The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur is a 2015 American 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is set in a world where dinosaurs never went extinct, where a young sauropod named Arlo makes an unlikely friend in Spot, a feral human boy.

Bob Peterson, who came up with the idea for the story, directed the film until August 2013. In October 2014, Peter Sohn was announced as the new director. The film, along with Inside Out, marks the first time that Pixar has released two feature films in the same year. The Good Dinosaur had its premiere on November 10, 2015 in Paris, and was released in the United States on November 25, 2015.

Arlo

• I'll take care of that critter, Poppa. It won't stand a chance.
• [to Forrest Woodbush] I don't know. I'm going home. Do you know how far Clawtooth Mountain is?
• Spot! Come here, Spot, come here!
• [to Butch] Don't move? What if they have claws and big teeth?
• You guys would have liked my poppa. He wasn't scared of anything. [sighs] I'm done being scared.
• Thanks! I sure appreciate you looking out for me!
• You're gonna love it, Spot. You'll have a warm place to sleep. Right next to me. And all the corn you can eat. There's lots of space to run around. It'll be your farm, too. We'll all look after it together.

Butch

• Nash, get out of your sister's bubble.
• Hey, kid? If you're pullin' my leg, I'm gonna eat yours.
• It was 100 degrees in the shade. I walked for five days with no water... Then I saw it - a pretty pond. I bent down to take a drink, when these crocs launched out of the water! One croc bit me on the face; ain't no way I wasn't its supper! Except for one thing... I wasn't ready for dyin' that day. I bit one croc in half, tail-whipped the other, and the last one... well, I drowned that croc in my own blood.
• If you ain't scared of a croc bitin' you on the face, you ain't alive. Listen, kid, you can't get rid of fear. It's like Mother Nature; you can't beat her or outrun her, but you can get through it. You can find out what you're made of.
• A deal's a deal. At first light, we ride.
• You'll be all right. You're one tough kid!

Thunderclap

• You think you can mess with me?! I've seen the eye of the storm, AND I FORGOT WHAT FEAR IS! I'M NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING!
• You know, I just want to take a moment and thank the storm for this meal.
• Let's get 'em, boys!
• Ah, a free critter, thanks to you.
• Well, look who got relevated!
• The storm provides!
• Hey, slow down! There’s no where to hide yellow belly!
• Aaahh!

Poppa Henry

• Sometimes, you gotta get through your fear to see the beauty on the other side.
• ARLO! Why'd you let it go?
• As long as you can find the river, you can find your way home.
• I think we went far enough today. Storm's getting worse. Let's get you home.
• [last words before his death] RUN, ARLO!
• [in Arlo's dream] You're me and more. Now go take care of that critter.

Forrest Woodbush

• [about Spot] He can protect me, like my friends. [describing his pets] This is Fury. He protects me from the creatures that crawl in the night. This is Destructor. She protects me from mosquitoes. This is Dreamcrusher. He protects me from having unrealistic goals. And this is Debbie. [silence; Debbie the bird tweets at Forrest] Yes, we need him.
• On your path to Clawtooth Mountain, that creature will keep you safe. Don't ever lose him.

Dialogue

Forrest Woodbush: That creature protected you. Why?

Arlo: I don't know. I'm going home. Do you know how far Clawtooth Mountain is?

Forrest Woodbush: Good idea. We want him.

Arlo: Why?

Forrest Woodbush: Because it's terrifying out here. He can protect me, like my friends. [describing his pets] This is Fury. He protects me from the creatures that crawl in the night. This is Destructor. She protects me from mosquitoes. This is Dreamcrusher. He protects me from having unrealistic goals. And this is Debbie. [silence; Debbie the bird tweets at Forrest] Yes, we need him. What is his name?

Arlo: A name? I don't know.

Forrest Woodbush: Hmm. Then I will meditate on this... [hums for a moment] I name him, I keep him! [hums again] Killer! [Spot ignores him; hums again] Beast! [hums again] Murderer! [hums again]

Arlo: Uh, Grubby!

Forrest Woodbush: Funeral-Planner?

Arlo: Cootie!

Forrest Woodbush: Hemorrhoid!

Arlo: Squirt!

Forrest Woodbush: Fffffrank!

Arlo: Stinky!

Forrest Woodbush: M-m-maniac!

Arlo: Flunky!

Forrest Woodbush: Violet.

Arlo: Spike!

Forrest Woodbush: Lunatic!

Arlo: Spot! [Spot looks up; happily] Spot! Come here, Spot, come here! [Spot comes to sit beside him]

Forrest Woodbush: He is named. You clearly are connected. Good for you. On your path to Clawtooth Mountain, that creature will keep you safe. Don't ever lose him.

---

Arlo: I miss... I miss my family. [sees Spot staring up at him] Family. [uses sticks as effigies, placing four in the ground] That's me. There's Libby. And Buck. And Momma. And... [pauses for a moment, then places the last effigy in the ground with the others] And Poppa. [draws a circle around them in the sand] Family.

[Spot approaches, sniffing, studying the group, curious but confused]

Spot: Huh?

Arlo: You don't understand. That's okay.

---

Arlo: My name's Arlo.

