When the characters were redesigned when the movie was retooled, the eye colors of Arlo and Spot were changed to match the other's primary color. Arlo has brown eyes, and Spot has green eyes.
Arlo's status as the runt of the litter actually saved him. When the flash flood hit him, he was swept away and had a lot of room to avoid debris and could swim to the centre. Poppa didn't have that; his size meant he would be more likely to hit something. He would also be far less nimble in fast moving flood water. It also let Arlo swim under some obstacles in the river as well. The end flood did not look wide/deep enough to allow an adult Apatosaurus to be fully submerged.
It's also possible that Poppa didn't know how to swim. Until he watched Spot and copied his movements, Arlo certainly didn't.
Speaking of Arlo's small size upon hatching, him coming from a huge egg may actually be to blame for his runt status. If the egg's shell was as over-thick as it was, over-sized, unborn Arlo may not have received as much fresh oxygen through its barrier as his siblings, slowing his growth.
Momma Ida stating Arlo may need more time to earn his mark is interesting when you remember he was still developing in the largest egg before his egg was cracked open by Buck. Turns out Arlo would have needed more time to develop into a bigger hatchling.
Thunderclap's group is a flock in two senses of the word: One is that it's a group of quasi-avian animals. The other is that it's a congregation of individuals who share a certain belief, i.e., their religious obsession with the storm.
If Thunderclap and his group's behavior are an indication, it can be said that their flock is, in all senses of the word, a cult.
Along similar lines, this makes Thunderclap's ultimate fate a case of Laser-Guided Karma. After preying on so many flood victims, he becomes one himself... with the help of a couple of his would-be meals.
Additionally, his beloved storm is what ultimately causes his downfall.
And if it is to be believed Thunderclap died, he's now nothing more than pickings for scavengers himself.
Thunderclap and Forest Woodbrush are two polar opposites of what Arlo could've been. On one hand, Forest is a benign version of Arlo if he allowed fear to control him. It's gotten to the point where Forest is a recluse who heavily relies on his 'pets' to "protect" him. Whereas Thunderclap is a malignant example of what would've happened to Arlo if he went with his resolve to not be afraid of anything ever again.
The raptors weren't depicted as evil simply because they were predators. The T. rexes were also predators. The raptors were evil because they were trying to steal from the T. rexes; the raptors are, for all intents and purposes, criminals.
Not to mention that the raptors and pterodactyls are perfectly happy to kill other intelligent beings for sport. The T. Rexes, while also carnivores, are content to eat non-sapient livestock and are harmless and even friendly to the intelligent herbivore dinos.
More Brilliance about the raptors: the word "raptor" itself means "thief".
The ultra-cartoony design of the dinosaurs in the very realistic environments is a questionable design choice... but take a look at the dinosaurs in the scene of the asteroid missing Earth. They look much more realistic than any character in the bulk of the film. Dinosaurs evolved into caricatures of themselves... just like in WALL•E, when 700 years of living in space turned live-action humans into animated ones. Apparently, that's just how things work in the Pixar 'verse. Pixar logic!
It may seem odd that a T. rex would be threatened by something as (relatively) small as a crocodile. But then you remember that in the Mesozoic, some crocodilians reached — and even possibly slightly exceeded — the size of a full-grown Tyrannosaurus.
We also don't know how long ago the attack happened. Could be the T. rex was young and not much bigger than Arlo when he got chomped.
How is it that for all his wandering and absence from the farm, Arlo still gets his mark by the end of the story? Because his Poppa told him he'd earn his mark when he "took care of that critter". Given Spot is with a family who will keep him out of trouble (and out of the family silo), Arlo took good care of that critter.
Why wasn't Poppa bothered with Buck hitting Arlo's egg, and then loses his cool when Buck hits Arlo? Because before Arlo hatched, Poppa must've figured Arlo would be bigger than his brother, and therefore wouldn't be hurt by Buck's smacking. But upon seeing Arlo is smaller, Poppa is angered at seeing one of his kids bully their smaller sibling.
It might be hard to imagine a dangerous outlaw gang of Stegosaurus, as they are herbivorous dinosaurs. But Stegosaurus were probably one of the most dangerous dinosaurs of their time, not unlike certain herbivores today like rhinos and buffalos.
They may also have been competing with the tyrannosaur family's herd for forage. Cattle ranchers and sheep herders being rivals for good grazing is a fairly standard Wild West trope.
One thing this troper noticed: the longhorn bison the T. rexes keep appear to have wide feet with three toes, like a rhino instead of an actual buffalo, which has hooves. But if you think about the world of the film, this makes sense: because dinosaurs never went extinct, mammal evolution was pushed back several million years, and large ungulates haven't yet evolved the modern hoof shape, despite being recent species.
