The Minds and Research Behind Disney-Pixar “The Good Dinosaur”

October 21, 2015 Kristin

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In just a few weeks, the latest and exciting release from Disney-Pixar will hit theaters, November 25th as a matter of fact, and you won’t want to miss this mind-blowing twist on what we perceive everyday. The Good Dinosaur is a twist of epic proportion. Image that a giant meteor missed Earth and that dinosaurs evolved to become roaming, speaking and humanistic in many ways. Well, this movie will give you a fun and colorful look at what that could have been like.I got to sit down in an amazing setting with the director and creators of The Good Dinosaur and hear some fun stories about their extensive research for the movie, including trips through mountains, whitewater rafting and more. One of my favorite parts of this trip was learning just how much research, detail, time and even lots of love went into the creation of The Good Dinosaur. Speaking with Pete Sohn and the entire crew was an amazing and eye-opening experience into what it takes to create a Pixar movie from start to finish. The movie is set to release in just a little over a month, and they were STILL putting the final touches together on it.

A press day for The Good Dinosaur, including a slideshow of research trip photos with Director Peter Sohn, Producer Denise Ream, Director of Photography - Lighting Sharon Calahan and Supervising Technical Director Sanjay Bakshi, as seen on September 30, 2015 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar) — A press day for The Good Dinosaur, including a slideshow of research trip photos with Director Peter Sohn, Producer Denise Ream, Director of Photography – Lighting Sharon Calahan and Supervising Technical Director Sanjay Bakshi, as seen on September 30, 2015 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)

Peter Sohn readily admitted that he was raised in the city as was not prepared for what “roughing it” would be like. With lots of travel to the rugged Midwestern territories of the US, including the Teton Mountains, hours upon hours of horseback riding and even whitewater rafting, you can image the detail and heart that was put into this movie. The crew wanted to capture the elements as realistically as possible to capture it on canvass and bring it to the big screen for all to enjoy.

My favorite part of this entire experience is their centralizing on the river. Pete says “…our movie really does take place along the river, it’s kind of our yellow brick road.It would become a main kind of piece of our story…” How profound is that?!?!We were originally supposed to have a fun, outdoor fire with s’mores and chatter, but unfortunately, mother nature did not cooperate. I will say I loved that we ended up indoors with some delicious homestyle chili and cornbread, and of course no fireside chat would be complete without some S’Mores!I recommend you see this movie as it hits the big screen on November 25th! Also, watch for more fun and exciting posts regarding The Good Dinosaur, Disney, Pixar and much more in the weeks to come. To get you excited, here is a sneak peek of the new trailer recently released.

“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 (voice of Raymond Ochoa) 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.