The Good Dinosaur

My daughter really wanted to see The Good Dinosaur.  I knew almost nothing about it except that it was a Pixar movie,  I hadn't seen a trailer or anything.  We had a girls' night out tonight while our boys went to ride roller coasters in 40 degree weather.  (For some reason that didn't appeal to us.) Sadly, we were disappointed in the movie.  I will say the animation was incredible.  Possibly the most realistic that I've ever seen.  The stage is like a western film, with dinosaurs.  It feels a bit odd and didn't really work for me.  It had some cute moments, but fell flat many times.  The story was weak, the humor a bit odd.  My daughter asked me several times, "So why is this called The Good Dinosaur?"  He was timid, and then he was brave. But how was he "good"?  He made a decision that I didn't really agree with in the end and when it was over, I thought: Really?  It's over?  My daughter likes almost every movie she sees, and tonight she said, "Huh.  That was okay I guess, but not really good."  If you want to see it, I would recommend you wait for the DVD.  I give it a C+.

Peanuts Movie

The Peanuts Movie was a hit for our family.  It is sweet and funny, with great lessons on character and integrity.  There were a few of those scenes with Snoopy and the Red Baron that bored me to death as a child, but my kids seemed to enjoy them.  It was very true to the Charles M. Shulz characters.  The story was pretty timeless, except for Snoopy's typewriter (which my son didn't know what that even was) and easy for my kids to relate to-- except that the adults still squawk.  I'm always happy when a rated G movie comes out that we can all enjoy, and this one did not disappoint.
I give it an A-.