Come Meet the Talent Behind The Good Dinosaur – Out on Blu-ray & DVD 2/23

Disney Pixar Animation Studios The Good Dinosaur out on DVD 2/23

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend the in-home global media event for The Good Dinosaur in Los Angeles.  It was such a wonderful experience and after hearing from the director, Peter Sohn, and Alonso Martinez, who is part of the Character Department at Pixar, I gained a whole new appreciation for the movie.  From the amazing animation and attention to detail, to the music soundtrack, so much energy and time went into making The Good Dinosaur be the quality movie that it is.

Alonso Martinez (Modeling Rigging/Character Department)

Alonso Martinez is part of the modeling rigging and character department.  He joined Pixar Animation Studios in June of 2008.  Martinez worked in the Character Department on “The Good Dinosaur” doing digital sculpting and rigging for a few of the characters include Arlo, Spot and Butch.  The digital sculpting included body, face and hands.  Alonso spoke about how much attention to detail went in to getting everything just right.  He spoke about how he would spend hours researching other dinosaur-type animals like alligators to get an idea of how Arlo’s teeth should look like.  He said they were the perfect animal to study because of their massive body and weight. 

He joked that he is a bit of a perfectionist so he would look at each tooth, think about the history of each tooth, what it would be used for and then go from there to design a realistic set of dinosaur teeth. His job requires him to think about the essence of the character and then turn it into a sculpture inside the computer.

He even drew a picture for us of Spot.  So cute!

Award winning film composer Mychael Danna and Emmy-nominated composer Jeff Danna:

The Good Dinosaur takes Arlo and the audience on an emotional journey of self-discovery.  Relying less on dialogue throughout the movie, the music helps capture our imagination. Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna teamed up to create the score, while Oscar-nominated sound designer Craig Berkey capitalizes on his mountainous homestead in Canada to capture the wild sounds for the film.

This talented team provided a musical demonstration of some of the songs they created for The Good Dinosaur.  The brothers said they were inspired because Pixar “sets the bar for animation and they set the bar for imagination.” Mychael Danna says “they wanted to do something different, blending traditional instrumentation and melody-centered approach with alternative world music instruments. We drew from everywhere – historically and geographically – to help tell the story.” It was such a treat hearing some of the songs they created for the movie.

Voice Talent Raymond Ochoa (English voice of ‘Arlo’) and AJ Buckley — (English voice of ’Nash’)

Seeing Raymond Ochoa I swear they used him as a prototype to draw Spot!  He looks like a bigger  (and cleaned up) version of Spot don’t you think?  He is just as adorable and it was great hearing how enthusiastic he was about the whole business. He loves what he does and wants to continue growing as an actor.  He said one of the biggest changes he’s seen is that his little sister likes now him because he played Arlo.  He said that before she didn’t pay him much attention (she is four), but after seeing the movie and hearing her brother’s voice as the main character, she thinks he pretty okay now!

He also has a couple of brothers who giggle everytime they watch the bathroom scene.  I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t seen the movie yet, but it is pretty funny. Raymond said it was great working with the director, Peter Sohn, because he too has done voice acting before so he would run the lines with Raymond.  I asked if this was usual in animation and both AJ Buckley and Raymond said it was pretty unusual for the director to be so involved but just goes to show how invested Peter was in the movie.  He also made sure that he clumped the sad scenes together so Raymond didn’t haven’t to jump from emotion to emotion on a daily basis.  Raymond said he would think about his family dog who had recently passed when he needed to be sad as he still missed him so.  If anyone has lost a family pet you know how upsetting it can be.

You’ve probably seen AJ Buckley as he’s appeared in more than 30 feature films and numerous television series.  He is best known for his role as scientist Adam Ross on CBS’s long-running crime series “CSI: NY.”  AJ Buckley said being asked to do the voice of Nash from Pixar is like being called for the Olympics – it’s the big time.  He said his favorite scene was recording the campfire scene with Sam Elliott.  You can’t miss Sam Elliott’s voice that is for sure!  I asked if they recorded their actions while they were recording their lines while in the booth because I’ve always wondered if they use some of their facial expressions and body actions in the movie.  AJ joked that when he was suppose to gallop his T-Rex arms would look a little funny (and proceeded to hold his hands up to his chest and galloped).  We all laughed at this and murmured how very strange it was that the T-Rex had such pitiful little arms. Both of these talented actors brought a lot to their characters and it as great putting a face to the voice.

Peter Sohn, Director

Peter Sohn was not the original director but came in with over 15 years at Pixar. He worked in the art and story departments for the Academy Award winning “Finding Nemo.” He continued to work on “The Incredibles” in the art, story and animation departments.  He worked with producer Kevin Reher on the Pixar short “Partly Cloudy,” which was his directorial debut at Pixar.

Though he came into the role of director after production had started he said he wanted to “make the best movie they could with the time they had.” The story is rooted in family and he comes from a immigrant family where his mother and him spoke different languages.  His parents immigrated from South Korea when he was very young so he believes his keen ability to read body language helped him while creating a movie where there is not a lot of dialogue but so much of the communication is done nonverbally between Spot and Arlo. When asked what his parents thought of the movie, he joked that it was the first time his parents had seen a movie in 3D so they were very impressed.  Imagine seeing a movie in 3D for the first time ever.  It would blow your mind too!  He said his dad kept going on and on about the 3D special effects like that was the best part of the movie.

It was nice hearing how much Peter relied on and trusted his crew to help get the movie finished in under 2 years.  I do believe we will be seeing lots more of Peter Sohn’s work!

The Good Dinosaur is a heartwarming adventure about the power of confronting and overcoming your fears and discovering who you are meant to be. 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?  In this epic journey into the world of dinosaurs, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely friend.

The perfect adventure for the whole family is available on Blu-ray combo pack, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere February 23rd!  Includes extensive bonus features that include Academy Award Nominated Theatrical Short “Sanjay’s Super Team,” Making of Featurettes, Deleted Scenes and More!

In celebration, we are offering a copy of The Good Dinosaur Blu-Ray Combo Pack!  Good Luck!

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