Interviewing the Cast of The Good Dinosaur

“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?  Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of.

In addition to attending the Hollywood premiere of The Good Dinosaur, we also had the chance to interview some of the cast – Raymond Ochoa who voices Arlo, Marcus Scribner who voices Buck and Jack Bright who voices Spot. I was so impressed with these three boys – they were all incredibly down to earth and well-spoken. It was an interview I really enjoyed as we chatted more about the making of The Good Dinosaur!

Finding Out They Got the Role

When asked what they did when they found out they got a role to be a part of Pixar History, Marcus shared, “Well when I found out, I was at home so I guess I just went into my room and like started jumping on the bed, like I’m gonna be in a Disney Pixar movie, y’all.  But I was just really excited.  It was mind-blowing for me ‘cause I booked the movie off of just like some recording that I did in my closet on my phone because I couldn’t make it to the recording studio.  So, to book a Pixar movie like that, I was just, I don’t know, my mind was blown, it was crazy.”

Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

Raymond added “Okay, so is your question called before or after the screaming?  So yeah, after I started screaming and I was over with that, first off, I was at the Pixar facility when I was told ‘cause I had three callbacks up there before I was told that I got the role. I got, got a little yelly and stuff, that was my first reaction.  And then I was actually with my mom and then I did a performance with my brothers down where it was, near it, so my brothers were in the car and they already knew, ‘cause they called.”

“I found out in the car right after, so I came out and my brother’s like oh, congratulations.  I was like wait, what, what happened?  They’re like, oh you got it.  I was like wait, what?  Why didn’t you guys tell me?  Like you guys are the worst, like come on, mom.  But yeah, I literally started screaming and actually we went out to celebrate because, you know, it was probably, probably one of my most, uh, favorite jobs I’ve ever gotten in my entire career.”

Jack’s story was a little different, sharing “I didn’t start off in the movie.  It was my brother, he started off in the movie ‘cause he was in Toy Story 3, and I was like oh, that’s, that’s good for him.  He was in the movie and he started off, he did like maybe a year of work and he got his voice changed and it got really, really deep and I’m not sure what happened but they called me in and I did a couple of recordings and they said that they’re gonna do it 50/50 with my brother.

And they used me a lot more and they put it to 90/10 so when I figured that out, I got really happy, like my brother was just sitting there, like man. I felt bad but yeah.”

Research on Playing Their Characters

Raymond shared with us how he prepared to voice the main character of Arlo, telling us how he did a lot of research, “I did a lot of research on the Apatosaurus, you know?  First off, I had no idea what he looked like, so that was one of them.  After I looked it up, I kind of saw, you know, the long neck and he was kind of kind-looking and sweet in the front of it.  But, you know, also it’s a Pixar movie so it has to be kid-friendly obviously, so it was pretty difficult to make him sound that way. I think Pete trusted my voice and making it sound good, so I hope it worked.”

Marcus, who voices Arlo’s brother Buck chimed in, “It definitely worked. I mean, I saw the movie and Raymond’s voice definitely fit the Apatosaurus. I agree with Raymond. It was definitely research because like he said, I had no clue what an Apatosaurus was.  What I saw in The Good Dinosaur was like, oh that’s a Brontosaurus and then I was like oh, nope, it’s called an Apatosaurus.  I did research and definitely getting into character really helped because Buck is really gruff and he’s really a tough character.  He’s very rambunctious, so to play a character like that, I really had to just let all my emotions through and just really give it my all and play it towards the mic.  Doing voiceover is very different from live-action so I was really able to release the character within.”

Jack Bright, who voices Spot added, “Playing Spot, it was just fun.  You would get to make all his noises, you go all-out, you just make noise.  Like going around the house annoying my brother, they’re like, oh how did you like being so annoying, making all those noises get you to be in a movie?  It’s very fun.  You make like growling, yelling…very fun.”

Praise for Director Peter Sohn

We had the chance to interview Director Peter Sohn where he praised how talented the boys were and they all had nothing but great things to say about him too. Raymond told us, “I enjoyed it so much, ‘cause literally just people that I was working with, like the director Pete, he is so amazing and he’s so helpful to you by providing you what needs help and what the scenario was around. You know, I didn’t have anyone to play with.  But, it felt like I was acting with Jack and I was acting with Marcus because he did all those characters. I want to thank Pete because he is such an amazing director.”

Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

Marcus agreed, adding, “Working with Peter Sohn was amazing because he really brings the characters to life, and he lets you know how he wants the character to be portrayed and it really allowed me to get into the character that was Buck, because he’s definitely different from the character that I play on television, so getting into a new character was, was a fun experience and Peter has a lot to do with it.”

