I love this movie! After all of the negative press online, I ought to have known better. Many of my favorite movies have not been critically received when they were first shown, and later they became cult hits.
If there weren't enough bells and whistles for adults, then other films will be more of a pleasure for those needing more.
The animation reminds of a quality similar to Studio Ghibli, although Arlo and his family were a bit closer looking to cartoon dinosaurs. The story was straightforward and simple as many classic children's stories have been the past 150 years. Think of Beatrix Potter and her amazingly beautiful hand painted, clever stories that made her an exceedingly wealthy woman and the first significant environmentalist in England.
As another writer said in this thread, people feel and think what we will. One person loving any film does not invalidate others hating it. Disagreeing isn't the issue; how it is done is more the challenge.
This film was obviously seeking a younger, gentler, and non-sophisticated audience. As far as kids being scared, I can definitely see that in the scary Pterodactyl scenes with their desire to eat Spot. Dad's death, while sad, was passed in a blink and then we see a marker. I'm glad for the end scene with him when Arlo is trapped; it is beautiful.
Scary for me came in the billion+ dollar Jungle Book this year with Mowgli fighting Shere Khan, almost to the death, in the burning tree tops of a forest fire? That was very intense and for some of us challenged by heights, there was a second issue.
The emotional takeaway for me with Dinosaur has nothing to do with some folks needing this to contain their favorite critters or even the reversal of the meteor performing correctly. It has to do with the simple lessons of love, kindness, patience, loyalty, friendship, and determination that are acted out from beginning to end without being hard hitting.
The emotional honesty translated in the film is perfect for little people and can be enjoyed by others of us when we simply observe and listen to the story being presented.
At least, this is my take on the situation. I sincerely hope that losses in theater revenue for Dinosaur might be overcome eventually by strong sales of the DVD.
A Checkered Life speaks of myriad diverse adventures being the rewards of endless curiosity.
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