A/N: Since this Bonus Features is so large, it's been split into two.
Chapter 26: Bonus Features Part 1
Contents:
1. Commentary
2. Opinion on The Good Dinosaur (TGD)
3. Character Info
Commentary
Hey everyone, I'm Alex; the writer behind Henry's Long Adventure, and I just wanted to give a basis about how the story was made and all the different plots and versions that went through for this final piece to be made. Right at the very start I wanted to have a story- a what if story, kind of like the movie except instead of a historical event it's a what if on the movie: What if Henry didn't die? For this I had to figure out one thing in particular, and that was if Henry didn't die in the movie why didn't he come back in the movie. Eventually I found that if he was swept out much further down the river than Arlo it would of taken more time to get back home than it did for Arlo.
Next was how far Henry traveled, to which I needed to know how many days went by in the movie since Henry's 'death'. I put an estimate on about two weeks went by in the movie, but it could of been more due to not knowing the duration of time that passed between the last shot of Henry and the first shot of his grave. A solution to this I thought of was to actually have Henry's Adventure last a year, hence the original title of "Henry's Year Adventure" and the error in the Prologue Chapter (you can still see it if you want). At the time I made the prologue it was about a month before it would of been uploaded, as there was no plot to the story in the prologue.
So the summary of the plot I had was that Henry was a far far away from home and would eventually find his way back, but there was nothing in the middle. The first idea was actually to have the story as a musical, where about 70% of the story was literally singing. However there were things I noticed that didn't make it seem right, for example I had to put enough background during singing to give a story and not every character could sing, so eventually the idea of a musical was put to rest.
Version 2 of the story was more complicated than a musical, since I actually analyse the personality of Henry. I noticed that he had a variety of positive emotions presented in the movie (Happiness, love, laughter etc.), but only had a few negative ones. For example he would only get angry when Buck did something bad to Arlo, he would be sad if he'd done something to Arlo or if Arlo was giving up (notice how a lot of these things relate to Arlo), Henry was only ever annoyed when Arlo couldn't stop fearing everything, and last but not least, Henry was scared when the wave showed up. That last negative emotion got me thinking, as his sudden reaction meant to me that he had seen this before somewhere (I now see that he could have been scared for Arlo's safety).
The emotion of fear and the scene where Henry; the brave, wise character of the family is scared meant a lot for me. So I based Version 2 of the plot around Henry's incapability of fear, how he's only just starting to fear things, and getting used to it. As Henry met new characters each one would give their opinion on fear, some outrageously stupid and others more wiser than Henry. Eventually Henry would get to terms with what fear is and see why Arlo was afraid of everything before Henry finally makes it back home. There was only one thing missing: A twist to the story for the viewers and the other characters.
A twist for the characters was soon found, this was that word of Arlo; the brave dinosaur, had spread everywhere, and when the characters saw Henry they would mistake him for this brave dinosaur. There would be a point at which Henry would have to admit he's not the brave dinosaur, that was the twist for the characters, but what about the twist for the audience? The answer to that was again by looking at the movie and the story. Since Henry was now alive this meant the cliche of the parents dying was removed, so I decided to see if Henry had parents of his own, of course I found nothing because Henry and his current family were the only apatosaurs in the movie.
Which got me thinking, what if Henry's parents and possibly siblings too had died sometime in Henry's past, and Henry felt guilty of not doing anything to save them? This felt like the perfect twist in the story, there would be scenes where other characters would ask about Henry's past and his family and he would do random things in response, with this twist explaining why. The significance of the wave came back and had it so that Henry's older family died by a wave (which to me would have explained Henry's sudden reaction to the wave in the movie). So there we have it, Version 2 was about Henry coming back home, and in the process would meet new characters, get used to fear, and eventually explain what happened to his family.
And then one of my friends pointed out something that made me throw some sections of the story out; how many different personalities would have to be shown in the story. This eventually led to me lowering the duration of Henry's Adventure from a year to about a month, and the amount of characters Henry met went from about 20 (Yes, I was going to have THAT much) to 7. And it was then I had a good single-plot story, it was time for the personalities of the other characters.
