The Good Dinosaur (2D) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Peter Sohn

Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla (VOICES)

Release Date: Available on Blu-ray & DVD February 23, 2016

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

From the innovative minds of Disney•Pixar comes a hilariously heartwarming adventure about the power of confronting and overcoming your fears and discovering who you are meant to be.

The Good Dinosaur asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely, and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? In this epic journey into the world of dinosaurs, an apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of.

Bring home this original story full of humor, heart, action and imagination, perfect for the whole family!

From the talented folks at Pixar comes their latest animated feature ‘The Good Dinosaur’ which explores the idea of an alternate version of our world in which dinosaurs were never eradicated and still occupy the planet, reigning as the dominant species. The film primarily focuses on young Arlo, an Apatosaurus that can’t help but be a bit terrified of the world, even within the safety of his family’s farm. After a series of terrifying events, Arlo finds himself stranded and lost, unable to find his way back home, but with the help of a strange human child who Arlo reluctantly befriends, he might just discover that he’s capable of far greater things than he had ever dreamed.

Brimming with gorgeous and stunningly detailed animation from the talented Pixar team, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ takes things to an impressive new visual level with water, forests and expansive landscapes often appearing lifelike in its breathtaking attention to detail. Even if ‘The Good Dinosaur’ may not be the most monumental film the studio has ever released in the way of story, considering their lack of disappointing films in general, folks shouldn’t be deterred by the mediocre reviews. This is another solid and enjoyable entry from Pixar and Disney that the majority of the family can enjoy together, filled with plenty of excitement, adventure and heartwarming fun, it’s certain to keep the children old and young (this includes you fellow adults) thoroughly entertained from start to finish. That being said, some households with smaller kids may want to be especially mindful of the PG rating on this one as there are certainly some perilous, sad and potentially frightening moments that could prove too much for some.

The hardcore Pixar fans and many homes with children will almost certainly want to make sure to pick up a copy of ‘The Good Dinosaur’ on Blu-ray to add to their collections. The Blu-ray release delivers exceptional high definition video and audio presentations that are sure to impress, along with a number of enjoyable extras for the whole family including Pixar’s Animated Short ‘Sanjay’s Super Team’, ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film, fun and fact-filled videos, and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below), certain to make this release a must own for many. While the studio was unable to provide us with a review copy of the 3D Blu-ray release for this title, the fellow 3D enthusiasts can rest assured that a 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack of the film will indeed also be made available.

Overall, ‘The Good Dinosaur’ is another heartwarming, enjoyable and absolutely gorgeous animated film from the talented folks at Pixar Animation Studios. Fans of Pixar (and Disney) films will definitely want to make sure to check this one if they didn’t have the opportunity to catch it in theaters. Don’t be deterred by the mediocre reviews out there, this may not be Pixar’s crown jewel but it’s nonetheless an incredibly fun adventure that you won’t want to miss out on, although some parents may want to be a tad careful with the younger children as there is some relatively violent and scary content in this one.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Good Dinosaur’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.39:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks magnificent, delivering a consistently sharp and beautifully detailed presentation, looking exceptional down to the edges of each line and holding up impressively even during the fast moving and darkly lit sequences, never resulting in anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a fantastic high definition video presentation that should easily please the casual viewer and quality nuts alike.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossless 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio Soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack sounds wonderful, providing a clean, sharp and often fairly aggressive presentation, utilizing all seven available channels in order to surround the viewer with water violently swarming, rain pouring and plenty of additional nature and action related auditory elements, while never causing any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is a sensational 7.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that contributes yet another layer of fun to this enjoyable adventure.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Good Dinosaur’ includes a solid collection of enjoyable supplemental material. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with director Peter Sohn and other members of the creative team’, along with a number of ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film with introductions by director Peter Sohn (running approximately 11 minutes altogether), and the new Pixar Animated Short ‘Sanjay’s Super Team’ (approximately 7 minutes). We are also treated to a number of informative behind the scenes Featurettes and fun, fact-filled videos including ‘True Lies About Dinosaurs’ (2 minutes), ‘Recyclosaurus’ (6 minutes), ‘The Filmmakers’ Journey’ (8 minutes), ‘Every Part of the Dinosaur’ (6 minutes), ‘Following the T-Rex Trail’ (7 minutes), ‘Dino Bites’ (4 minutes), and ‘Hide and Seek’ (1 minute). 3 Trailers for the film are also included: ‘Moment: North American Trailer 2’, ‘Courage: Russian Trailer’ and ‘Different: German Trailer’ (approximately 2 minutes apiece).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

‘The Good Dinosaur’ Stampedes Onto Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere February 23, 2016 from Pixar & Walt Disney Home Entertainment.

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