In 2015, after the spectacular Inside Out by Pixar, I was looking forward to this film that would mark the first time Pixar has ever released 2 films in the same year rather than one at a time. However, I did not see it in theaters but saw it on a plane in February along with Hotel Transylvania 2 (I never get tired of movies on a plane since they are free, have you ever been on one of those flights?). But that's not the point. So once I saw this movie, I could understand how critical people were of this movie.
First things first, the writing is complete garbage. It doesn't give us any new ideas by ripping off The Lion king, with Arlo's dad dying. It is also fascinatingly predictable since we already know from the trailers what's ahead for Arlo and Spot. There is only a little heart, and you don't feel for the relationship between Arlo and Spot because the story is so rushed. Because of this, the journey is underwhelming and the lack of length and many slow moments makes the ending too sudden. A good example of a film that has good pacing is Inside Out, not making it too fast for the ending to be this sudden and not too slow to make it boring (some may disagree though). I expect better writing from Pixar because this horribly paced, predictable, unoriginal, and fascinatingly underwhelming story makes DreamWorks writing look like Finding Nemo.
For the characters, there is Arlo, who probably has the least development of a Pixar protagonist. Despite making friends with Spot, I don't feel for this annoying, foolish, and enamoring kid. The father is basically the caring father who is bland and we don't care about him very much. The same apply's to the rest of Arlo's family pretty much. Spot however is a fun and likable character who cares for Arlo. Thunderclap and his gang are the bland antagonists who have no other motives other than attack and kill Arlo and Spot. However I did like the caring and friendly T-Rex family. They were very good characters that cared deeply for our 2 protagonists, however they were wasted since they get very little screen time. So these are basically Pixar's weakest characters since Cars 2.
The animation in the movie is nothing short of spectacular. The backgrounds look awesome and believable, the sound is great, and the characters are well designed. The only problem is the inconsistency, with Spot looking realistic, and the dinosaurs looking very cartoony. But overall, Pixar is better than ever in terms of animation.
There may be some things done right, but this is not Pixar. Despite Great animation, the movie has awful writing, and a weak cast of characters. I even consider it on par with Dreamworks projects due to this. That is saying a lot because I think Pixar is the best animation company, not DreamWorks animation. Despite intense scenes Kids 7-10 will likely get a kick out of this. If you are curious and is older than that age range, I would recommend skipping it and checking out Inside Out, or renting it for just one night if you are very curious. It may not be a total waste of time due to the animation and a few good characters, but it really misses my expectations.
First things first, the writing is complete garbage. It doesn't give us any new ideas by ripping off The Lion king, with Arlo's dad dying. It is also fascinatingly predictable since we already know from the trailers what's ahead for Arlo and Spot. There is only a little heart, and you don't feel for the relationship between Arlo and Spot because the story is so rushed. Because of this, the journey is underwhelming and the lack of length and many slow moments makes the ending too sudden. A good example of a film that has good pacing is Inside Out, not making it too fast for the ending to be this sudden and not too slow to make it boring (some may disagree though). I expect better writing from Pixar because this horribly paced, predictable, unoriginal, and fascinatingly underwhelming story makes DreamWorks writing look like Finding Nemo.
For the characters, there is Arlo, who probably has the least development of a Pixar protagonist. Despite making friends with Spot, I don't feel for this annoying, foolish, and enamoring kid. The father is basically the caring father who is bland and we don't care about him very much. The same apply's to the rest of Arlo's family pretty much. Spot however is a fun and likable character who cares for Arlo. Thunderclap and his gang are the bland antagonists who have no other motives other than attack and kill Arlo and Spot. However I did like the caring and friendly T-Rex family. They were very good characters that cared deeply for our 2 protagonists, however they were wasted since they get very little screen time. So these are basically Pixar's weakest characters since Cars 2.
The animation in the movie is nothing short of spectacular. The backgrounds look awesome and believable, the sound is great, and the characters are well designed. The only problem is the inconsistency, with Spot looking realistic, and the dinosaurs looking very cartoony. But overall, Pixar is better than ever in terms of animation.
There may be some things done right, but this is not Pixar. Despite Great animation, the movie has awful writing, and a weak cast of characters. I even consider it on par with Dreamworks projects due to this. That is saying a lot because I think Pixar is the best animation company, not DreamWorks animation. Despite intense scenes Kids 7-10 will likely get a kick out of this. If you are curious and is older than that age range, I would recommend skipping it and checking out Inside Out, or renting it for just one night if you are very curious. It may not be a total waste of time due to the animation and a few good characters, but it really misses my expectations.