The Good Dinosaur

[ShyViolet]

The University plot was not only contrived but recycled the plot point of Mike and Sulley wanting to be top scarers. The characteristics that made them charming and loveable in Inc. were completely absent.* And it does in many ways violate its predecessor because the emphasis is all on scaring, even after we'd seen Sulley recoil in horror when he sees Boo burst into tears.

...Don't you mean "before" we'd seen it, considering it's a prequel?

Yes, it is a prequel, but technically we've already experienced the side of Sulley's character that protects and loves Boo, regardless of "when" it happened. There is really no point thematically to showing us how much Sulley wanted to scare children before he met Boo.

Case in point: You might say that the prequel Temple of Doom broadened Indy's character because it showed him as a father figure caring for a child. Technically, of course, it occurred before Raiders, but it still very much enriched Indy's Dr. Jones/Indiana personality.

Monsters U, on the other hand, did none of this.

[EricJ]

Yes, it is a prequel, but technically we've already experienced the side of Sulley's character that protects and loves Boo, regardless of "when" it happened. There is really no point thematically to showing us how much Sulley wanted to scare children before he met Boo.

In the Monster-verse, Scaring is Success. Varsity Sulley wants to be Big Scarer on Campus, and Employee of the Month Sulley wants to hang on to his legendary reputation as all-time Top Scarer at the corporation, as some equivalent of just making money.
He learns his "Not a Flying Toy moment" truth in Inc., but that doesn't change what the Monster-verse believed before then. If anything, it backstory emphasizes the reason of why adult Sulley was so deludedly focused on scaring without realizing the cost--He didn't actually want to traumatize kids, he just wanted to be a celebrity.

[ShyViolet]

I see the connection. I just don't think it was in any way necessary; we already knew from the beginning of Inc. that Sulley was very focused on scaring. After all, he and Mike were practicing right from the first scene.

And so what if Sulley was obsessed with being the best scarer during his college days: does it really matter? All the wonderful themes and inventiveness of Inc. is dumped in University for a recycled plot (as you said ROTN) and an extraneous story of young Sulley and Mike competing with each other. After we saw their special bond in Inc. (and Mike's very touching "turnaround" of putting Boo's door back together) there is no emotional payoff whatsoever to seeing them during their college days.

A sequel with an older Boo, or perhaps another child from the human world, would have been so much more gratifying.

[EricJ]

A sequel with an older Boo, or perhaps another child from the human world, would have been so much more gratifying.

Yeah, but Lasseter said they couldn't use the old Circle 7 "''Tween Boo" script, because he wanted to do it clean from scratch and avoid any legal authorship entanglements. Would have been good, but just recycling Toy Story 3 before the fact, and what would have been the point of a Monsters movie in our world?
(Although they may have homaged the script a bit at the end, with M&S trapped by police on our side.)

[Ben]

So what's the deal with The Good Dinosaur home video release?

Amazon is saying two discs for the standard BD pack (one Blu-ray, one DVD), which Blu-ray.com agrees with, but Amazon says three discs for the 3D pack where Blu-ray.com says four discs (BD-3D feature, feature BD, extras BD and DVD), which makes more sense as per Inside Out.

Then again, with Dino not performing as strong, maybe they put the extras on one BD with the film? Anyone heard or know anything more definitive? I just want to make sure I go for a set with the supplements, even though I'm not too bothered about 3D.

Danka!

[Dacey]

Some titles, like Dredd, have both the 3D version and the 2D one on the same disc. Perhaps that's what they're doing here?

[Randall]

I would guess that all the extras are on the 2D movie disc, and that Blu-ray.com is simply mistaken, perhaps making a guess. The UCE cover lists 3 discs, plus Digital HD version; maybe Blu-ray.com counted that Digital HD copy as a disc, by mistake. In fact, their listing for the Canadian version says 3 discs, and Canada normally gets identical releases with the US, except maybe a sticker on the package denoting French language track availability (Disney does often release a separate bilingual package version in Canada - maybe just in Quebec, as well as at Amazon.ca - in addition to the English one).

The Bits totally missed the 3D announcement at first (only posting 3D info a day or two later), since it was buried in the press release, so not much info was there apparently.

***This may make it official: From the Disney Movie Club website: "Includes a Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and Digital HD of the movie." That info Is likely correct.

However, I did also see a listing at Blu-ray.com for a Target exclusive UCE/3D version, with extra bonus content! So, that would actually be the best bet to get everything, at least in the US.

[Ben]

The regular and 3D discs are definitely separate platters, it was just if there was an extra supplements disc in there.

Yeah, it looks like Blu-ray.com is wrong and it's a choice of BD+DVD for the regular pack (with HD download) or three-disc (3D, BD and DVD) for the ultimate/3D pack.

The Target extra is a digital file so not a physical disc, so there is no 4-disc edition. They put the extras on the same disc as the feature, but are still charging a 4-disc price (natch!).


Update: the Diz is sending us the regular pack for review. At least the extras will be there, and maybe I'll be able to pick up the 3D edition at Movie Reawrds in a few months instead (not a fan of the format, but I have every other available Pixar in 3D so what the heck). Certainly looks like Disney is making it hard for even Pixar to get 3D noticed now, since they're not sending out 3D copies for review purposes and did kind of bury the announcement. I can't see it selling loads, making a Rewards appearance more than likely.

