EXCLUSIVE: GOOD DINO HD Stills and Fun Facts

With just over a week left until The Good Dinosaur's release on Wednesday, November 25th, new high resolution stills and some exciting fun facts revealed thanks to our friends at Stitch Kingdom give us one last look at the eccentric characters of Arlo's dino world! Check out the high resolution stills as well as fun facts from the film's production all after the break!

The Good Dinosaur Fun Facts

• During a research trip to Wyoming, filmmakers braved a white-water rafting trip down the Snake River. Along the way, the GoPro camera being used to capture reference footage was dislodged and lost in the river. Thankfully, their guide was able to actually ‘read’ the river and figure out just where it would likely come to a rest down stream. The camera was recovered — still running — and the team has footage of its solo journey.
• Inspired by the American Northwest, the setting for The Good Dinosaur is not only completely exterior, it features ever-changing weather. To prepare, Pixar’s artists and technicians created a rain and cloud library, featuring different types of rain and a selection of clouds that could be mixed and matched, and stretched, squashed and manipulated to create any desired look.​

• While clouds are typically done in matte paintings, for the first time ever, The Good Dinosaur features 100-percent volumetric clouds. This means, they are mobile, dimensional and can be lit from any camera angle, creating a stunning look.
• To achieve the wide-open look director Peter Sohn desired, filmmakers utilized height field data from the U.S. Geological Survey that allowed them capture elevation details from actual areas in the country. This was the first step in creating a fully realized environment that allowed filmmakers remarkable flexibility in terms of camera placement.​​

• The landscapes and environments in The Good Dinosaur are extraordinary, transporting audiences to a world where they can almost feel the raindrops. But filmmakers say it isn’t photo-real — just detailed in a way advanced technology and style decisions allow. Some members of the team playfully refer to the look as ‘Sharon Calahan Realism,’ in honor of the director of photography-lighting. As a passionate landscape painter, Calahan has spent countless hours painting in the very areas that inspired the film’s setting. Her trained eye made a significant contribution to the film’s overall look.
• The Good Dinosaur features more water shots than any Pixar feature before it, including more than 125 shots of the river alone.​​

• In the world of The Good Dinosaur, where dinosaurs never became extinct, but instead evolved, herbivores, like Arlo’s Apatosaurus family, became farmers, and carnivores, like the T-Rexes became ranchers.
• Butch, the tough T-Rex Arlo encounters on his journey, sports a nod to the actor who provides his voice, Sam Elliott. According to supervising animator Mike Venturini, when Butch grins, his big white teeth resemble Elliott’s signature moustache.​

• Filmmakers looked at classic movie cowboys like characters portrayed by Clint Eastwood and Jack Palance to help inspire Butch’s physical look and performance.
• Since the T-Rexes featured in The Good Dinosaur are ranchers, filmmakers wanted to give them the look of a true cowboy. When they’re running, their lower bodies mimic that of galloping horses, while their upper bodies have the feel of the riding cowboy.

THE GOOD DINOSAUR storms into theaters on November 25th, 2015!