D23 Madness! Part 1: The Good Dinosaur

Concept art from Pixar's The Good Dinosaur

This is one film I'm extremely pumped for. Pixar's fifteenth feature The Good Dinosaur, scheduled for release on May 30, 2014, showcases another one of the fascinating "what if" scenarios that the studio is known for expanding upon in their pictures. This time, we'll get a look at what the world would be like if the dinosaurs had never gone extinct. Prior to the Expo, we knew relatively little about the film, but the folks at Pixar decided to treat us to some juicy plot details, voice cast announcements and astounding concept art from the film.

• Lucas Neff voices our protagonist, an apatosaurus named Arlo
• John Lithgow voices Arlo's father, Poppa
• Frances McDormand voices Arlo's mother, Mama
• Bill Hader voices Arlo's brother, Forrest
• Neil Patrick Harris voices Arlo's other brother, Cliff
• Judy Greer voices Arlo's sister, Ivy

That's quite the voice cast, huh? This will be Bill Hader's second role in a Pixar production as he also previously voiced the poor little "I can't be late on the first day!" slug monster in Monsters University. Now, onto the plot details.

We learned that in the alternate reality the film portrays, dinosaurs have become the dominant species on the planet and they are farmers, who use their different physical characteristics as farming tools. The protagonist, Arlo, is the odd one out in his family as he is dazzled by bugs, whereas everyone else just seems to want to get rid of them. He soon encounters a young human boy named Spot, whom he mistakes for a large beetle upon first glance. Interestingly enough, the dinosaur characters in this film talk, while the human, Spot, does not. The film apparently follows the unlikely duo of Arlo and Spot leaving the farm and going on a journey across several different climates and terrains.

Now, I had previously expressed my fascination with The Good Dinosaur, but after these announcements, it has grown...well, larger than a dinosaur. Granted, I probably say that for pretty much every new Pixar film at some some point, but I find this one project exceptionally intriguing. Bring on 2014!