Not since Dino and Bam Bam have a dinosaur and a cave boy been so endearing. The Good Dinosaur is a whirlwind of emotions with two adorable characters at the center.

First of all, everything in this story is backward from what we think of as “normal.” Yes, even for an animated feature. The dinosaurs have evolved to be the dominant life forms and the humans are “critters.” The dinosaurs talk but the humans don’t.

Arlo is the runt of the litter. He has a loving mother and father, and a sister and brother. Arlo is the smallest and the most fearful. They all work on the family farm. One of Arlo’s responsibilities is feeding the chickens, however this fellow is afraid of them. He is afraid of everything. Arlo strives to be like his siblings, yet he is just too fearful. His father has faith that he will get through his fears.

After his father dies, this little guy tries even harder to live up to his dad’s hopes. When he is inadvertently swept away by the river he ends up a long way away from the farm. This is where he joins with a little orphan cave boy named Spot.

Actually, Arlo and Spot have met before and Arlo blames the little boy for his father’s death. But Spot adores his new friend and wants to help Arlo get back home. The two begin the long trek back to Arlo’s farm and his family.

Along the way fearless Spot and fearful Arlo encounter some other characters, both good and bad. But their devotion to each other is what saves them and pulls them through all the hardships.

During their adventure, Arlo learns to get through his fears and does what his father told him to do – something bigger that himself; something for another being. The relationship between Arlo and Spot is what entertains audiences. Young and old will delight in the love these two share for each other. Spot’s expressions are priceless. He’s simply adorable and will steal the hearts of everyone in the theaters.

There are many scenes of peril in the movie, which might be upsetting to some youngsters. And there are some scenes which might not be completely understood by the very young. But all in all, this is a sweet film of love, devotion, and mostly of family and finding one’s place in the world.

The animation in the movie is amazing. Not only are the characters enticing, but the scenery is also top notch. Producer Denise Ream explains, “It’s an interesting balance between having the slight stylization, but also capturing the realism of nature. The details they’ve incorporated are stunning. And we’ve approached it differently—you can see for miles and miles.”

“It’s the biggest effects film we’ve done in Pixar history, by far,” says effects supervisor Jon Reisch. “Typically, about 30 percent of a film’s shots are effects shots. For The Good Dinosaur, it’s more than twice that—60 percent of the film, over 900 shots out of about 1500, featured the work of the effects department.” There is nonstop action from beginning to end.

“The Good Dinosaur is one of the most emotional movies we’ve ever made,” says executive producer John Lasseter. “It’s really funny and clever, and as the story unfolds, this deep emotion emerges. You fall in love with Spot right along with Arlo. Their bond is so interesting and unique—so different from anything we’ve ever done. It’s a very special movie.”

Before the movie the animated short, Sanjay’s Super Team. Sanjay is a little boy who loves his super heroes. When his father makes him meditate in front of the Hindu gods, the little boy dreams of them as super heroes. This is a colorful little short.

Disney has several products to accompany this new adventure. There is an adorable plush Spot and several plush Arlos as well as other items.

The bottom line is The Good Dinosaur is a special treat for young and old. It is filled with emotions. The Good Dinosaur is rated PG for peril, action, and thematic elements.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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It’s not an illusion, actor Anthony Mackie has taken over neighborhood cineplax screens. Currently seen as a campaign strategist and Sandra Bullock’s sidekick in Our Brand is Crises, he returns this Friday in two distinctly different takes on life in New York City.

For starters, Jonathan Levine’s The Night Before ushers in the holiday season with a nontraditional tale of three dudes – Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a musician, whose career has failed to launch; Isaac (Seth Rogan),who is suffering from a case of pending fatherhood jitters, rounded out by Chris (Mackie), a pro football player, whose gridiron fame might be attributed to the use of steroids.

Every year the guys gather to commemorate the tragic, sudden deaths of Ethan’s parents a decade earlier, but it looks like this tradition may quickly be coming to an end. Upping the ante one last time, the buddies nail three tickets to the Nutcrackar Ball, the Big Apple’s legendary and most elusive party. There’s just one small hitch, the invitations don’t include an address.

