Interview with The Good Dinosaur’s Arlo, Spot and Buck

I was invited as media to cover this press event. All opinions are my own.

In addition to attending the red carpet premiere of Disney Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, I also had the opportunity to join a Q&A session with the voices behind the film. Raymond Ochoa voiced Arlo the dinosaur, Marcus Scribner voiced Arlo’s brother, Buck, and Jack Bright voiced Spot.

The Good Dinosaur’s Arlo, Spot and Buck Q&A

The boys were such a joy to spend time with. They were very excited to be a part of the film and discuss their thoughts with us. During the Q&A we asked the boys how each of them got into character. Raymond shared, “mine was research.” He explained that he wasn’t sure what an Apatosaurus looked like (neither did I before this film). Marcus added that he wasn’t sure what the dinosaur looked like, so he researched more information for his role. He also mentioned, “Buck is really gruff and he’s really tough of a character. He’s very rambunctious, so to play a character like that I really had to let all my emotions through and just really give it my all.” 

Jack shared that this was his first voice role. Spot makes a lot of sounds and noises, but doesn’t speak words so it was different for him. Raymond added, “I think he had the toughest character to do. He doesn’t have to talk.” Turning to Jack he said, “You have to bring out emotion just within these howls and growls, but I think you did an amazing job, amazing.”

We also asked the young actors about the length of their voice sessions. Raymond, whose role as Arlo in the film was quite large, said he worked on the movie for a year or so. His sessions would last about 6 hours each. Marcus joked that he did about the same time has Raymond, “a whole day.” We all laughed. While Buck was not in a great deal of the film, the scenes that included him were important ones about family dynamics.

When asked about balancing life and celebrity status, Raymond gave a superior answer. He shared with us that he and his brothers are in a music group, so he’s grown up in the business. Adding, “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 help me whenever I need it. So it’s just so amazing. And that’s how I really handle it because family is my main key.” All of the moms in the room were quite impressed with his answer.

Additionally the boys shared their favorite scenes in the film. Jack mentioned that the scene where Arlo is trying to get the berries from the tree, then falls is his favorite. Raymond added that the scene with Arlo and Spot drawing in the sand sharing about their families is his favorite. Marcus mentioned his favorite scene is when Buck gets to scare Arlo.

When asked about what traits from their characters they would like to incorporate more in their life, the boys had some excellent answers. Raymond shares, “I want to be as helpful as [Arlo] is to the family.” Adding, “I really don’t have a lot of chores because I have three older brothers that can help me out. But I’m gonna try and be more helpful around the house just like Arlo is on his farm.” Marcus added that he aspires to be like Buck, “who’s really self-confident and a real leader.”

You may recognize Marcus from his role on ABC’s “Black-ish“, which I had a chance to chat with him about during the red carpet event. His parents were so gracious and thanked us for interviewing the boys and promoting the film. They were super down to earth people and I can’t say enough good things about them.

Finally, we asked the boys what they’d like people to take away from the film. Marcus shared, “self-discovery, family and friendship are the three most important things that I took away from the movie.” Since Arlo and Spot’s relationship evolves during the course of the movie, Raymond felt “don’t just a book by its cover” was a fitting description. Adding, “I think everyone should take [that] away because you really don’t know who they are. They could be the most caring person and you see something else.”

The Good Dinosaur is now in theaters! Now that you’ve had a chance to hear from the real people behind the characters, I hope that inspires you even more to go see the film. You will love it! See the official trailer here.