The first was of course Arlie, an ankylosaurus who had a serious personality. This was a character that I thought would be good at changing the plot of the story, so that she would eventually lead Henry to admit about him not being the good dinosaur. I used the idea of over-analyzing everything as a defense Arlie would have, that and her tail. Her backstory was that she was when young captured by human critters due to traps, and escaped. This was changed to her family being killed by a spinosaurus. Next was onto Arlie's friend: Ben, like his Dryosaur counterpart, Ben was fast and wiser than Arlie when it came to meeting friends. The relationship between these first two characters was that Arlie and Ben had been friends ever since they met, and the backstory behind Ben was that he was abandoned by his family, before nearly being eaten by a spinosaurus.
This was the beginning of Version 3, the final version. However, there was something missing that I needed: A sub-plot. Again, my friend solved this when they mentioned I had not so far included Arlo and his family. I came up with a crazy plot of an eclipse and a tsunami, and how every so often this would happen. Arlo and his family had to prepare for it by making a dam, Henry and his friends had to get to Clawtooth Mountain before this happened, and how Henry's family was killed by this event.
And that was the final version, I then added the triplets Mike, Chris and Jess; The triplets with different personalities. And finally adding Ethan and Fifi: The loving couple, to the plot (one day before the prologue was uploaded). However, there were still things I felt could of been added to the plot, or things that could of been taken away. I want to say that I'm not doing a remake of this story. It would be nice to see a much more polished story, but there's not much to add or take so for now, no remake on the story.
Thoughts on TGD Part 1: Thoughts on the movie itself
I have to say it, TGD is in my opinion one of the best movies I've seen so far compared to other Pixar movies. It's ability on the animation was far beyond fantastic and realistic looking, and the emotions presented are also stunning. The music had fit very well with the scenes, and all of these things are what inspired me to make a story like it. However, I can see what others meant when they said it felt more like a Disney movie than a Pixar movie, there was something about it to this day I can't seem to get is wrong with the movie, there's just something about it... Any ways, I personally would recommend this movie, maybe not to smaller kids as this movie does indeed present a lot of dark situations, other than that I love the movie and always will, nothing will change that.
Thoughts on TGD Part 2: Theories behind the movie
1: Sequel?
The answer in my opinion is more complicated than it seems, Pixar has made sequels from 5 of 13 franchises, and 8 of 23 movies are sequels, so the chance of TGD having a sequel is already lower than 50%, but not to worry, as that's just in general. Plot wise, TGD has a higher chance than in general, as franchises like Cars (Yes, I'm talking about THAT franchise) had it's first movie wrapped up nicely, but then went on to make Cars 2 (I'll talk movie on this movie soon), so a sequel to TGD could be likely from that. Next we have money, and TGD made the least amount of money in all Pixar films, but to be honest, a sequel isn't determined by how much money it made.
Look at Toy Story, the second worst movie in terms of Worldwide gross profit, but it gets 3 sequels. So that doesn't change much on the overall on if TGD will have a sequel or not. Back to plot, this time for the ones which haven't yet got a sequel, most of the films which haven't got a sequel have had nice endings which wrapped up the plot very well, WALL-E and Up ended nice, and so did other films. However, some films that had a nice plot ending, for example Cars and The Incredibles, have/will be having sequels in the not so long future, and there's no way of knowing if the films that haven't had sequels will be getting sequels. So plot wise, TGD is 50/50. All in all I can say that it's not likely TGD will have a sequel, but you may never know, it's better to be optimistic than pessimistic, right?
So what will be in a sequel if there will be one? My first thought about a potential sequel would be another adventure, maybe with more than one member of the family or another Arlo and Spot adventure. It would be nice to see a bit more light shed on the siblings, as they really didn't have much to say in the movie (Buck and Libby only have a couple of lines, and most of them are when they are in child hood). Another idea would be like the story I had, about Henry actually not being dead and finding his way back home, in fact that's what I first intended this story to be: A theoretical sequel that Pixar could make.
