I think this may be the first time I rode the Disney ride before I watched the Disney movie which is a little strange for me. Dinosaur is kind of an anomaly in the Disney catalog. It is heavy CGI animation that is really trying to look real. In fact, there are real filmed locations in this movie where they just animate the Dinosaurs into them.
Tribe Amanda told me about this thing in college called the "uncanny valley" which is a term that is required in modern society where we can get really close to replicating real life. The "uncanny valley" is the natural repulsion to something that looks like it could be real but you know is fake. It happens when CGI is of descent quality but not quite perfect enough to get us to suspend reality. It is also the same feeling you have when you see those creepy Japanese robots of women that are a little too real.
In my opinion, Dinosaur struggles because of the "uncanny valley". It is uncomfortable to see flyovers of Hawaii and then have animated Dinosaurs on top of it that are just a little too smooth. Jurassic Park has some of these same issues. When they used animatronics, it was scary and awesome but when Jurassic Park CGI animated the brontosaurus it felt weird. Dinosaur also has a good story about resilience and inclusion but it feels a little like "The Land Before Time".
Dinosaur movies are hard because there is a glut of them and it is hard to have a different story than the normal migration story. I liked this movie but it is forgettable. I have started using this the following test in regards to how good a Disney movie is; if Jake and I were babysitting his nieces and nephews or Maple would this be a movie I would be excited to show them. Dinosaur falls into "if they picked it out I would watch it again but I would never suggest it" category. On the other hand, I would definitely make them watch it if we were going to Disney World so the ride made more sense.
This entry is kind of gibberish.
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