Prehistoric in Hollywood
The Good Dinosaur Press Day was held at the Loews Hotel in Hollywood on Sunday November 14th. Stars Sam Elliot, Anna Paquin, AJ Buckley, Jeffrey Write and Raymond Ochoa were in attendance as well as filmmakers Peter Sohn, Denise Ream, Sanjay Patel and Nicole Grindle. Unlike previous press junkets I have had the fortune of attending The Good Dinosaur press day was held in small round table groups giving us the thrilling opportunity to have more interaction with the stars and filmmakers of the movie. I was invited to The Good Dinosaur Press Day in Hollywood, all opinions are my own.
The Good Dinosaur Press Day was held at the Loews Hotel in Hollywood
The Story
The Good Dinosaur was created on the premise of life on Earth where Dinosaurs never became extinct and instead coexisted with humans. In an alternate universe of The Good Dinosaur dinosaurs evolved into farming herbivores and carnivore ranchers and humans were still nonverbal nomads. The film is wildly interesting and very entertaining to watch as “Arlo” (voiced by Raymond Ochoa) is the intelligent being and “Spot” (voiced by Jack Bright) is the feral companion of Arlo. The Good Dinosaur follows Arlo and Spot in an adventure through a harsh and scary landscape as Arlo finds self-confidence to confront his deepest and darkest fears.
Stay tuned for The Funny Mom Blog’s full The Good Dinosaur review coming soon.
Arlo and Spot at Hollywood and Highland
The Epic Environment
The Good Dinosaur Director Peter Sohn and Producer Denise Ream spent many hours over several trips to Jackson Wyoming and the Snake River to get the environmental feeling of the epic film they attempted to create. The landscapes and environments in “The Good Dinosaur” are extraordinary, transporting audiences to a world where we can almost feel the raindrops and the soft breeze that blows through the trees. Believe me when I say that the landscapes in The Good Dinosaur are so gorgeous and realistic looking you’ll think you were looking at a photograph! But filmmakers say it isn’t photo-real the film’s art is just detailed in a way advanced technology and style decisions allow. Some members of the team playfully refer to the look as “Sharon Calahan Realism,” or “Painter Realism” in honor of the director of photography lighting. As a passionate landscape painter, Calahan has spent countless hours painting in the very areas that inspired the film’s setting. Her trained eye made a significant contribution to the film’s overall look.
Peter Sohn wanted to give nature a character that was as vital as any of the other characters in the film. He also wanted to give audiences the feeling of walking in the park in an epic scope.
The Funny Mom is ROARING!
Character Development
“From the moment Arlo is born, he’s afraid of the world,” says first time director Peter Sohn, a 15-year Pixar veteran and graduate of CalArts. “He’s fun-loving and determined; he’s got a lot of fire when it comes to his desire to help his family. And his father is his biggest supporter. But Arlo is scared. His fear holds him back. “Spot is the opposite of Arlo,” continues Sohn. “He’s tenacious, brave and an animal in every sense of the word. It’s the story of a boy and his dog—only in our story, the boy is a dinosaur and the dog is a boy.”
During our round table interview, Vanessa of Brite and Bubbly asked a great question of why the characters of The Good Dinosaur were so animated set against an environment that was so photographic realistic Peter Sohn quickly answered that the reason for that is that he really wanted the boy in Arlo to be seen and the progression of his self confidence throughout the film as well. As you watch the film take note of Arlo’s nobby knees!
Sam Elliot, Anna Paquin and AJ Buckley
Jeffrey Wright and Raymond Ochoa
The Voice Cast
Each voice talent of The Good Dinosaur thoroughly expressed their sheer excitement at the opportunity to lend their voices to a Disney Pixar film. Although none of the actors were able to record together, each of them sung Peter Sohn’s praises at his ability to draw out their performances in his clear vision quest of this film. During the rountable interviews Anna Paquin praised Peter Sohn for his ability to express his opinion and film direction without being overbearing or condescending.
During the interview, Peter Sohn noted that he had been telling everyone that he “poured his heart and soul into this film” and he slowly realized that while making films, film makers look inward and project themselves – their hearts and their souls and what’s important to them into the art – into the film and literally what the film becomes is a part of them. That alone is worth seeing any Peter Sohn film amiright?
Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin and AJ Buckley attend the The Good Dinosaur Press Day in Los Angeles on November 15, 2015. Photo by Patrick Wymore. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Jeffrey Wright and Raymond Ochoa attend the The Good Dinosaur Press Day in Los Angeles on November 15, 2015. Photo by Patrick Wymore. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
The Easter Eggs
Both Director Peter Sohn and Producer Denise Ream confirmed during the round tables press day that the standard Disney Pixar Easter Eggs are present in The Good Dinosaur. Keep a lookout for the pizza truck, luxo ball, an homage to Dory and the clouds from Partly Cloudy. Peter Sohn joked that in The Good Dinosaur – a film set in nature that it was a challenge to find a hiding spot for the pizza truck. Denise Ream noted that most of the Easter Eggs are very hard to find. So good luck!
Anna Paquin attends the The Good Dinosaur Press Day in Los Angeles on November 15, 2015. Photo by Patrick Wymore. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
CAN YOU SPOT ME? Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin and AJ Buckley attend the The Good Dinosaur Press Day in Los Angeles on November 15, 2015. Photo by Patrick Wymore. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
The Good Dinosaur opens in theaters on November 25, 2015
