The Pixar Theory

Part #3: how the Good Dinosaur fits into the theory

A/N: in this section of the theory, the words "evolution" and "magic" will be used often. After doing some more extensive research, I figured out that the author didn't mean evolution like what we normally think of, but just the animals gaining intelligence and human-like abilities. So please don't be offended by the words evolution or magic in this. Enjoy!
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THE BIG QUESTION

Does The Good Dinosaur take place in the same universe as ever other Pixar movie? Including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and even Cars?

We're going to address that question and then some. But first, let's talk about something possibly more important. Let's talk about what The Good Dinosaur contributes to the shared Pixar universe, beyond how it potentially "fits in."

In other words, we're going to talk about how The Good Dinosaur makes the Pixar Universe Theory better.

For one thing, it actually answers some major questions I've been asking since day one of putting this theory together. And I know plenty of people have wondered this too:

WHERE DOES "MAGIC" COME FROM?

If you're at all familiar with this theory, then you're plenty aware of how magic plays a mysterious role in the shared universe of Pixar. But one thing I've never fully understood is where it's supposed to come from in a world where animals can cook and toys can talk.

I've claimed in the past that the wisps of Brave are where this magic originated, or at least point to magic tying in with nature somehow. I've also posited that wood is a source of magic, which is certainly evident given how doors have dimension-defying capabilities in multiple Pixar movies, including Monsters Inc, and Brave.

Humans can use magic from what we've seen, or at least some type of it. In my book, I argue that the supers from The Incredibles received their powers through government experiments in order to be spies (at first), which would explain why they seem to have military experience and backgrounds in espionage.

But it's unclear how technology could make a person fly. It's unclear how Boo from Monsters Inc., could harness the magic of a door and travel through time. It's unclear how humans of the distant future could find a magic tree with fruit that could transform them into animalistic monsters (a tidbit from the Monsters Inc., DVD).

But with The Good Dinosaur, we finally have a suitable theory for where this magic comes from, as well as a proper starting point for the Pixar Universe.

THE SET UP

The film opens 65 millions years in the past, when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. The opening scene clearly shows us a world like the real one you and I live in, where animals eat from the ground and have primitive senses.

In reality, it's believed by many that an extinction-level event is what caused the disappearance of the dinosaurs as we know them today. A predominant theory is that an asteroid wiped all of these creatures out, long before mammals like humans ever came to be.

Pixar accepts this premise and turns it on its head by proposing a world where there is no extinction of the dinosaurs because the asteroid misses Earth entirely. Millions of years later, dinosaurs are still the dominant species on a very different-looking planet, while humans are just now arriving on the scene.

One thing I love about The Good Dinosaur, by the way, is how the film doesn't rely on any exposition to illustrate what's taken place since the asteroid missed Earth. We just see an apatosaurus family tending to their farm. Right off the bat, we learn that dinosaurs have become the most intelligent creatures in this world, able to provide shelter, fences, and resources for themselves and other creatures.