We missed seeing Disney•Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur in theaters by mere hours, and my kids have been reminding me about it ever since. The kids are both dinosaur obsessed, and since it’s Disney•Pixar, it’s always a safe bet so I thought it would be a fun film to own once it came out. But, I will admit I knew absolutely nothing about the film, except for the fact that it was about prehistoric times and it had a boy in it.
The Good Dinosaur finally arrived on DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, and Disney Movies Anywhere {DMA} today, February 23rd, and we immediately sat down for a family movie night to check it out with the kiddos. 
It turns out I was right, it was about prehistoric times {thank you, obvious title}. And, I was definitely right that this is a film that we needed to own. But, I had thought that the movie was about a boy who finds a dinosaur. It turns out it’s about a dinosaur who finds a boy. I know that probably seems like a distinction without a difference, but if you have seen the film, you understand.
The story takes us back 65 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Filled with gorgeous scenery and amazing life-like detail, it's easy to get swept up in the story and lost in the cinematography. 
We first meet our family of dinosaurs as three baby apatasaurus eggs begin to hatch, much to the joy of their elated parents. Arlo is the last to hatch and is the runt of his family. But even though he is small and deals with intense fears about new things and new situations, he is determined to make his mark. 
Like just about all Disney movies, a series of unfortunate events leaves him in a desperate situation where he must overcome his fears and find his inner strength. In this journey, Arlo meets a human named Spot while trying to get back to his family farm. Yes, that’s right, in The Good Dinosaur man and dinos existed together…. and dinosaurs had farms.
Before you start bringing science and facts into things, you should know that in the few first opening scenes we see the infamous asteroid that forever changed life on Earth miss the planet and blow right past it. This near-hit becomes the basis of the movie, asking the question what if dinos never went extinct and had very human-like characteristics. 
This gives us a very sweet and sensitive Arlo who learns the power of confronting his fears as he discovers what he is truly capable of. Both hilarious as well as heartwarming, the whole family will love seeing the prehistoric adventure unfold. With great lessons such as trusting in yourself while confronting and overcoming your fears, The Good Dinosaur is a great film for even young children. 
In addition to the feature film, The Good Dinosaur also includes almost 2 full hours of bonus materials. The theatrical short Sanjay’s Super Team introduces us to little Sanjay who is enthralled with the world of cartoons and comics, while his father would prefer him to focus more on his Hindu traditions. In the short, Sanjay embarks on an amazing journey and returns with a new perspective they can both embrace while still staying true to himself.
My absolute favorite bonus feature was RECYCLOSAURUS that shows a little behind-the-scenes team building with the Pixar team. “The Good Dinosaur” crew competes to see which department can create the best dinosaur ever. The trick is that they can only use discarded items from the studio’s “free table”, which they describe as items “too good to throw away but that don’t have a place in your home.” Oh, and a roll of duct tape. After seeing some of their straight-up amazing creations, it makes me want to dig through their free table so, so badly. I also want to do Halloween at the Pixar studios because that looks like the best, festive party ever.
We also learned about the making of The Good Dinosaur and all that went into bringing it to life. Director Peter Sohn and his fellow filmmakers talk about the challenging, inspiring, and unexpectedly emotional experience of making “The Good Dinosaur.” I loved listening to their commentary and seeing what struggles they had as they made the film as well as what really resonated with the team.
Of course, there were also some deleted scenes including The Attack {when a savage predator attacks the newborn Arlo}, Building the Silo {where Arlo follows along as his father builds a silo for the family farm}, and Waiting for Poppa {where Arlo awaits the return of his beloved father on a stormy night}.
All in all, I was really impressed by the bonus features and learned a lot about the backstory of the film as well as seeing some really fun add-ons. Want even more fun with The Good Dinosaur? Download and print these fun activities and printables.
Be sure to check out the Hide and Seek clip from The Good Dinosaur to see how adorable the film really is.
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