The worst Pixar movie is...

[cer]

I have not seen the movie, but read this comment on it.

"The Good Dinosaur is by no means a bad movie. But it breaks new ground for Pixar in that it is the studio’s first feature that is explicitly—and pretty much exclusively—a kid’s movie." Christopher Orr·The Atlantic

For those of you that saw it, do you find this to be true? Or, is it not even good as a kid's movie?

[BrerGnat]

I have not seen the movie, but read this comment on it.

"The Good Dinosaur is by no means a bad movie. But it breaks new ground for Pixar in that it is the studio’s first feature that is explicitly—and pretty much exclusively—a kid’s movie." Christopher Orr·The Atlantic

For those of you that saw it, do you find this to be true? Or, is it not even good as a kid's movie?

I absolutely did not find this to be true at all. The movie was about friendship, facing your fears, and family. Definitely NOT a "kid only" type movie.

[dobby2010]

I have not seen the movie, but read this comment on it.

"The Good Dinosaur is by no means a bad movie. But it breaks new ground for Pixar in that it is the studio’s first feature that is explicitly—and pretty much exclusively—a kid’s movie." Christopher Orr·The Atlantic

For those of you that saw it, do you find this to be true? Or, is it not even good as a kid's movie?

Well, I'll say this, my four year old boy is completely obsessed with dinosaurs, if he wasn't the target audience I don't know who was. His conclusion after the movie? "Momma, I don't want to see that movie ever again"

[BrerGnat]

Well, I'll say this, my four year old boy is completely obsessed with dinosaurs, if he wasn't the target audience I don't know who was. His conclusion after the movie? "Momma, I don't want to see that movie ever again"

I found the movie to be much more intense than I anticipated. There was a boy about 7 or 8 who was crying at the end and his dad was comforting him. I heard quite a lot of sobbing towards the end. I also thought it was kind of frightening for very young kids. A few years ago, I would have probably had to leave the theater with my son, because I'm sure he would have said it was too scary. He is 9 now.

[Mendelson]

I have not seen the movie, but read this comment on it.

"The Good Dinosaur is by no means a bad movie. But it breaks new ground for Pixar in that it is the studio’s first feature that is explicitly—and pretty much exclusively—a kid’s movie." Christopher Orr·The Atlantic

For those of you that saw it, do you find this to be true? Or, is it not even good as a kid's movie?

Went with my five year old and he liked it, but then again, what 5yo has discerning tastes. That said, there was no magical moment or "spark." He hasn't talked about the movie since or expressed desire to see it again.

For kids and adults there are movies that you walk away from that really take you to a special place and that you reflect on and even really want to go see a second time, and soon. This is definitely not in that category.

I really can't even begin to guess what Orr is talking about with that statement.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Looks like Pixar has their first bomb on their hands... From Variety:

‘The Good Dinosaur’: Pixar May Suffer First Loss at Box Office


Brent Lang

“The Good Dinosaur” is shaping up to be a novelty. After 16 films, including such classics as “Toy Story” and “Wall-E,” the story of a young Apatosaurus’ quest to reunite with his family is shaping up to be Pixar’s first box office failure.

With a production budget of $200 million and roughly $150 million spent on marketing, industry analysts and executives say that Pixar and its parent company Disney must make $500 million to break even theatrically. Currently, the film has made $131.3 million globally and is showing signs of fading fast. At this point, many project that “The Good Dinosaur” will be lucky to crack the $400 million mark. That would make it the lowest grossing Pixar film since “A Bug’s Life” made $363.4 million worldwide in 1998.

“It’s not resonating like a typical Pixar film,” said Erik Handler, an analyst with MKM Partners. “It’s on a path where they’re going to need home entertainment to drive profitability. Usually with Pixar, by the time they’ve gone through the first [release] window, they’re in the black.”

Domestically, the film is losing steam. After opening to $39.1 million in its initial weekend, “The Good Dinosaur” fell more than 60% in its sophomore weekend to $15.5 million. That’s a steep drop for a Pixar release — the company’s films usually see their opening numbers slide by less than 50% in their second weekends.

“It’s a pretty bad fade compared to other Pixar releases,” said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities. “It’s certainly disappointing.”
The hope is that the film will stick around through the Christmas holidays when its major competition for the family audience will be “Alvin and the Chipmunks The Road Chip,” which debuts on Dec. 18.

Of course, “The Good Dinosaur’s” global rollout isn’t over. There are still major markets left to open, including Japan, Brazil, and Korea, but the film is now widely available. Through Sunday, it had debuted in 59% of international markets. China, the world’s second largest market for film, could be a financial boon, but “The Good Dinosaur” has yet to score a release date in the People’s Republic and it’s unclear if it will screen there.

Even if the picture does perform poorly theatrically, Disney could make up some ground in merchandising and consumer products. It may also benefit from home entertainment sales.

Regardless, it’s still odd to see Pixar and Disney have to scramble to push a film into the black, but there’s been something ill-fated about “The Good Dinosaur” since its inception. The picture’s release date was pushed back by two years, and the production nearly derailed at one point. In 2013, original director Bob Peterson was removed over creative differences. He was replaced by Peter Sohn and the story underwent a major overhaul. Because of the delays, this marks the first year in the company’s history that Pixar released two films, the other being last summer’s “Inside Out,” which amassed over $850 million worldwide.

