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REVIEW: 'The Good Dinosaur' Is A Welcome, Though Overlooked Coming Of Age Story

By Lacey M. Carroll

Overshadowed this year by the popularity of "Inside Out," "The Good Dinosaur" is a heartfelt coming of age story about a sweet, nervous dinosaur named Arlo who is the runt of his farming family of Apatosaurs.

Arlo finds himself separated from his family and needs to find his way home. He finds himself alone, and forced to make the trek back home despite all the odds against him. Arlo makes some friends and enemies along the way, fights his own fears, and finds himself making decisions he didn't think he was capable of.

The films settings are absolutely stunning. The animation and art team took trips to the Wyoming wilderness and ranches in Oregon to set the tone of this beautiful picture. I would be hard-pressed to find a more artistically stunning world in a film from Pixar and that alone makes seeing this film a must.

The DVD/Blu-Ray combo comes with a plethora of bonus features including deleted scenes, an adorable short film; "Sanjay's Super Team, "an informative bite about the dinosaurs featured in the film called "True Lies About Dinosaurs."

Another bonus is "Recyclosaurus;" a behind the scenes look at some of the fun team building exercises Pixar does that make you wish you worked there! "Every Part Of The Dinosaur," explains how the animation team worked on communication between the characters through movement since there was very little talking throughout the film.

Other extras included "The Filmmakers Journey" which follows Director Peter Sohn through his first time directing a full-length feature film, and interviews various members of the production team and "Dino Bites" and "Hide & Seek," two short but sweet bonus features that will get the young kids in your family laughing! You can also unlock the digital version of the DVD on DisneyMoviesAnywhere.com.

I recommend this sweet film for the whole family, and the young ones are sure to love Spot, the adorable 'human critter' and sidekick to Arlo and some of the silly characters Arlo encounters along his journey home.

Feature Running Time: 94 Minutes

DVD + Blue-Ray + Digital HD

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