The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur is an upcoming Disney/Pixar feature length film, set for release on November 25, 2015. It will be Pixar's 16th feature-length animated film. It is being directed by Peter Sohn. Enrico Casarosa, director of La Luna, will be head of story. A short called Sanjay's Super Team will be released alongside the film.

Plot
In an alternate timeline where Earth was never hit by an asteroid and dinosaurs never became extinct, a young Apatosaurus named Arlo loses his father in a tragic accident. One day, Arlo falls into a river and gets knocked out by a rock, finding himself far away from his home. While trying to find a way back to the Clawed-Tooth Mountains, he befriends a human caveboy that he names Spot.

Voice cast

 * Raymond Ochoa: Arlo, a young Apatosaurus
 * Jack Bright: Spot, a little orphaned human boy
 * Jeffrey Wright: Poppa Henry, Arlo's father
 * Sam Elliott: Butch, a Tyrannosaurus rex
 * A.J. Buckley: Nash, a T-Rex and Butch's son
 * Anna Paquin: Ramsey, a T-Rex and Butch's daughter
 * Steve Zahn: Thunderclap, a Nyctosaurus
 * Frances McDormand: Momma Ida, Arlo's mother
 * Marcus Scribner: Buck, Arlo's brother
 * Maleah Padilla: Libby, Arlo's sister
 * Peter Sohn: Forrest Woodbush, a Styracosaurus
 * John Ratzenberger: TBA
 * TBA: Bubbha, a Velociraptor
 * TBA: Downpour, a Caulkicephalus
 * TBA: Lurleane, a member of Bubbha's pack
 * TBA: Jack, an Ankylosaurus
 * TBA: Will, a Triceratops
 * TBA: Mary Alice, a Stegosaurus
 * TBA: Earl, a member of Bubbha's pack
 * TBA: Pervis, a member of Bubbha's pack
 * TBA: Windgust, a Guidraco
 * TBA: Frostbite, a Ludodactylus
 * TBA: Coldfront, a Ludodactylus

Synopsis
"What if the cataclysmic asteroid that forever changed life on Earth actually missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? This hilarious, heartfelt and original tale is directed by Bob Peterson (co-director/writer, Up; writer, Finding Nemo) and produced by John Walker (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant)."

- Announcement "The Good Dinosaur asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of."

- Official website

Development
When a promotional video for Up called Up: B-roll 1 was released in 2009, many fans noticed four stand-out images in the background of sculptor Greg Dykstra's office. The top image is a clay sculpture of a Sauropod ("Long-neck") dinosaur with a person standing next to it. Below it are two more images of clay sculptures of a boy. The fourth image, not clearly visible, is a drawing of the same or another Sauropod. As Up was released in May of that year, development could have started as late as early 2009.

The film's first release date of November 27, 2013 was first announced in June 2011. Not long after, the plot, director & co-director, producer, and other small details were announced at the D23 Expo on August 20, 2011. Bob Peterson and John Walker humorously titled the film The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs and even created a logo for the mock title. On April 24th, 2012, Pixar announced that it would be entitled The Good Dinosaur.

John Lasseter gave details about the film's plot: "They are kind of cartoony but they are dinosaurs; they are not walking around with clothes on or anything like that, they still are kind of dinosaurs. We focused on mostly the plant-eaters, not the carnivores… Their society becomes more of an agrarian society, meaning farmers. They become farmers. It’s a very funny story about a certain way of life that a young dinosaur has trouble fitting into and he ends up going on this quest.

He kind of messes up and he has to put everything right by going on this quest and on that quest he meets this character that is an outcast from his society too and so the two of them form this bond and it becomes this unique kind of story…" The filmmakers want to explore what dinosaurs represent today, and how they are represented in stereotypes. Bob Peterson said: "It's time to do a movie where you get to know the dinosaur, what it's really like to be a dinosaur and to be with a dinosaur." Peterson said the inspiration for the movie came from a childhood visit to the World's Fair where he was impressed by some dinosaur animatronics. The film's title might suggest that dinosaurs are evil. However, Peter Sohn warned: "The title is deceptively simple. It has more meaning than it seems."