Thunderclap: [squawks with laughter] I'm sorry, I just... I used to have a name like that once. But that was before I started following the storm!

Arlo: The storm?

Thunderclap: The storm swept me out. I was afraid for my life. But the storm gave me a relevation, and I wasn't scared anymore!

Arlo: You mean a revelation?

Thunderclap: No! A re-le-vation! Okay? I was at a real low-point, y'know? And the storm swept me up to a real high-point! And then left me at a "higher-elevation"!

Arlo: Wow...

Thunderclap: Yeah, wow! That's when the storm gave me my new name, because - what do we say?

Downpour: "The storm provides!"

Thunderclap: The storm provides. You can call me Thunderclap.

---

Ramsey: Look like he’s a cutest thing.

Arlo: [as Ramsey fusses Spot] He likes you.

Nash: [laughs] Imagine that, Ramsey. [leaning towards her] Even with your stinky face!

Ramsey: Nash! Boundaries! This is my personal bubble.

Nash: Nah, that ain't your bubble. THIS is your bubble...! [they start wrestling]

Butch: Nash! Get outta your sister's bubble.

---

Butch: We ain't got time for babysitting. We've got longhorns to round up.

Ramsey: [to Arlo] My genius brother lost our whole herd in one day.

Nash: I did not lose them, Ramsey! How many times have I gotta tell you this? They just wandered off!

Butch: And we've still gotta find them. We can't help ya, kid.

---

Arlo: So, how far did you say that watering hole was?

Butch: I got a job for ya.

Arlo: I'm not really good at jobs...

Butch: I need you to keep on the dodge and sidle up the loblolly past them horn-heads, just hootin' and hollerin' to score off them rustlers. We'll cut dirt and get the bulge on 'em.

Arlo: [confused] What?

Ramsey: He just wants you to get on that rock and scream.

Arlo: Uh... but what's out there?

Butch: They'll come right at ya. You hold your ground. Don't move.

Arlo: "Don't move"? What if they have claws and big teeth?

Butch: Don't overthink it.

---

Arlo: Butch, how'd you get your scar?

Butch: I don't know if you're ready for that story.

Arlo: I can take it!

Nash: Oh yeah, you gotta tell him pa!

Ramsey: That's a good one!

Butch: [clears his throat] It was 100 degrees in the shade. I walked for five days with no water... Then I saw it - a pretty pond. I bent down to take a drink, when these crocs launched out of the water! One croc bit me on the face; ain't no way I wasn't its supper! Except for one thing... I wasn't ready for dyin' that day. I bit one croc in half, tail-whipped the other, and the last one... well, [deeper voice] I drowned that croc in my own blood.

Arlo: [amazed] Whoa...!

Ramsey and Nash: DAAAAANG!

Nash: [shivering] Ooh, look, look! Gives me the little goosies every time!

Ramsey: I love that story! Show him your souvenir!

[Butch opens his mouth, revealing a crocodile's tooth embedded between his teeth]

Ramsey: Ain't that just too good?!

Nash: Can I touch it this time?

Butch: No.

Arlo: [laughs slightly] You guys would have liked my poppa. He wasn't scared of anything. [sighs] I'm done being scared.

Butch: Who said I'm not scared?

Arlo: But you took on a croc!

Butch: And I was scared doin' it. If you ain't scared of a croc bitin' you on the face, you ain't alive. Listen, kid, you can't get rid of fear. It's like Mother Nature; you can't beat her or outrun her, but you can get through it. You can find out what you're made of.

[Butch's speech hits Arlo, who then sees snowflakes drifting down]

Arlo: The first snow.

Ramsey: It's early this year.

Arlo: And I got to get home to Momma.

Nash: We'll get you to that watering hole.

Butch: A deal's a deal. At first light, we ride.

About The Good Dinosaur

• When you make a "what if" like that, you could really go anywhere. It could be dinosaurs driving in cars and stuck in traffic or dinosaurs in space or whatever it was. In the early development, I was just doing some drawings and I started this one drawing of a long-neck type of an apatosaurus with his head in the ground plowing the earth, and there was something really kind of interesting about a dinosaur almost like a giant tractor and farming. ...[I thought,] "What if they evolved to become almost agrarian if they're herbivores?" And that started opening up other doors. If you're a carnivore maybe you're a rancher? There was something really sincere about this farming dinosaur.
  • Peter Sohn "In 'Good Dinosaur,' Director Peter Sohn Helps An Herbivore Conquer His Fears", on Fresh Air, NPR, November 18, 2015.

Cast

• Raymond Ochoa as Arlo
  • Jack McGraw as a younger Arlo
• Jack Bright as Spot
• Sam Elliott as Butch
• Anna Paquin as Ramsey
• A. J. Buckley as Nash
• Jeffrey Wright as Poppa Henry
• Frances McDormand as Momma Ida
• Marcus Scribner as Buck
  • Ryan Teeple as Young Buck
• Maleah Padilla as Libby
• Steve Zahn as Thunderclap
• Mandy Freund as Downpour
• Steven Clay Hunter as Coldfront
• Peter Sohn as Forrest Woodbush
• Dave Boat as Bubbha
• Carrie Paff as Lurleane
• Calum Mackenzie Grant as Pervis
• John Ratzenberger as Earl