscreen alongside Arlo and Spot. They teach Arlo the value of pushing through his fears, and lo and behold, they also offer some comedy into this all too serious film. Their interactions act as some of the film's scarce highlights, but just as we are beginning to invest in these characters, they are off screen and never seen again. The same problem unfortunately strikes all of the secondary characters. Pixar has made a living by taking these sidekicks and elevating them to icon status, but once more, Pixar squanders the opportunity to do that in The Good Dinosaur. Again, it is not as if these characters are necessarily bad, but they certainly are not that good. They are essentially the very definition of mediocre when they could have and should have been excellent. Also, the cast for this film, in large part, does nothing to assist in the characterization process, too often offering subdued and uninspired performances. With the exception of Arlo and the aforementioned family, who are actually quite solid in this respect, every additional character is not assisted by the lackluster voice acting.
Now, on the more positive side of things, it is impossible deny this film's beauty. Pixar has always impressed with their animation, but there are some shots in The Good Dinosaur that literally take my breath away, especially those scenes which show the landscape from a broad perspective. Also, the music is superb, this time scored by Jeff and Mychael Danna. Taking cues from Michael Giacchino, the film's score is absent of any show-stopping compositions, but the included music perfectly compliments the action taking place onscreen. An example of this is at the film's conclusion when Spot finally reunites with his human family, which is without question one of the top two scenes from the film. I think therein lies the heart behind my frustration with The Good Dinosaur. There are glimpses of an immensely epic classic, but far too often, it is pulled back down into the mires of mediocrity. I will detail the film's disastrous production cycle below, but you can clearly see that there are competing visions at war throughout the film. This film never develops an identity of what it wants to be. Does it want to be a buddy comedy? Maybe an ode to nature in general? What about telling the story of a family connecting like never before? There is so much going on here that the cohesiveness of previous Pixar films is basically nonexistent. Plus, with the exception of some minor laughs, this film is not that funny. Now, that can be attributed to my comment above about this film being made exclusively for the sake of art, but I expect to laugh in a Pixar film, and I simply did not do that in The Good Dinosaur too often.
Maybe Pixar should have seen the writing on the wall when the problems began arising during this film's production. This film had all the potential in the world, but that potential is never fully realized. There are moments of tremendous wonder and spectacle, but those moments are almost always followed by disappointing sequences. The concept for this film is brilliant, and from a technical standpoint, it is a marvelous wonder. However, from a narrative vantage point, this film never feels important like other Pixar films. It just kind of exists, and that is it, and given the amount of incredible possibilities Pixar could have taken a film like this, that is quite the letdown.
Rating: 7/10
Historical Significance: I have already touched on the makeshift nature of this film, and this is primarily due to its horrific production process.The film was in production for six years with a goal release date of May 2014. It unfortunately suffered from creative differences, story complications, studio multitasking, and the fact that Pixar was experiencing a minor slump in consensus quality after Toy Story 3. Up co-director Bob Peterson was originally hired as the director, but just one year before the film's release date, Peterson expectantly left the project. Peterson's original story was almost entirely redone, and so was its cast. The original cast consisted of John Lithgow, Neil Patrick Harris, Judy Greer, Bill Hader, and Lucas Neff, but upon Peterson's departure, only Frances McDormand (Momma) was retained after the change. John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Mark Andrews, and Peter Sohn stepped in to rework the project and keep it afloat during this transition time with Sohn eventually winning the director's chair. This overhaul, obviously, caused The Good Dinosaur to miss its scheduled release date as it was pushed back to November 2015 (the original release date for Finding Dory). This is why Pixar had no films released in 2014 and why 2015 became the first year to see the release of two Pixar films. Pixar's general manager Jim Morris described the experience this way: "It was a dramatic event. It was tough on the company. Most studios would have said, 'The movie's fine. It's not bad.' And it wasn't bad; it just wasn't great. We wanted to have a great movie." Although he was not cast after the changes, John Lithgow acknowledged the changes to the script were fantastic and the film was "going to be better than I had imagined."
Behind the Scenes: Due to its rather recent release, there is not a bunch of stories from behind the scenes for The Good Dinosaur. I do, however, want to take this opportunity to recognize the consistently excellent Pixar short films, including the one that played before The Good Dinosaur entitled Sanjay's Super Team. The studio has yet to release a short film I didn't thoroughly enjoy. Some of my personal favorites are Geri's Game, Day and Night, La Luna, The Blue Umbrella and their most recent one, Piper. I hope you never take for granted the importance of these short films. This is where a majority of the greats in animation got their start. Walt Disney, of course, began his illustrious career in the short film industry, and so did Pixar chief John Lasseter. When you see a Disney or Pixar film in theaters, take some time to appreciate the fact that the two studios still believe in the necessity of short films.
Favorite Character: Pixar's cornerstone throughout their history has been their incredible characters, but in The Good Dinosaur, the entire ensemble is filled with mediocre to simply good characters. Since most of the supporting characters are not afforded much screentime, I have to go with Arlo as my favorite from the film, and even his characterization could have been vastly improved. It is odd to think that one of Pixar's films biggest fundamentally flaw is its characters, but that is certainly the case in The Good Dinosaur. Arlo, though, is the strongest of the ensemble, and therefore my favorite, because basically, he is given the most opportunities to make an impression. The rest of the characters are just not given much to do whereas Arlo is front and center from beginning to end. We see Arlo experience tragedy and triumph with everything in between throughout the course of the story. We witness his against-all-odds friendship form with Spot, and we ultimately see his conquering of fear. Raymond Ochoa provides a nice voice for Arlo, and the animators have done a spectacular job bringing Arlo to life with simple facial expressions and body language. Arlo is not Pixar's best character by a long shot, but in a film devoid of any classic characters, he is the unrivaled highlight.
Favorite Scene: The Good Dinosaur does not teeter on the edge of greatness often, but the closest this film comes to achieving classic Pixar status is during its emotional climax with Spot and Arlo. The film relies heavily (sometimes to its detriment) on various familial bonds, and when the duo finds themselves ready to turn it in for the night, they first decide to open up about their personal lives to each other. Arlo explains to Spot that he loves and misses his family more than anything while admirably using sticks to signify his family before drawing a symbolic circle around them. That was a nice moment, but it is when Spot follows suit that the signature Pixar emotion comes to the forefront. Up to this point in the film, we don't know much about Spot, but in this fantastic sequence, Spot uses sticks to show Arlo that he had a family too. However, in the film's most heart-wrenching moment, Spot gently places the sticks symbolizing his parents on the ground before covering them up with dirt, signifying that his parents are dead. This inspires Arlo to do the same with the stick representing his dad, and the two are then able to share a great moment as Spot comforts Arlo and Arlo returns the favor. This scene is everything the rest of the film should have been. It has heart, character development, and a clear focus, so naturally, that is why it stands out as my favorite.Updated Ranking: While not as atrocious as Cars 2, The Good Dinosaur does find itself near the bottom of the rankings due to its subpar characterization and unclear focus on the story.
- Toy Story 3
- The Incredibles
- Toy Story
- Inside Out
- Finding Nemo
- Up
- Ratatouille
- Wall-E
- Monsters Inc.
- Toy Story 2
- Brave
- Monsters University
- A Bug's Life
- Cars
- The Good Dinosaur
- Cars 2
Tomorrow, we're going to try everything and visit Zootopia!
-Cody Fleenor
No comments:
Post a Comment