Or, the sequel could actually be a prequel, maybe an adventure Ida or Henry had in their past that made them who they are now in the first movie. That would be nice too as it would mean more personality and life would be seen on the parents and even their parents, how they grew up and what challenges/inspirations they went through to be. Or even have a 2-plot prequel, where you see both Henry's and Ida's past, and at the end they meet up with each other. Pixar, make it happen! (I would very much doubt a member of Pixar searching up fanfiction on TGD and finding these ideas, maybe I should do a comic on this story. Eh...)
2: Did Henry actually die?
Now, you might ask why I would bring this up for something like TGD. However, it makes a lot of sense to question it, one of the things people complained about the movie was how Arlo survived the wave (and the waterfall) twice, but Henry couldn't survive one of them? There were two explanations I, and some people had to choose between, either the makers of TGD made it like this because Arlo was the main character and to bring the metaphor "you're me and more", or Henry didn't die from the river and falling into the river isn't so dangerous as the movie makes it seem. Only a few people I've seen/met have turned to the second choice, and one of those was the channel "How it should have ended". About 95% of people who watched the movie chose the first option because it was the most logical, and it is...
But, there's actually good reasoning behind why Henry didn't die from the wave. The first is actually a mention "How it should of ended" made. In their video for TGD, they pointed out that Henry was high enough to have his head above the water (in the movie he's not really stretching his neck, so their theory is possible). Another reason is that is they did indeed survive, a sequel based on this would overthrow everyone who thought he did (the grave shown after it cuts to black doesn't mean Henry's body is under it). The third reason is Finding Dory... no seriously...
(SPOILERS!) in Finding Dory, it's teased that Dory's parents died trying to find Dory in the quarantine room. But then in the next scene, it's revealed that they only left the place, which shows how even Pixar can tease at the parents dying cliche. (END OF SPOILERS!)
...There's also another thing that relates to Henry not dying. People have made claims how the Henry death scene is similar, if not exactly the same, as when Mufasa dies in The Lion King (Does that need to count as spoilers?). But there's things that show that it's not. When Mufasa dies, stampede is already half way. In TGD Henry is hot by the very front of the wave, not halfway into the flood. Mufasa dies because Scar pushes him into the stampede, but Henry stops trying to get out of danger. And the last, but most important difference, after the stampede, Simba goes to Mufasa to try to wake him up. But in TGD, Arlo does what exactly to Henry?
Nothing, because in The Lion King, you can actually see Mufasa's body and confirm that he's dead. But in TGD, Henry is swept away, and is never physically seen again in TGD, and that means you can't fully confirm Henry's death because you don't see Henry's body to confirm that he's dead (One person once told me, if you can't find the body, they're not really dead). So if people are comparing TLK to TGD, then it's safe to say that you can say Henry is not dead because of the things mentioned just now. And the scene Arlo has of Henry still being alive but then realizing that Henry is not here anymore is only a vision, it's not a confirmation.
Okay, so that's the reasons why Henry could still be alive, but what's to say he isn't alive? Well as mentioned before, we never see Henry again (physically) in the film. It would also make sense of the parent's dying cliche, but then again we did just cover Finding Dory. But there's a theory I have that could disprove all of the evidence for Henry NOT dying. I looked at all three scenes where Henry gets hit by the wave, Arlo falls into the river, and Arlo gets hit by the wave.
First off, let me remind you that when Arlo is first in the river, the river isn't as rapid and dangerous as when the wave hit; where the water was full of trees. So for now lets look at where Arlo is in the wave and when Henry is about to get hit by the wave. Right away there's one thing that's different. Henry is hit by the wave when the river is in a tight, narrow cut through the mountain range. Arlo gets hit by the wave when the river is in a flat, wide valley behind Clawtooth Mountain. The positions Arlo and Henry are when the wave hits them are also different, Arlo is stretched out as he's half way into jumping, while Henry is standing. This means Arlo has less force of the wave than Henry does when it hit's them.
