Disney/Pixar’s new film is a visually* breathtaking work of computer-generated animation, but the story is too familiar.

    The beginning is promising: The asteroid* that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet and giant dinosaurs never became extinct*.

    The little one of the family, Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa) is a timid Apatosaurus who’s encouraged by his father, Poppa Henry (Jeffrey Wright), to step out of his comfort zone and make his mark* in life.

    He’s put to the test when his dad is tragically* killed (cue “The Lion King”) while helping him pursue* the creature who had been getting into their corn supply. Separated from the rest of his family, Arlo finally catches up with the pest, a growling* wild boy he comes to name Spot (Jack Bright).

    Their tender, largely unspoken bond* serves as the film’s emotional heart and soul as they venture* out into those gorgeously rendered wide open spaces.

    While the rest of the performers, including Frances McDormand as Arlo’s mom and Sam Elliott as a gruff* hombre* of a T-Rex, are well matched for their characters, there isn’t much for them to say.

    In his feature debut, director Peter Sohn, who took over charge from the story’s originator, Bob Peterson, keeps this prehistoric Western amiably exciting. But while there are some lively departures, including a sequence in which Arlo and Spot try some hallucinogenic* fruits, their adventure tends to stay on the road most traveled. Though the tricky third act remained a hard nut to crack* for screenwriter Meg LeFauve and many story contributors, the production’s photorealistic naturalism is really outstanding.

    Those CG-rendered backdrops, taking their visual cues from Yellowstone’s waterfalls to Montana’s grasslands, bring the custom Pixar cutting-edge technology into an exciting, new, wondrous place.

    Hopefully next time the storytelling won’t dwell* so much in the past.(SD-Agencies)