‘The Good Dinosaur’ Trailer: Pixar Takes on Dinosaurs

When our own Matt Singer got a first look at Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, he wrote that the film looks unlike anything the beloved animation studio has made yet. Now that the first full trailer for the film has arrived, it’s difficult to disagree. This is one beautiful looking movie and this wordless trailer lets those visuals sell the movie on their own.

If you have been following The Good Dinosaur, you know that the film follows a young dinosaur named Arlo who embarks on epic journey to find his missing family, with a young human boy as his only ally. And that’s the cute concept that frames the entire story – this is technically an alternate reality story where the dinosaurs never died off, allowing humans to actually exist on the planet at the same time. This means the movie is essentially the story of a boy and his dog ... except that the boy is an Apatosaurus and the dog is a boy.

What’s most striking about this trailer is the animation style, which places exaggerated, slightly goofy character designs in environments that often look photo-realistic. The results are lovely, showcasing just how malleable CG animation can be. Hopefully, the final movie has the story to back up this inspired look.

Here’s the official synopsis for the film:

“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.

And a new high-res image:

The Good Dinosaur opens on November 25, 2015.