In this sequence of "The Good Dinosaur," one might be reminded of another scene where a father pushes a son to safety but dies. In "The Lion King," Simba waits in the gorge for his father, Mufasa, misled by his uncle Scar. Scar's henchmen the hyenas help start a stampede and Mufasa gets Simba to safety, but through Scar's treachery, ends up being trampled to death by the wildebeest.
Like Simba, Arlo survives, but with a lot of guilt. Eventually, Arlo ends up in the river, and is lost miles away from home. He, predictably, must depend upon Spot to help him find food. Spot is more together than your average six-year-old human. He can sniff out danger. He's more at home on all fours than going bipedal. He has no fear and he saves Arlo more than once. Together, Arlo and Spot struggle to find their way home by searching for the Claw Mountain and the river which flows around it.
Along the way, they meet a few colorful characters such as the pet collecting Styracosaurus (Sohn) whose horned frill is home to a variety of pets including his beloved Debbie and Dreamkiller who protects him "from having unrealistic goals." He wants Spot and competes with Arlo to name the feral child. One wishes more was made of this character, who is potentially funnier than Arlo.
Arlo then helps a gang of vulture-like Pterodactyls whose leader, Thunderclap (Steve Zahn), is like an opportunistic backwoods preacher who believes "the storm will provide." Although Thunderclap initially sounds like a search-and-rescue leader, we soon learn he's a search-and-eat opportunist. That horrifies the herbivore Arlo, especially when Thunderclap wants to liberate Spot to be his lunch.
Arlo and Spot are rescued from the Pterodactyls by a group of Tyrannosaurus cowboys. The cowboys headed by Butch (Sam Elliott) also threaten to eat him and Spot, unless Arlo and Spot help them. Butch and his rambunctious daughter (Anna Paquin) and fun-loving son (A.J. Buckley) are searching for their herd of longhorns. Spot sniffs them out and Arlo, with the help of Spot, help Butch find the rustlers (Velociraptors). This adventure gives Arlo a new-found confidence that aids him on the final part of his journey home when the Pterodactyls return. (For Pixar fans, John Ratzenberger voices Earl, a Velociraptor.)
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