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Pixar forgoes dialogue to set the mood in its next adventure ‘The Good Dinosaur’

Disney and Pixar pick up right where they left off in this first official trailer for the upcoming animated pic The Good Dinosaur. The June teaser ended with a heartwarming glimpse at a green dinosaur and his pet human (more on that in a second), and the new trailer comes to life with an elevated sense of discovery, trepidation, and adventure.

The Good Dinosaur asks this question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? The film follows an Apatosaurus named Arlo and Spot the cave-boy. Director Peter Sohn, a Pixar Story Artist who previously worked on films such as Finding Nemo and Up!, describes Dino as a boy-and-his-dog story, except here the roles are reversed. “Arlo himself is what we would have become, able to articulate and have certain emotions and connection to family,” says Sohn. [The dinosaurs have] become us, essentially… I’m trying to treat Spot in a very kind of animalistic way, where he doesn’t speak very much. He’s very feral.”

You’ll notice the trailer barely includes any dialogue, besides a few grunts and growls. Featured prominently is the song “Crystals” by Of Monsters and Men, a sweet tune that succinctly sets the mood for Pixar’s latest adventure. I say, who needs dialogue in a trailer that so magically brings to life an alternate reality ruled by dinosaurs; the animation here is incredibly life-like at times and pushes CGI to new limits. What say you?

The Good Dinosaur hits theatres November 25.

Pixar imagines a world where dinos rule in next animated pic ‘The Good Dinosaur’

Inside Out hasn’t even hit theatres yet (June 19 where are you?!) and Pixar is already readying audiences for its next animated flick, The Good Dinosaur. A basic teaser trailer came out today and it begs the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? That’s what Pixar is pitching with The Good Dinosaur, which stars Arlo the Apatosaurus (voiced by Raising Hope‘s Lucas Neff) and his small human cave-boy friend Spot.

In an interview with Yahoo, director Peter Sohn–who last helmed Ponyo and served as a Story Artist on other Pixar films like Up!Wall-ERatatouilleThe Incredibles, and Finding Nemo–describes the film as a boy-and-his-dog story, except here the roles are reversed. “Arlo himself is what we would have become, able to articulate and have certain emotions and connection to family,” says Sohn. [The dinosaurs have] become us, essentially… I’m trying to treat Spot in a very kind of animalistic way, where he doesn’t speak very much. He’s very feral.”

While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of. The teaser does little in the way of expanding upon this general logline; it does, however, successfully set up breathtaking landscapes and it leaves you with Pixar’s signature warmth at the end. That heartwarming dino-human print is featured on the first official poster for the movie and it hangs after the break.

The Good Dinosaur roars into theatres November 25.

Update (6/12): The Good Dinosaur‘s voice cast is undergoing major changes. Lucas Neff is out and child actor Raymond Ochoa (Mars Needs Moms) is in to voice Arlo the Apatosaurus. Deadline reports the rest of the new cast: “Jeffrey Wright as Arlo’s dad, Poppa; Steve Zahn as a pterodactyl named Thunderclap; AJ Buckley as Nash, a T-rex; Anna Paquin as Ramsey the T-rex; Sam Elliott as a tough T-rex named Butch and Marcus Scribner as Arlo’s brother Buck.” Continue reading Pixar imagines a world where dinos rule in next animated pic ‘The Good Dinosaur’