[LotsoA113]

Interestingly, with The Good Dinosaur now confirmed to be on 3D Blu-Ray, that makes Monster University the only PIxar film produced from the start in 3D (basically all Pixar movies staring with Up onward) not to be released on 3D blu-Ray in North America.

[EricJ]

Interestingly, with The Good Dinosaur now confirmed to be on 3D Blu-Ray, that makes Monster University the only Pixar film produced from the start in 3D (basically all Pixar movies staring with Up onward) not to be released on 3D blu-Ray in North America.

http://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Universi ... B00DMK6WN4

[Randall]

Okay, so I saw this today at a special Mother's Day showing that the Girl Guides arranged.

Brave is still my least favourite Pixar film, but Dino challenges for that spot. It is not all that bad, but not too great either. The "pioneer music" annoyed me the most, as the western is my least favourite genre (with several films excepted; I did like Rango). The film just was kind of weird, sometimes in a good way, but sometimes it was a wee bit unsettling.

Still, my wifed loved it. She's odd that way.

[Ben]

I think I probably like Brave move, though. Despite how derivative it can be, there's something about Billy Connolly's energy and the feeling of a 1950s Disney short that keeps it afloat, even if it remains a film of two differing tones, for obvious reasons.

As for least favorite...it has to be Cars for me, and that's a western too! Although I did actually fall asleep in the second one, at least that had a bit more going on in it: the original basically had Paul Newman bringing it some heart but it was just too overlong and the world is still just too stupid and baffling to me.

[EricJ]

I think I probably like Brave move, though. Despite how derivative it can be, there's something about Billy Connolly's energy and the feeling of a 1950s Disney short that keeps it afloat, even if it remains a film of two differing tones, for obvious reasons.

Brave vs. Dino...that's pretty much the "Hospital food vs. airline food" choice, but yes, Brave at least was a nice enough movie that started out as plenty-o'-nothing and had more Pixar brain-trust material added to it to try and bring it back to its Pixar roots, like the Connolly dad and the chieftains, the wacky contemporary witch and more "business" for the cub-troop.
While Dino was a pleasant weak movie that was turned into something ELSE to try and cure it (qv. the "Fireflies" scene coming from a different story, and no particular title-justified reason for Arlo to be the "Good" dinosaur), and ended up as something creepy, disturbing and not particularly sympathetic. To thine own movie be true.

Merida was snotty and Arlo was wimpy, but Merida turned out to be a good character out of context in the marketing, and...Arlo was still a wimp.

As for least favorite...it has to be Cars for me, and that's a western too! Although I did actually fall asleep in the second one, at least that had a bit more going on in it: the original basically had Paul Newman bringing it some heart but it was just too overlong and the world is still just too stupid and baffling to me.

We didn't even like "Doc Hollywood" when it still had Michael J. Fox, Woody Harrelson and Barnard Hughes, so remaking it wasn't going to improve it, but I don't absolutely hate it--A good Pixar movie has to be a labor of love for its universe, and Cars clearly captures the appeal of NASCAR and those myths of Route 66 scenery.
Which is pretty much what you can't say about Cars 2, and why they want to go back to California highways for Cars 3.

[Ben]

I actually don't mind airline food (whaddaya gonna do, step out for a takeaway?) and durng a stay a couple of years ago in hospital I gotta say that what they fed me was some of the tastiest stuff, even if I wasn't in the best condition to appreciate it! But then you get what you need when you need it, and I've never had any reason to complain at either.

I think I made mention of The Good Dino's odd title in my Blu-ray review. I think I said d it was odd because without any really "bad" dinos, how could he be a good one? I think some other countries' giving up trying to find a decent translation got it right with the simple Arlo & Spot, which works as good as any.

[EricJ]

I actually don't mind airline food (whaddaya gonna do, step out for a takeaway?)

(It's an old cliche' from the 70's/80's--Now they don't give you TV dinners anymore, they give you deli sandwiches and salads which can be served cold...Unless you're flying "neo no-frills" JetBlue, in which case you don't get meals unless you want to pay for sophisticated bistro fare, but you're allowed go to any of the airport chain-restaurants for some specially-marked upscale carry-on takeout.)

I think I made mention of The Good Dino's odd title in my Blu-ray review. I think I said d it was odd because without any really "bad" dinos, how could he be a good one? I think some other countries' giving up trying to find a decent translation got it right with the simple Arlo & Spot, which works as good as any.

In the Petersen script, Arlo was the Flik-like "odd thinker" dino who didn't want to kill the bugs attacking the harvest like the rest of the community, and Spot was Mighty Cave-Hunter after them.

https://animationfascination.wordpress. ... rs-online/

(Again, which is the original reason Arlo wanted to show Spot how pretty fireflies were.)
So--like Mike & Sulley discovering that laughter was better than scares--Arlo was "good" in that he would have eventually found a peaceful solution for how the farm community could live in harmony with the bugs, or how they helped out in other ways, if...they had gotten that far to figuring that part of the story out yet.