In some respects, the extra time paid off for “The Good Dinosaur.” Critically, the film has been positively reviewed and its A CinemaScore means that audiences have enjoyed it. That said, the film has not received the kind of rapturous response that “Inside Out” or “Up” have enjoyed. Pixar may be getting penalized for releasing a film that’s merely good as opposed to revolutionary.

The studio may also be feeling the pinch from the increased competition in the animation space. In recent years that sector was dominated by Disney and DreamWorks Animation, but now every major studio has an animation division, and rivals like Universal and Fox have scored with their “Despicable Me” and “Ice Age” franchises.

Few would quibble with Pixar’s legacy, however. Over the twenty years that it has spent making theatrical releases the studio has made a series of acclaimed films about everything from a superhero family to an octogenarian in a balloon house and been rewarded for its creative daring at the box office.

“When one out of every 16 films doesn’t live up to expectations, that’s about as good a track record as any one has in this industry,” said Handler.

[BrerGnat]

Well, statistically speaking, having one "bomb" in a long list of movies isn't bad at all. I see the toy commercials for the Tomy Dinosaurs and it's kinda sad. They are really pushing merchandise for a movie that had SO few characters.

[baldburke]

The Good Dinosaur has made about $80M so far and will probably earn enough to at least make its money back (about $200M). However we can all probably agree to give Disney/Pixar a pass on this one. They're sure to make a boatload on Star Wars. The Avengers did well making about $450M so far. And Inside Out is one of the, if not the absolute, best Pixar movies ever. Plus Pixar's pipeline with Finding Dory, Toy Story 3 and Incredibles 2 sounds solid.

[BrerGnat]

The Good Dinosaur has made about $80M so far and will probably earn enough to at least make its money back (about $200M). However we can all probably agree to give Disney/Pixar a pass on this one. They're sure to make a boatload on Star Wars. The Avengers did well making about $450M so far. And Inside Out is one of the, if not the absolute, best Pixar movies ever. Plus Pixar's pipeline with Finding Dory, Toy Story 3 and Incredibles 2 sounds solid.

I agree.

[NJDad]

Toy Story is up to 4.

[baldburke]

Toy Story is up to 4.

Indeed! And apparently already in production. My apologies for the oversight.

[joonyer]

It looks like The Good Dinosaur may not meet the lofty expectations set by most previous Pixar films.
But that being said, it is still way, way better than Cars 2.

[Arielfan98]

Ok I'm really late to the game, but here it is! I just saw it and I have to say I am not as impressed as I thought, but also not completely disappointed. I thought the animation was very well done, and I liked the storyline. It was very unique, although it lacked a lot of stimulation/conflict. Like, yes, Arlow was afraid of being brave and there were the pterodactyls, but I don't know I wish there was more of a conflict in there. Anyway, I rate this film a 6.5/10. It intrigued me while watching, but not something I'd see again. I also didn't appreciate the getting high reference; completely inappropriate for children even though they have no idea what that is. But I would definitely recommend watching this once.

[SurferStitch]

I'm on the fence as to whether we will see The Good Dinosaur in the theater or not. I hear good and bad (more good).

I must be dense, but I actually liked Cars 2. I thought it was a fun film. Not the best, but certainly not bad at all!

Wall-E is still my favorite Pixar movie. It was visually and emotionally beautiful, and probably THE purest, most honest love story I've ever seen! Wall-E and Eve had more heart than most humans I know! I loved the Chaplin-esque style in the beginning with no dialogue. Yes, the movie showed humans in a harsh and (deserved) brutally honest light, and rightfully so... just look around WDW on any given day, and you'll see what I mean. I think the fact that the movie gave some bitter pills to swallow for some people made it less liked. I give Pixar a lot of credit for that.

Inside Out and The Incredibles are tied for second!

[PirateLover]

Bought the Blu Ray and finally got around to seeing this. Overall I probably echo Nat's response. I was really impressed with the graphics. For anyone who's been to Yellowstone, it was so realistic and well done. The cartoony dinosaurs actually were a disappointment for me. I think they could've done a more realistic character who was still cute. The story itself was basic, (I agree it was a little bit lion king-esque with the dad dying and the son lost in an unknown world) and they drew it out too long, but I liked the message of how sometimes you really have to learn to be brave, it doesn't come naturally to everyone. I also liked how it got across the message that everyone has a story.

[Ian]

I haven't seen it yet, but my wife and kids did. My wife speaks very highly of it and my kids all loved it, as well.

That said, NOTHING could be as bad as Cars 2. I didn't care for Wall-E either, but there is (in my opinion) a big difference between making a film that doesn't appeal to me and making a film that is downright poor.

I would assume Good Dinosaur falls into the former category whereas Cars 2 fall squarely into the latter. It was just an embarrassingly bad film.

[SurferStitch]

We liked the Good Dinosaur. Nowhere near the best, but still enjoyable. Don't know if/when I'll watch it again, but I don't feel like I was cheated out of a couple hours of my life.

My very favorite Pixar movie is Wall-E. I can watch that over and over again. There is so much heart and emotion in that movie, and it's all by robots!! I know it got grief in the beginning because of the way it portrayed humans, but I thought it was spot on!!

[savafan]

In the discussion of worst Pixar movie, I still have to go with Rescuers Down Under

[joonyer]

In the discussion of worst Pixar movie, I still have to go with Rescuers Down Under

Well, while Disney did collaborate with the Pixar for computer graphics for Rescuers down Under, it was not a Pixar Studios Production. but it was perhaps the beginning of a very fortunate relationship.