Sheep Movie Review: The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur

Directed By: Peter Sohn

Rated PG

Cast: Raymond Ochoa, Jeffery Wright, Sam Elliot, Anna Paquin

Plot:
"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? Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where 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.

I honestly didn't have much desire to see this film, for whatever reason it just did not look like one I would fancy. Maybe it was because the powers that be decided NOT to over saturate the market with constant adds. Kinda like the Star Wars film coming soon (Which I am totally going too see cause those trailers look amazing!), my personal reasons aside I was reluctant to sit through this animation.

Oh, how wrong I was! Talk about a heartfelt story, this one has tenderness and triumph in spades. Not only was this a story about dealing with great loss but finding the courage to face your fear. Real tangible fear and the fears of failure we each have inside us at times. I mean, life can just be scary! Kids and adults alike can certainly relate to this theme. The writers do an honest to goodness job of making it realistic and relatable to anyone.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried during the film. A few times, and by that I mean three. Three times I cried! I know it's just me, since any animated movie can bring me to tears. But I did see grown men getting a little choked up at spots. This just shows me that the heart strings of an audience were hit and a message was received.

I recommend this one to those of you who love a heartfelt story, with hidden moments of comedy and a tale for the ages.

Getting 4 'did you just rip that bugs head off?' Sheep

KD 

Sheep Movie Review: Brave

I'm a Pixar junkie. I should admit this up front... and since the very first Brave trailer was shown... I KNEW that I would go see this movie the weekend it came out. It's taken me a little while to actually digest the film enough to appreciate just what was accomplished here.

The plot here is sort of what you'd expect from a would-be disney princess tale. A headstrong young girl makes a rash decision with cataclysmic results. She and her allies must do their best to undo the unfolding disaster. Pretty formulaic.

The execution here is key though. Don't judge the movie totally by its trailers. The cut scenes we're teased with all occur early on in the film and really don't drop many hints about the meat and potatoes of the story.

Some things you CAN take from the trailer though... The casting is pretty spot on. Billy Connolly is insanely funny. He fits the over enthusiastic, but somewhat dimwitted King Fergus very naturally. Kelly Macdonald and Emma Thompson face off as a believable disagreeing daughter/mother pair. You totally feel the mutual frustration between the two characters through the voices. As an American, I dig all of the accents too.

Something to look out for if you decide to plunk down your cash to see the movie is the pacing. Brave was directed by not one... not two, but three distinct directors. I'm not sure how the directors themselves divvied up the work, but you can logically divide the film into three segments, each having a definite pace and flavor.

As far as overall atmosphere of the movie, I think that Pixar has definitely outdone itself with the shear beauty of the world they've created. Everything has a seriously earthy, organic feel to it. It's almost like this was a deliberate departure from the safer, more geometric shapes of Cars, Toy Story, or Wall-E.

I think that this film is definitely worth seeing on the big screen. I also predict that we'll see a sequel or two come out of this franchise. I hope the world is ready for a new Disney Princess!

I give this movie 4 CG sheep!