Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur"

[SpartanSquat]

I thought the idea of farming dinosaurs was left due director change. I dont know why but I love Cowbow Tyrannosaurus!
BTW anyboyd know the song of the last trailer? Looks epic!

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

Firstly, thank you for posting this. Secondly, I found this trailer to be somewhat... incoherent. Granted, we did get lots of new information on the plot of the movie, but it was nowhere near as well stitched together as the teaser and other trailers were.

Thanks,

EarthboundEiniosaurus

[Rogue1stClass]

I thought the idea of farming dinosaurs was left due director change. I dont know why but I love Cowbow Tyrannosaurus!
BTW anyboyd know the song of the last trailer? Looks epic!

This one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-PgPZ3F9P4

[Dilopho]

That Nyctosaurus looks terrible but I think this will be a good movie!

[Fembrogon]

I'm not entirely sold on the art style for the characters (I was hoping for something more realistically detailed like Finding Nemo), but this movie looks positively adorable regardless. I bet it's going to be a blast.

[Loxodon]

I seem to recall Doug Henderson having done some concept art for this movie, or am I getting things mixed up?

Whatever the case, it certainly is a beautiful film, Pixar have really stepped up their game when it comes to the visuals. Shame that they also seem intent on making sure Jurassic World was not the most inaccurate dinosaur film this year. Honestly I can live with anachronistic apatosaurs and the like, let's just pretend they are alamosaurus, but the tail dragging sauropods and horse-maned raptors are just not okay in a 2015 movie.

[ITdactyl]

Here's a more detailed write-up about the character design process (and more) for "The Good Dinosaur"

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-good-dinosaur/37615/the-good-dinosaur-its-five-year-path-to-the-big-screen

[CityRaptor]

So at one point Judy Greer was involved in it...ironically she went on to be cast of a better Dinosaur movie.
"And remember Arlo and Spot, if something chases you, don't run!"
Ha, I know that the "Styracosaurus" was crazy.

Hmmm

As for the creative decision to place cartoon-like characters in a realistic setting, Calahan explains, "Pete knew he wanted the characters to be as appealing as possible. He didn't want realistic looking characters. He wanted a world that looked authentic and believable, and one filled with peril. He wanted wonder, he wanted scale. So we ended up creating this world that fulfilled all of those needs."

Well, I would say they failed horribly and also made them stand out like a sour thumb.

[Kovu]

Judy Greer is a wonderful comedic actress, she doesn't get nearly enough starring roles but always seems to steal the scenes she is in. I really wish she was still part of this. I also wish she had a bigger part in Jurassic World.

[TomWToyForum]

So at one point Judy Greer was involved in it...ironically she went on to be cast of a better Dinosaur movie.

Can we wait to call Jurassic World better until we can actually judge The Good Dinosaur? Pixar has a great track record, and I see no reason to assume the film will be bad just because of some questionable dinosaur designs.

[CityRaptor]

Well, Pixar created this:


Pixar is owned by Disney, and Disney created this:


Not a good track record with Dinosaurs. So far this movie combines elements from both....

Given their fondness to pair Dinosaurs with primates and that Disney also owns Marvel, they could have made a movie of this:

[Gwangi]

Not really fair to use the Toy Story "Rex" in your argument, it's a toy dinosaur in the film, not an actual dinosaur. And Toy Story is an excellent movie, all three of them are.

And despite being owned by Disney Pixar is still very much its own entity under the Disney umbrella. Keep in mind that Disney also owns Marvel Studios, Lucasfilms and even ESPN. Pixar movies are generally excellent, even the lesser films are better than most children movies. Disney Studios more frequently drop the ball on their movies.

What matters with these movies is the team involved and Pixar has a stellar team. "The Good Dinosaur" is directed by Peter Sohn who directed The Incredibles, WALL-E, The Iron Giant, Finding Nemo, UP and other excellent movie that prove his competence. The team that wrote "The Good Dinosaur" also wrote Up, Ratatouille, Toy Story and most of the other Pixar films in addition to others.