Something interesting about the placement of Arlo's mark is that it's on the same rock that is removed to put corn in the silo. That's how Arlo met Spot, by seeing him stealing corn inside the silo. So the mark can also serve as a way for Arlo to remember his friend whenever he needs to get into the food supply.
There may be more depth to this promotional poster than just being a handprint over a dinosaur silhouette. Remember, Arlo's family has a tradition of "making their mark" on their silo. You could say that the handprint is Spot's mark! Which not only suggests that Spot is an honorary member of Arlo's family, but that he made his mark on Arlo's heart!
The reason why the first snow fell so early may be because the film takes place at the beginning of the Ice Age. The presence of longhorn bison (Bison Latifrons) which lived during the Ice Ages may contribute to this theory.
If you subscribe to The Pixar Theory, then eventually that means the film's cast is going to die off from something or other. Maybe even the Ice Age...
The story is set 65 million years after the Cretaceous and in the present day, so the Ice Age could have already ended. Besides there's plenty of evidence to suggest dinosaurs can perfectly thrive in cold climates.
Just because it's 65 million years after the Cretaceous, it does not mean that it can't take place a few thousand years before Brave (which is the next movie in the Pixar Theory timeline). In this movie there seem to be very few dinosaurs still alive, and they are struggling to survive (not being able to collect enough food for the winter is a major plot point), so it's quite possible that they eventually will go extinct and replaced by the descendants of Spot's species.
Pixar Theory is just fun theory to connect all Pixar films, so this Fridge Point shouldn't be taken seriously.
Initially, Butch doesn't really give Arlo much consideration and even threatens him a couple of times. Who's to say, when he told Arlo to "act as a distraction", he wasn't planning for the raptors to kill Arlo and Spot?
Even if Thunderclap survives the river and his wing heals, he'll be in for a nasty surprise when he realizes that the reason he nearly died is because his beloved storm swelled up the river... live by the sword, die by the sword.
Not to mention that, now unable to fly, he's now easy pickings for scavengers, potentially even his fellow pterodactyls...
Nothing is explicitly stated about how Spot's parents died, but there are clues that paint a disturbing picture: the culprits were none other than the Stormchasers. Sure, it might sound too simple, but look at the facts. One, Thunderclap and his cronies admitted to having eaten humans before; Coldfront catches Spot's scent and calls him "One of the juicy ones!" Two, Spot hid under the fallen tree as soon as he saw the Pterosaurs. Why would he do that? Because he knows from experience that they're dangerous. Three, the Stormchasers' behavior is atypical of Pterosaurs. If they all had a reputation for being ruthless and manipulative scavengers, Arlo wouldn't have called out to them for help. In conclusion... Spot watched his parents get picked apart by pterosaurs.
For most of the movie, Thunderclap and the Stormchasers largely go after "critters" and small animals. It would be easy to assume that they only go after hurt and helpless animals, and only went after Arlo because he was protecting Spot, until you realize that the very first thing Thunderclap said Arlo was asking whether or not he was injured - and once you know it's there, it's hard to miss the disappointment in his voice when he realizes Arlo isn't. It all adds up to a shocking realisation; they've killed and eaten other dinosaurs before.
Or, even worse, Spot's parent's were killed by Arlo's. Think about it. Spot would have had to have lived nearby for most of his life and, being as young as he is, wouldn't have wandered far and would have gone for the easiest food sources he knew of. Two young parents would have had to have known where to get extra food for a growing child, in an area with little obvious wild food. Papa, on the other hand, knew exactly how to capture and quickly kill critters like Spot. Almost like he had to do it a few times before...
Why is Arlo so scared in the first place? Perhaps it’s because his brother hit him and his egg when he hatched. Arlo was rudely awakened by a large thumping noise while he was still developing inside his egg. Obviously Buck didn’t mean any harm, but even small moments can affect our perception of the world for life.
A deleted scene actually explains it much better: shortly after hatching, Arlo wanders outside the farm and is attacked and nearly killed by a Dimetrodon before Poppa saves him, explaining why he grew up so fearful: he was nearly killed and eaten by a huge wild animal before he was even a day old.
Meta Fridge Sadness: Why do Spot and Arlo leave each other, implied permanently, at the end? The filmmakers might have looked at the end product of a horribly Troubled Production and accurately realized it wouldn’t be received well enough for a sequel. Everyone was truly pulling for this movie, but sometimes things just don’t pan out.
than just being a handprint over a dinosaur silhouette. Remember, Arlo's family has a tradition of "making their mark" on their silo. You could say that the handprint is Spot's mark! Which not only suggests that Spot is an honorary member of Arlo's family, but that he made his mark on Arlo's heart!