Favorite Scenes in the Movie

I have so many favorite scenes in The Good Dinosaur and I’m sure you do too! We had the chance to ask the actors what theirs were and they shared with us! Jack, who hadn’t seen the movie yet at the time of the interview shared a favorite moment from the trailer, “My favorite part is when Arlo is trying to get the berries from the tree and he falls and then he looks behind him and Spot walks – I’m not sure if it connects but when Arlo is walking down below, and then he looks up and Spot is on top of the big mountain, he looks down at him after he was telling him – that’s one of my favorite scenes.”

Raymond shared with us, “Particularly, I like the scene where me and Spot were kind of in that sand and we start sharing our family.  And that actually was really touching to me because it was actually really difficult to film that scene because I know Pete, he’s such an amazing director, he knows what he wants.  He has his own vision so I think that was the scene that took probably the longest to film.  That was probably the longest because, you know, he knew that that was gonna be really impactful to the crowd and to the audience.”

“So just by saying that one line, it was just literally naming names but just filming that was so amazing because once I did complete it, it was such a relief and it was like wow, I finally got what Pete wanted, and it was amazing.  So that’s probably my favorite scene filming.”

{And it totally was – I had to break out the tissues during that scene!}

Marcus shared that his favorite scene was “where I get to scare Arlo.  I mean, that scene took a while to film because my voice is very weird right now, so laughing is a little difficult.  And so it was like [LAUGHED] and no sound really came out, so that scene took a little bit to film.”

“But to actually see it on the big screen was really nice and I was like oh wow, I actually sound like I’m laughing.  But Raymond was definitely right, working with Peter is what really got me to that place because he really gives you the direction that he wants you to go in, and you just act it out for him and it translated well on to the big screen.”

Sharing Traits with their Characters

When asked what traits do they think they share with their characters Raymond shared, “Well, you know, Arlo, I think one of his biggest things and one of his biggest goals is to make his parents proud.  I mean, his main one is his papa.  He really looks up to his papa and I think that’s one of my biggest characteristics.  I try to be the best son as I can to my parents ‘cause I do respect them a lot, so to be a great son to them, that’s all I really want in life, ‘cause, you know, they do so much for me so I just want to pay them back for all they do.”

“So I want to be as helpful as he is to the family.  I don’t really have a lot of chores in my life so I want to do — I want to start being like him ‘cause, you know, he does have to take care of the farm.  He has to replace his papa as not being there, and that’s, you know, that’s really difficult for him.  So I just want to, I do, I really don’t have a lot of chores because I do have three older brothers that can help me out with that whole scenario.  But I’m gonna try and be more helpful around the house just like Arlo is on his farm.”

Marcus added, “I really aspire to be like Buck, my character, who’s really self-confident and he’s a real leader.  I hope that I have those traits and hopefully I’ll develop them in the future, but Buck is really a cool character and it was really cool to get to play him, he’s very different from my personality in real life.

Balancing Stardom

When asked how they are able to balance being celebrities, social media, girls, parents and more Raymond shared, “I’ve been acting in this business for a pretty long time now so I kind of grew up knowing nothing but being in the entertainment business. I have such amazing parents that help me, you know, stay grounded.  And I have amazing brothers that kind of guide me throughout my life and help me whenever I need it.”

“So it’s just so amazing.  And that’s how I really handle it because, you know, family is my main key.  That helps me stay with everything, you know?  Right now my main focus is not really on the entire girls’ thing but it’s mainly on my career and being successful at a young age so that’s my main focus.”

What to Take Away from The Good Dinosaur

Like all of the Pixar movies, it has a good message for the family. When asked what they hope people will leave with, Marcus told us, “What I think is one of the main parts of the movie is self-discovery, family and friendship are the three most important things that I took away from the movie.  I mean, Arlo goes on this whole journey but really throughout the whole thing he’s finding himself.  That’s one of the biggest points, and also developing a friendship with Spot and throughout the entire movie he really has a connection to his family, so I think that’s one of the main points. I think self-discovery is probably what, what I took away and what I hope that other kids take away from the movie.”

Raymond added, “What I think other kids should actually get to this is, you know, the saying don’t judge a book by its cover, because Arlo judges Spot to be this, you know, mean and evil person but, you know, later on in the film he realizes how caring and loving he really is.  That’s why I really think everyone should take away the fact, you know, don’t judge someone, because you really don’t know who they are.  You don’t know them, you don’t know who, you know, what’ about them.  They could be the most caring person and you see something else.  So yeah, everyone don’t judge someone because you don’t know them.

The Good Dinosaur is in theaters NOW! It’s a great movie to go see with your family. You can read my spoiler-free review and also check out my experience on the red carpet!

Disclosure: Disney provided an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles including travel, accommodations and activities. All thoughts and opinions are my own.