The Disney "Dinosaur" movie was directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton. The only other movie Zondag directed was "We're Back" and Leighton hasn't directed anything else. The team that wrote "Dinosaur" also wrote movies like "The Water Horse", Flushed Away" and "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie".

Needless to say, the creative teams responsible for "The Good Dinosaur" have a much better resume than the team responsibly for "Dinosaur". It doesn't matter that they're all working for Disney, what matters is their previous work.

[Kovu]

Pixar has a track record of producing high quality films and they seem to only be improving with each year. Toy Story is not a fair analogy because, as Gwangi stated, Rex is a toy. I love horses, should I also be upset because Bullseye wasn't an anatomically accurate horse? Most of the toys had a very "classic" look to them - the toys that both us and our parents grew up with. Think about the other toys - Bo Peep is a fairly generic porcelain doll. Mr and Mrs. Potato Head - actual toys. A piggy bang and a slinky. John Lasseter, the director, had previously directed a short film for Pixar called "Tin Toy" which served as the inspiration for Toy Story. Lasseter was a fan of classic toys. Rex was a simple wind-up chinosaur that every child in the 90s and earlier probably had some version of. Toy Story, all of them, remain classic movies. And they're awesome.

Maybe think about it this way: if the cartoony dinosaurs in "The Good Dinosaur" latch on to a child's imagination and helps foster a genuine interest in dinosaurs, which later inspires them to learn about the real animals, isn't that worth it? Is their interest less valid because it was sparked by Arlo rather than a skeleton in a museum? It happened with me and the Land Before Time (and yes, it was sequel with the "Egg Thieves"). Now, I watch them and, while I know they're not accurate, I still appreciate them for the sense of nostalgia.

The designers' goal was never to be super life-like. It was to make characters relatable to a wide audience that tell a story. I have to wonder, are we getting too wrapped up in the messengers and not seeing the message?

[postsaurischian]

I'm sure 'The Good Dinosaur' will be a wonderful movie .

David Krentz also worked for Disney's Dinosaur. Does this mean he's a bad Dinosaur artist ?

[CityRaptor]

David Krentz is an example of a good artist being negatively affected by executive meddling. Same thing happened to him with the Walking with Dinosaurs movie.

[Patrx]

David Krentz is an example of a good artist being negatively affected by executive meddling. Same thing happened to him with the Walking with Dinosaurs movie.

And with Dinosaur Revolution! The poor man can't catch a break, it seems.

[CityRaptor]

Oh yes, although that is a milder case compared to those others.

[Tyrannosauron]

I'm trying my best to remain cautiously optimistic about "The Good Dinosaur," but the ad campaign leaves me worried. I can't recall another movie that Pixar tried to sell by saying, "Remember all these other Pixar movies and how much you liked those?" Normally they let the work stand on its own. But maybe I'm being paranoid because of what I've heard about the production process (changing directors, scrapping the shooting script, replacing the cast, etc.).

The character designs are growing on me. I just ordered a Butch figure; I'll try to remember to post some pics when it arrives.

[Gwangi]

I'm trying my best to remain cautiously optimistic about "The Good Dinosaur," but the ad campaign leaves me worried. I can't recall another movie that Pixar tried to sell by saying, "Remember all these other Pixar movies and how much you liked those?" Normally they let the work stand on its own. But maybe I'm being paranoid because of what I've heard about the production process (changing directors, scrapping the shooting script, replacing the cast, etc.).

The character designs are growing on me. I just ordered a Butch figure; I'll try to remember to post some pics when it arrives.

Previous Pixar movies did the same thing, just watch the trailer for "Finding Nemo" which states "from the creators of Toy Stoy and Monsters Inc.

And check out this trailer for Up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qas5lWp7_R0

As for Toy Story's inspiration for Rex, I feel fairly certain it was the Tyco/Dino-riders T. rex which was popular around that time.

[CityRaptor]

It is rather obvious that Rex is a knock-off of that one in a catoony style.