7 secrets from the making of 'The Good Dinosaur'

This story first appeared on Oh My Disney and is reprinted with permission.

The Good Dinosaur opens in theaters today! Oh My Disney was lucky enough to take a recent trip to the Pixar Animation Studios campus, and went behind the scenes and learned a few secrets along the way. We were never great at keeping secrets, so we're sharing them with you!

1. Arlo's movements are based on an elephant's.

At first we were blown away when we heard that animators studied the perpetual motion of an elephant's legs when designing Arlo, but after a second look at him it makes complete sense! His feet are totally reminiscent of elephant feet, and those knee joints. Classic elephant.

2. Filmmakers based the location of the movie on the Teton Mountain Range in Wyoming.

They traveled there for a location scout and were blown away by the open landscape.

3. This is the first Pixar film with 3D clouds.

Previously clouds were painted into the film after special effects were added, but this time animators pushed themselves to create 3D clouds. The results are breathtaking.

4. Spot's body isn't actually anatomically correct because filmmakers wanted him to able to sit on his legs as a dog would.

This is a twist on the classic "boy and his dog" tale, after all.

5. The T-Rex's campfire stories are based on a real campfire that director Peter Sohn attended at a ranch in Wyoming.

The family who owned the ranch reveled in telling gritty stories of their adventures, so that's what the T-Rex's do in the film.

6. Filmmakers wanted the T-Rex's movements to reflect cowboy's riding horses.

Doesn't it look like they're holding on to invisible reins? Wait until you see them gallop in the film.

7. This is the first Disney-Pixar film told from the eyes of a child.

Arlo may look big, but he's only eleven. Sure, Inside Out featured Riley, but her emotions were the real focus of the story. In this film, we experience everything as Arlo does.

This year, Thanksgiving is about cranberry sauce, stuffing, and dinosaurs.

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