Let's be real: this movie traumatized an entire generation of millennials, and not in a good way. The mom's death scene is genuinely upsetting and comes without much warning in what looks like a cute dinosaur adventure.

That said, if you're prepared for it, there are real lessons here about grief, perseverance, and friendship. The problem is the 1988 execution—the pacing is brutally slow, the animation looks ancient, and modern kids raised on Pixar will find it hard to engage.

The ratings are decent (7.4 IMDb, 79% audience on RT) but remember these are mostly nostalgic adults. Ask a 7-year-old in 2025 to sit through this and you'll likely get fidgeting and requests to watch something else.

If you want to introduce themes of loss and friendship, there are better options now (Coco, Encanto, even The Lion King does death better). But if you loved this as a kid and want to share it, just prep your kid for the heavy stuff and maybe have the remote ready to fast-forward through the really slow parts.