Walking with The Good Dinosaur at Pixar #GoodDinoEvent #travel

Walking with The Good Dinosaur at Pixar: An Inside Look at the Animation Process

Introduction: Bringing Dinosaurs to Life

Dinosaurs are BIG. They are also extinct. Science has always been on the hunt for connections between modern-day animals and their ancient ancestors, and it’s no surprise that Disney Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur explored these connections too. While the scientific community digs into fossilized evidence, Pixar’s animators found their inspiration from today’s living creatures to bring the massive dinosaurs of The Good Dinosaur to life.

As someone who had the privilege of visiting Pixar’s Animation Studios in Emeryville, California, during a press junket in 2015, I can say that seeing how animators meticulously crafted The Good Dinosaur was an experience I’ll never forget. I had the chance to sit down with Pixar Animators Kevin O’Hara and Rob Thompson to discuss the challenges they faced while animating Arlo, the 11-year-old Apatosaurus, and other characters. The level of detail and the processes they used were nothing short of mind-blowing.

The Challenge of Animating Dinosaurs

Animating a dinosaur isn’t like animating a human, and it’s certainly not as simple as animating a housecat or a dog. When working with characters as large as Arlo, it’s a whole new world of challenges. How do you even begin to figure out how to animate a creature that once roamed the Earth millions of years ago? For Pixar’s team, the answer was surprising: the zoo.

As Rob Thompson shared, “We made a research trip to the zoo to watch the elephants; to get the scale of these dinosaurs.” The African elephant, weighing in at four to seven tons, became the primary model for studying the movements of The Good Dinosaur’s colossal creatures.”

Learning from Elephants: The Four Poses

You might be wondering, how exactly do you capture the grace of an elephant in motion? Pixar’s animators broke it down into four main poses for each leg: right front, left front, right rear, and left rear. This was crucial to ensure that Arlo’s movements felt as natural as possible.

Kevin O’Hara explained the importance of getting the correct gait for a quadruped. “One of the most frightening things to an animator is a quadruped,” he said. The complexity of each leg moving independently—while maintaining a sense of fluidity—was a daunting challenge. Watching elephants walk at the zoo, the animators noticed the gentle but firm placement of each foot, which was then translated into Arlo’s movements.

The Animation Process: From Blocking to Polishing

Once the fundamental poses were established, the process began. Animators followed a detailed pipeline that started with blocking, a phase that took about four days. After that came the in-process stage, which stretched over a week and a half. Finally, polishing wrapped up the scene, which took another week. All of this effort went into perfecting just 24 seconds of screen time! Imagine the time and effort required to animate an entire movie!

The Evolution of Spot and Arlo’s Relationship

If you thought The Good Dinosaur was just a movie about a dinosaur and his pet, think again. In a surprising twist, the “pet” in the film isn’t the dinosaur, but a human boy named Spot. Early drafts of the film featured Spot walking on two legs, but it wasn’t until they reworked the character to walk on all fours that the story truly solidified.

Rob Thompson shared, “When we created the boy on all fours, the boy and his pet story really solidified.” This simple but effective change made the bond between Arlo and Spot even more heartwarming and integral to the story.

Behind the Scenes: Character Design and World-Building

Before the animation could even begin, Pixar’s production team had to design the world in which Arlo and Spot lived. This required trips to real dinosaur digs to study their anatomy and how the creatures might have appeared. In a mesmerizing room full of sketches and paintings, I had a chance to see how the animators tackled character design.

Pixar’s Attention to Detail

Pixar is known for its commitment to detail, and The Good Dinosaur was no exception. The animators and designers involved in the project worked tirelessly to ensure the world felt both vast and intimate. Production Designer Harley Jessup explained that the world needed to feel large enough for dinosaurs but not so large that it overshadowed the characters’ relationships.

From the textures of the dinosaurs’ skin to the seasonal changes in the landscape, the film was meticulously researched. “There were 85 animators working on this film, studying everything from the smoke rolling off mountains to the texture of a leaf,” Jessup revealed.

Fun Fact: “In the original version, the boy, SPOT, was not on all fours. He was able to walk on two legs. When we created the boy on all fours, the boy and his pet story really solidified.“- Rob Thompson

 

The Montana Homestead Inspiration

One particularly touching detail was how Arlo’s home was inspired by a 1950s Montana homestead. The setting for the family’s cabin provided a warm, rustic feel that grounded the film in an era long past. I was particularly moved by how these details, inspired by real-world locations and historical references, added depth and authenticity to the film.

Conclusion: A Truly Unique Pixar Experience

Visiting Pixar’s studios and witnessing the animation process firsthand was nothing short of magical. The team’s dedication to every frame of The Good Dinosaur—from the smallest leaf to the largest T-Rex—was inspiring. If you’re a fan of animation, Pixar’s commitment to storytelling and detail is something to behold.

Call-to-Action: Bring Home the Magic

If The Good Dinosaur left you feeling nostalgic for the world of animation, why not bring a piece of it home? Explore Pixar-themed toys, books, and collectibles through my Amazon affiliate link here. Your purchase helps support more content like this!

It was mesmerizing to hear how Arlo’s house was inspired by a Montana homestead sometime in the 1950s. He brought more life to Peter Sohn’s evening around the campfire, and the stories from the Wyoming Research Trip.

Print out The Good Dinosaur FREE Printable Activity Sheets

Disney-Pixar paid for my visit to Pixar in San Francisco as part of the #GoodDinoEvent.