The Panther Newspaper: Disney Pixar film is a dino-mite tale
SPOILER ALERT
Disney Pixar has done it again — creating a magical, fantastic animated feature that can please everyone’s inner child.
“The Good Dinosaur” is centered around the life of Arlo, the youngest of a dinosaur family who is timid and skittish around other creatures. After witnessing his father’s death, Arlo is swept away by the same river that took his mentor from him and the film follows his physical journey home, as well as his growth into a brave being. The film was released in theaters Nov. 25.
Disney took its incorporation of humanized animals to a new level by making the main character a talking dinosaur, with his companion being a human child (who Arlo ironically names Spot) who acts like a canine by being overly playful and protective, using his intensified sense of smell to his advantage and even howling at the moon. For me, this role-reversal provoked thoughts about a time in our history when animals were more intelligent than humans, which was an eye-opening perspective.
I was laughing along with both the youngest and oldest members of the audience as the movie is filled with instances of simplified, slap-stick humor as well as more sophisticated jokes that went right over the children’s heads — such as a scene when Arlo and Spot eat rotten fruit and consequently have a psychedelic experience.
My favorite part about this film was the message that it aimed to spread, especially at a time of unrest all over the world: You have to get through your fears in order to live life to its fullest. As the tyrannosaurus rex named Butch puts it, “If you ain’t scared, you ain’t alive.” Arlo is tested throughout the film as he progressively gains more courage, which parallels a child’s transition from being helpless to self-reliant.
Another forward-thinking aspect of this film was the introduction of a mixed-race family, which I saw as an attempt to instill an accepting attitude toward adoption. At the end of the movie, Spot is approached by a family that is clearly of another race when considering the difference in their hair types and the shape of their eyes. Regardless of his difference in appearance, the family takes Spot in as one of their own because they understand that they are the same species and therefore must work in harmony to protect one another. This connected back to the motif of facing one’s fears and showed that one of the hardest and most rewarding things someone can do is to give up the person they love, especially if it’s what’s best for him or her.
“The Good Dinosaur” is a feel-good children’s movie that simultaneously touches on extremely relevant topics regarding current world events, which is why I think everyone can benefit from seeing it. If you have the same reaction as me, you will laugh, you will cry and you will leave the theater ready to take on almost anything the world throws at you … because if Arlo could survive losing his father, the same raging river thrice, evil prehistoric vultures as well as the countless other mishaps that occurred during his trek, I felt like I could survive anything too.
4.5/5 Panther paws.
Photo courtesy BagoGames.
