Uncover the Hidden Secrets in “The Good Dinosaur”: A Scene-by-Scene Script Breakdown That Will Change How You See the Film Forever

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

• We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
• By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
• A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

Today: The Good Dinosaur (2015). You can download a PDF of the script here.

Screenplay by Meg LeFauve, story by Peter Sohn & Erik Benson & Meg LeFauve & Kelsey Mann & Bob Peterson, original concept and development by Bob Peterson, additional screenplay material by Peter Hedges & Adrian Molina.

IMDb plot summary: In a world where dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.

The Good Dinosaur
Scene by Scene Breakdown
By Rhidian Pentz
GoIntoTheStory.com

Page 1: Outer space 65 million years ago. An asteroid heads toward Earth.

1: Dinosaurs are eating in a field when they notice an meteor fly over them.

1: Millions of years later: a shot of the western frontier.

1–2: A farm, fields, and mountains are revealed. HENRY (Poppa) and IDA (Momma), Apatosauruses, are introduced knocking trees down, plowing and planting seeds in the fields. Henry uses water from a river nearby to irrigate the fields. Ida calls to the attention of Henry.