At its center is Arlo (Raymond Ochoa), the runt of a brontosaurus litter in a world where dinosaurs live on homesteads, chop down trees, plow the fields, store grains for winter, and, in our protagonist’s case, get intimidated by monster chickens. Strangely enough, though, you’d never guess that from the picture’s first 15 minutes, which is as schmaltzy and baldly expository as the rest of the feature is subtle, original, delightful and psychologically rich.

“The Good Dinosaur” isn’t just a holiday treat, but an experience to be savored. In addition to letting me cathartically sob my eyes out (always a plus), the survivor’s tale and family/pet/coming-of-age drama showed me images I’d never seen before and perfected scenes that I have seen in other films. (Sohn is probably best known as the inspiration for the character of Junior Wilderness Explorer Russell in “Up.”)Īlso Read: Patricia Arquette in Talks to Voice New Character in 'Toy Story 4' (Exclusive)

“The Good Dinosaur” arrives saddled with two potential liabilities: an 18-month delay after dozens of layoffs at Pixar last year, and the unenviable status of being the follow-up to “Inside Out,” one of the best films the animation studio has ever produced.īut none of that matters, for first-time helmer Peter Sohn and screenwriter Meg LeFauve (“Inside Out”) have created a fantastic and frequently exhilarating feature that showcases Pixar’s greatest strengths: technical brilliance, emotional texture, crossover appeal, and an impish sense of humor that takes the utmost advantage of the animated form.

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