The Good Dinosaur Christian Movie Review (2015)

Guidance: Low Concern

This is a warm family story with strong themes of courage, loyalty, and belonging, but it also includes repeated peril, loss, and a few intense scenes. Christian families may want to talk through the film’s message about fear, family, and what it means to find strength in hardship.

Why This Guidance Level

This is a gentle Pixar adventure, but the peril is real and repeated, and the opening loss gives the story emotional weight. The bigger discernment question is not graphic content but the film’s message about fear, courage, and making your own mark, which can be discussed fruitfully in a Christian home without making the movie off-limits for many families.

Faith & Worldview Perspective

The movie celebrates family, perseverance, kindness, and learning to move through fear. Its emotional center is healthy, but it also frames purpose in a largely self-directed way, so parents may want to connect Arlo’s growth to God’s design, God-given identity, and the hope we have in Christ rather than personal achievement alone.

Truths Reflected

• Family loyalty and sacrificial care matter deeply.
• Courage often grows through hardship and dependence on others.

Tensions to Discuss

• The film leans toward finding meaning by making your own mark, rather than receiving identity and purpose from God.
• It treats fear mainly as a hurdle to overcome, which can be balanced with the biblical call to trust the Lord and walk by faith.

Content & Discernment Markers

Occult & Spiritual Content

• Occult material does not stand out here. The story stays in a naturalistic adventure world rather than using magic, ritual, or supernatural instruction.

Sexuality & Relationships

• Romantic or sexual content does not play a meaningful role in the film. The focus stays on family, survival, and friendship.

Identity Themes

• Arlo is introduced as fearful, small, and unsure of himself, and the story follows his growth into courage. The film also emphasizes the idea that a person can “make your mark” by doing something bigger than yourself, which is a good place to discuss identity and purpose in light of God’s calling. Parents may want to talk about where true worth comes from.

Violence & Intensity

• The film includes repeated danger: Arlo’s father dies in a flood, Arlo is separated from his family, and storms, stampedes, predatory birds, and sharp-toothed dinosaurs keep him and Spot in mortal risk. The action is animated and family-friendly in style, but the emotional stakes are serious. Parents may want to discuss fear, loss, and trusting God in frightening moments.

Language & Humour

• Language stays mild, with words like “dang,” “shoot,” and “bull,” plus some playful teasing and rough banter. Nothing here rises to coarse profanity, but parents may still want to note the casual tone.

Other Content Notes

• One brief scene involves fermented fruit that leaves Arlo and Spot altered and hung over, played for comic effect. The moment is short, but it is worth noting for families sensitive to substance-related humor.

Notable Moments

• Father’s flood death: Arlo’s father dies in a flood, and the loss shapes the rest of the story as Arlo must continue without him. This is the film’s heaviest emotional beat and a key moment for talking about grief and God’s comfort.

  “Arlo’s father dies in a flood”

• Fearful Arlo: The film introduces Arlo as a timid runt who is afraid of nearly everything, setting up his growth arc. Parents may want to discuss how courage is formed through trust and perseverance.

  “born a little fearful and born incapable”

• Beautiful danger: The world is presented as lovely but hazardous, with wide landscapes, storms, and mountain passes that can quickly become threatening. The contrast gives the adventure its tone and keeps the peril feeling real.

  “a beautiful, yet dangerous place”

Discussion Prompts

• Fear and courage: What helped Arlo move from fear toward courage, and what helps a Christian face fear today?
  • Biblical guidance: The Bible calls believers to trust the Lord rather than be ruled by fear, and Christian courage is grounded in God’s presence, not just personal grit.
  • Scripture: Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7, Psalm 56:3
• Family and belonging: Why does family matter so much in this story, and how does God’s care deepen our understanding of belonging?
  • Biblical guidance: Scripture presents family as a gift and also points to the larger family of God in Christ, where believers belong by grace.
  • Scripture: Ephesians 2:19, Psalm 68:5-6, Colossians 3:12-14
• Purpose and identity: The movie says you can make your mark by doing something bigger than yourself. What is the difference between that idea and finding purpose in God?
  • Biblical guidance: A Christian view says our worth and purpose come from being made by God and redeemed in Christ, not from proving ourselves through achievement.
  • Scripture: Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:23-24