The wave that hit Arlo came from a massive landslide, while the one that hit Henry is unknown, but likely to have been made from a smaller landslide. This means less trees are in the wave that hit Henry, but because of how narrow the river was then it would have a similar density of trees. The speed of the two waves are also equal, as while the wave that hit Arlo is much more spread out, it has more energy due to the larger landslide. So the tree density and wave speed are same. The only differences are the positions Arlo and Henry is in, and two other things.
Firstly, Arlo has his head in the middle of the wave while Henry has his head slightly higher than the top of the wave. This is actually key, as having all of you being moved instantly and all but your head moving instantly are two different things. Arlo is slightly dazed while we only get a yell from Henry. Second, Arlo is in the middle of the wave, and Henry is on the side. There's less energy at the sides of the wave, but it's actually more dangerous to be near a wall when a wave comes.
The theory behind why Henry dies is that Henry hits the side of the mountain almost straight after he's hit by the wave. Remember the first time Arlo went in the river, he hits his head on the side of a rock and goes unconscious. And that's when the river is not in a flash flood, for Henry we have a rapid wave pushing him into the side of a mountain. Now that's bound to make someone unconscious, but that doesn't kill him right? We see Arlo knocked out in the river and yet he survives the water fall. Yes but that was when the river was still calm, when the river wasn't calm and Arlo was hit, he swam to Spot and went in a tucked in position when they went down the water fall.
For Henry however, the wave would have lost a lot of energy when it went over to the more wider area that Arlo was in, and so when it got around to the water fall, the wave would be slower and less powerful. I think that if Henry was to die, it would be from the waterfall, as there wouldn't be enough water at the bottom, and since Henry is unconscious he's not going to go into a safe position when landing at the bottom. So how Henry would die is by either drowning, or due to the fall.
So, which is it? Henry isn't dead and might be close to home by the end of the movie, or did Henry die due to drowning/being unconscious when he fell down the water fall? To be honest I'm stuck in the middle here.
Character info
If you ever look up on google images 'the good dinosaur', you might notice a blue picture featuring one of the main characters along with text showing their name and a bit on info about them. This is like that but for this story.
Henry: Swept from his family and home, Henry has yet to find a way back home. When he meets Arlie and take a treacherous journey back, Henry find the one thing he's ever feared in his life: Himself. But as the days go by personalities change, friendships are tested, and secrets left for decades will be unlocked with dire consequences.
Arlie: Lying to this one is not easy, unless you're Henry. Arlie is a sweet and kind when it comes to friendships, but her analyzing of everything is the only thing that can get in their way as their journey back to Clawtooth Mountain reveals more to Arlie as she wants. Time will come when her skills become her downfall, and only then will she understand the meaning of secrets.
Ben: He thinks as fast as he moves, and beating him in a race is bound to be surprising. Ben is open-minded and likes to think about others' actions. Already friends with Arlie when he sees Henry, Ben realizes there's a lot more to this journey than the other two can see, and when things start to turn, he knows there's going to be a braking point.
Chris, Mike, Jess: The small trio that have not too long been born. In need of water when they find Henry, they soon become friends. However their different personalities soon allows them, and especially one of the three, to be wiser than most of everyone. Jess being the only girl has to sometimes think on her own, and one can be surprised to see the ideas she comes up with.
Ethan and Fifi: A loving couple that will walk the Earth together, Ethan and Fifi are keen to get to Clawtooth when they encounter Henry's friends. As tension between the others rise, their love for each other is the only thing that seems unchanging. But behind it all another, oncoming force is also unchanging, and this time it's not the storms...
Arlo: Without his father to control how to defend the place, Arlo fills the gap to make sure everything goes smoothly. But as things get complicated and unwanted faces turn up, he's soon pushed to the point of extremes. Adapting with stricter personalities, one event will surprise him for the rest of his life: the return of his beloved father.
A/N: Part two will be out soon.
Disclaimer: Arlie, Ben, Chris, Jess, Mike, Sandra, Rick, Jake, Ethan Fifi, Luke, Mallory, Odina, Tabari and Zarla (Holy crap I've made quite enough OCs for this story) are the characters owned by me. The other characters are owned by Disney(Pixar) and its film 'The Good Dinosaur'.