In pursuit of that location, their drug-fueled night of debauchery and revelry takes detours to the Rockefeller Center tree, a karaoke bar where they take a stab at Run-DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis,” and Tompkins Square Park, complete with a stray reindeer running amok. Nothing is off limits, not even midnight mass.

Don’t be mislead, The Night Before promises and delivers a marathon of laughs, but discreetly tucked between the layers is an unmistakable sweetness and vulnerability. By the time the final credits role, three great friends have morphed into three wise men.

Mackie was so sold on the project he did something he hadn’t done in 10 years – he auditioned for the role. “It was a little weird having to memorize the lines for the audition. And usually, actors tend to stay away from the star. Instead I messed with Seth. I was going to blow it out and make it my own. They’d (the director and casting crew) keep laughing and I’d be thinking, ‘Yo, shut up. The cameras are still rolling and I’m still in the middle of my audition.’ I didn’t know if it went well or not until I got the part,” noted the highly animated 37 year old actor, who in real life is a devote football fan, pledging allegiance to his hometown team – the New Orleans Saints.

His second feature film sharing the same release date is writer/director Paul Bettany’s Shelter. A piercing indictment on society’s ineffective handling of homelessness, the storyline is propelled forward by two unlikely lovers – Tahir (Mackie), a Nigerian immigrant racked with guilt over the atrocities he committed as a member of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram, and Hannah (played by Bettany’s wife Jennifer Connelly), a heroin addict, who’s been reduced to trading sexual favors for refuge in a small boiler room during a blizzard. Despite the dire circumstances, a romance blossoms, secrets are shared, and in the act of forgiveness they each find their redemption.

Totally different in both size and scope from such recent blockbusters like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where he appeared as Sam Wilson/Falcon, and subsequent follow-up Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mackie seemed predestined to play Tahir

The graduate of Juillard’s School of Drama recalled, “A few years back, I was feed up and frustrated with the business. I went to Los Angeles to visit a friend. It was the first time I saw LA’s Skid Row and my reaction was, ‘My God, what is this?’ I saw so many veterans living there. I read up on it and called my reps to say I wanted to do something, maybe a short character study. A few months later the script for Shelter comes across, like it was fate. I just thought it was ironic and funny and made me want to create something.”

Having done so many big budget, special effects, and blue screen movies in the past, Mackie welcomed the challenge of creating an intimate, basically two-character study. He laughingly conceded, “Let’s put it this way there were no craft services to keep me happy when I wanted some cookies. This is like doing theater, you just have to hit the road running. I did a few movies like this, successful movies like my first 20-25 day shoot.”

Specifically, he was referring to Brother to Brother where he played a homeless shelter employee struggling with his cultural and sexual identity. Along with his Independent Spirit Award nomination, the film copped the 2004 Special Dramatic Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival.

Musically inclined, his first big break came while portraying ill-fated rapper Tupac Shakur in the off-Broadway staging of Up Against the Wind. He’d eventually move uptown to the Great White Way in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom headed by Whoopi Goldberg.

Numbered among his movie credits are We Are Marshalls, The Hurt Locker, and Million Dollar Baby, coupled with biopics on Olympian Jesse Owens, Antebellum slave revolt leader Nat Turner, and jazz musician Buddy Bolden. Augmenting that roster is the upcoming HBO movie All the Way, casting Mackie as Martin Luther King Jr. to Bryan Cranston’s turn as Lyndon B. Johnson, which focuses on the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

Already shaping up as another busy year, 2016 will mark the release of Triple 9, about a gang of criminals and corrupt cops, who mastermind the killing of a police officer in order to pull off a major heist. And there’s another foray as Falcon in Captain America: Civil War.

Recently becoming a father for the third time Mackie warns, “It’s going to take something important to take me away from my family.”

 

About the Author

Winnie Bonelli is a former entertainment editor for a daily metropolitan New York City area newspaper. She is passionate about movies and television and loves to take readers behind the scenes.