The Good Dinosaur Movie Review & Activity Sheets

My family and I went to see “The Good Dinosaur” primarily because my kids had been begging to see it from the first time they saw the trailer on YouTube. I was expecting to like it, but I honestly wasn’t expecting to love it–yet I did.

Disney Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur” takes place in an alternate universe where instead of an asteroid colliding with Earth and causing the extinction of dinosaurs, it passes right by and dinosaurs continue to evolve. Herbivores like the main character Arlo become farmers, carnivores become ranchers, and humans? Well, let’s just say they’re not the dominant species.

The story follows Arlo, the dinosaur who is afraid of everything, and his human friend Spot on a life-changing journey where they encounter nefarious pterodactyls and raging rivers, among other obstacles. Arlo is forced to face his fears, and in the end he discovers what’s he’s really capable of. There are more than a couple sad and otherwise moving moments in “The Good Dinosaur”, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried more than once, but I also did a lot of laughing. If there’s one thing Disney does right, it’s the comic relief.

Visually, this film is amazing. It’s so exquisitely detailed that there are times when you forget that what you’re looking at isn’t real. The entire movie takes place outdoors, so you are treated to a variety of landscapes and weather events that afforded the creators an opportunity to showcase some stunning imagery. You are truly transported to another destination, and you can almost feel the drops in each rainstorm. I’ll say it again: it’s amazing. Trust me when I tell you that the visuals alone are enough reason to catch this one on the big screen.

Full of interesting (and some adorable) characters, valuable life lessons, and gorgeously realistic scenes, “The Good Dinosaur” is a film the whole family will enjoy. The concept of evolution taking a different turn is fresh and intriguing, and it’s fun to watch where it leads. A typical coming of age story, the ending is a bit predictable, but the journey is so enjoyable that I found I didn’t mind. (In fact, had it ended any other way, I would probably have been disappointed.) See it in theaters while you can, and in the meantime, enjoy these activity sheets!