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The Good Dino Review

November 23, 2015
A good animated movie with themes that may be too mature for younger viewers.

If you are expecting just another feel-good Pixar movie, please consider watching Toy Story on DVD for the hundredth time instead of taking your little ones to see this movie.  It was very well done with great voice acting, incredible animation, and a well-executed "hero's journey" plot.

The 3-D effects felt superfluous next to the great animation and well-conceived characters, almost to the point that the glasses, a necessary evil of 3-D movies, were a distraction from the movie, itself and distracted from it rather than add to the emersion.

Most of the themes deal with being brave through grief.  Going into further detail might spoil the film, but those of you who are bringing young children to see it may have some difficult conversations on the way home. Usually, Disney is great about balancing the tragedy with the comedy, but this one seemed to tip the scales in tragedy's favor.  Even the obligatory feel-good moments were tinged with a little sadness, as though the writers did not want you to forget that this was not going to be a happy film.  

In all, a great movie for adults and tweens, but you have seen it before, trust me.

6 out of 10.  Recommend: Wait for DVD Rental.