On December 22, 2011, Disney shared upcoming release dates for its films. A film titled Frozen rested on the date of November 27, 2013, which led many to believe that The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs, originally scheduled for release on that date, now had the title of Frozen. However, Peter Sciretta of /Film confirmed with Disney that Frozen was not a Pixar film. Further, Bleeding Cool received tips that Frozen was actually an adaptation of the long-dormant Snow Queen animated film with Walt Disney Animation Studios. Later, Pixar announced that The Good Dinosaur would be released on May 30, 2014. On March 12, 2013, Thomas Newman revealed that he is composing the musical score for The Good Dinosaur. On August 9, 2013, at the D23 Expo it was announced that Lucas Neff, John Lithgow, Frances McDormand, Neil Patrick Harris, Judy Greer and Bill Hader have joined the cast of the film.

In August 2013, Blue Sky Disney reported that due to story problems, the director and producer had been removed from the film. According to the report, the studio was looking for a new director who would put the film back on track, while still attempting to release the film in 2014. Other sites also noted the Peterson's absence at D23 Expo, where Sohn and producer Denise Ream presented footage from the film. A few days later, Ed Catmull, Pixar's president, confirmed to Los Angeles Times, saying: "All directors get really deep in their film. Sometimes you just need a different perspective to get the idea out. Sometimes directors ... are so deeply embedded in their ideas it actually takes someone else to finish it up."

Peterson, who is remaining at Pixar, moved on to another project he is developing, while Ream replaced Walker, who left to work on Tomorrowland. According to Catmull, the release date for the film is unchanged. Until the studio finds a replacement, John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Mark Andrews and Sohn are working on various sections of the film. On September 18, 2013, it was announced that The Good Dinosaur will be released on November 25, 2015. Because of the change of release date, Finding Dory will by released in the summer of 2016, while Maleficent was bumped ahead to fill in the spot left by The Good Dinosaur.

By August 2014, John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Mark Andrews, and original project co-director Pete Sohn had reworked the project to the point the felt is was ready to go ahead. Voice actor John Lithgow said that he would be completely re-recording his whole part by September 2014. Lithgow said, "They have now dismantled it [the movie] and completely reimagined it, and it is a fantastic new story." Lithgow confirmed that Frances McDormand is still a cast member. The fate of the rest of the cast is currently unknown.

In October 2014, Peter Sohn was officially announced as the director of The Good Dinosaur. His contribution was scrapping the concept of dinosaur farmers and including the idea of making nature itself the main antagonist, making this the first Pixar film not to have a literal villain.

On June 12, 2015, an entire new cast was announced, replacing the previous one.

Music
Thomas Newman revealed in early 2013 that he was composing the musical score for the film, but in May 2015, it was reported that Newman had been replaced by Mychael Danna whom composed Life of Pi. That makes this film the second Pixar film to be scored by a different composer than Randy Newman, Thomas Newman, or Michael Giacchino; the first being 2012's Brave (which was scored by Patrick Doyle). In September 2015, it was announced that Jeff Danna will co-score the film's music with his brother, making it the first Pixar film to be scored by two composers instead of just one and also Disney's first animated film to do so since 2003's Brother Bear, which was released 12 years earlier.

Production
In May 2012, before the director change, the filmmakers discussed the film. They said they want to explore what dinosaurs represent today, and how they are represented in stereotypes. Bob Peterson said: "It's time to do a movie where you get to know the dinosaur, what it's really like to be a dinosaur and to be with a dinosaur". Peterson said the inspiration for the movie came from a childhood visit to the World's Fair where he was impressed by some dinosaur animatronics. The film's title might suggest that dinosaurs are evil. However, Peter Sohn warned: "The title is deceptively simple. It has more meaning than it seems."

Before the director change, in March 2013, Thomas Newman stated he was set to write the film's score. At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, it was announced he had been replaced by Mychael Danna.

Rating
The Good Dinosaur will recieve a PG rating (for peril, action and thematic elements) by the MPAA. This is the fifth Pixar movie to do so, after The Incredibles, Up, Brave and Inside Out.

Trivia

 * Along with Inside Out, this will be the first time ever that Pixar releases two feature films in one year.
 * Before The Good Dinosaur 's rescheduling from 2014 to 2015, the Monsters University themed short Party Central was set to accompany the film, but instead was shown with the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted.
 * This is the second Pixar film to have "the" in the title, the first being The Incredibles.
 * The Good Dinosaur is the fifth Pixar film to receive a PG rating, right after, The Incredibles, Up, Brave and Inside Out. It received the rating on the basis of peril, action, and thematic elements.
 * In some ways, The Good Dinosaur is similar to Pixar's previous film, Inside Out:
 * Both were released in 2015.
 * Both are rated PG.
 * Both involve the main character trying to find their place in life (Sadness trying to find her true purpose, and Arlo trying to earn his mark in the family).