The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur comes at a weird time for Pixar, releasing not that long after the critically acclaimed and likely Oscar-winner Inside Out and making it the first time the animation studio has released two films in a single year. The film also suffered a near five year development period with numerous staff changes. Regardless, the film still demonstrates Pixar’s amazing attention to detail and high bar of quality. The Good Dinosaur may not be their best overall film, but it’s far from their worst.

QUALITY:
The Good Dinosaur excels the most in its visuals. There’s no question that it’s the best looking Pixar film to date with absolutely breathtaking environments and some of the best water animation you’ll see. And it all looks gorgeous on Blu-ray. Seriously, there are some scenic vistas that’ll make you question whether or not what you’re looking at is real as you won’t be able to tell the difference. Everything about the look and feel of the environment will leave you in awe. It’s simply perfect.

BONUS FEATURES:

• Sanjay’s Super Team
• True Lies About Dinosaurs
• Recyclosaurus
• The Filmmakers’ Journey
• Every Part of the Dinosaur
• Following the T-Rex Trail
• Deleted Scenes
• Dino Bites
• Hide and Seek
• Audio Commentary
• Trailers

I was seriously impressed with the amount of bonus features included on The Good Dinosaur Blu-ray. Of course there’s the animated short, “Sanjay’s Super Team,” that played before the film in theaters, but the amount of behind-the-scenes features that dive into the making of the film is fantastic. Some, like “Dino Bites” and “Hide and Seek,” just show of more animations for Arlo, Spot, and some of the other characters. Others like “True Lies About Dinosaurs” are just for laughs. One thing I would have liked to see was a featurette on the voice acting for the film. Yes, The Good Dinosaur is rather light on dialogue, but it would have been interesting to hear from Raymond Ochoa, Anna Paquin, Jeffrey Wright, and the wonderful Sam Elliott, of course.

The Good Dinosaur is a must-own for any Blu-ray collection, showcasing why the animators at Pixar are the best at what they do. The story is only slightly above average, but the animation and number of bonus features make it well worth the price of admission.