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QUICK PLOT SUMMARY:
Drama - A family of lemurs and their adopted iguanodon son must find another home after theirs is destroyed by a meteor shower.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG
- The MPAA rated this film PG for intense images.
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FAST FACTS:
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| Release Date | .... May 19, 2000 |
| Running Time | .... Aprox. 82 Minutes |
| Genre | .... Family |
| Director | .... Eric Leighton |
| Writer | .... Thom Enriquez |
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WHO SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE:
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- AS A DATE MOVIE
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- Great Bet - Daters of all ages will be completely enthralled and will wanna snuggle as the lemurs pair off to watch the sunset.
- CHICK FLICK
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- Great Bet - Girls, women and grandmas will love the spirit of Eema, Baylene and Neera, plus enjoy the fact that the men dinosaurs don't always have the right answers.
- GUYS MOVIE
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- Probably OK - Enough intense action to keep the guys from feeling as though they've been suckered into seeing a film they figured was strictly for kids.
- CHILDREN
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- Great Bet - Children of all ages will love Dinosaur. Kids under ten will probably be frightened or upset by some of the intense scenes. Parents should be nearby to provide a shoulder and a Kleenex after the meteor shower has hit the earth.
- TEENAGERS
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- Great Bet - Teachers could bring their class of teens to see Dinosaur and have a tremendous discussion about it afterward. Teens will love the fact that the animals look so real. Smart teens who have studied dinosaurs will have fun naming them and pointing out which ones don't belong in the same era together.
- GENERATION X
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- Good Bet - Gen Xers will love to see the latest technological advancements in animation, and will appreciate the fact that the film isn't a silly musical.
- BABY BOOMERS
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- Great Bet - Dinosaur has the Disney stamp of quality that Boomers have come to appreciate over the years. This film truly deserves to be recognized for its achievements, and the Boomers that make up the bulk of the Motion Picture Academy are sure to add this one to their list of next year's big winners.
- MATURE AUDIENCES
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- Great Bet - This breathtaking spectacle of imagery is a must-see for anyone whose first theatre movie was in black and white.
- INTELLECTUALS
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- Great Bet - The clever movie-goer will thoroughly enjoy discussing the many theories and philosophies that are touched on in Dinosaur and will be cynical when one of the tallest dinosaurs that ever lived manages to fit inside a cave.
WHAT PARENTS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE THEIR CHILDREN SEE THIS MOVIE:
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MOVIE DETAILS:
- VIOLENT ACTS
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- Some - Predators attack the lemurs; several decomposing bodies of dinosaurs that didn't make it are seen along the way; predators feed upon those who can't make it across the dry land; dinosaurs die under falling boulders; a dinosaur is severely injured by a large scary carnotaur, and is shown in several scenes as bloody and dying; a bloody battle between dinosaurs for power of the herd; fight to the death between iguanodon and carnosaur.
- SEX/NUDITY
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- Little - Mating rituals are mentioned; lemurs pair off to watch the sunset, while one left out is referred to as a bachelor; a lemur calls Aladar a "stud" after getting positive attention from a female iguanodon; a lemur offers help as the "love monkey"; two dinosaurs touch hooves in a romantic moment at the drinking hole; dinosaurs have eggs and soon after, hatchlings.
- PROFANITY
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- None - Pretty clean language with the exception of "jerk-a-saurus" x 2.
- TENSE SCENES
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- Abundant -A meteor shower wreaks havoc on the earth; Predators attack the lemurs; Aladar and friends unexpectedly come across a herd of dinosaurs; leader of the herd gets angry; the leader of the herd yells at Aladar; a scary storm; carnotaurs attack again; two dinosaurs battle it out; a herd of dinosaurs must fight off a carnotaur.
- IMMORAL/ILLEGAL BEHAVIORS
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- None -The characters have a tough time with predators, but the meat-eaters are doing what nature intends for them to do, so their actions can't be considered immoral.The leader of the herd doesn't care about the weaker part of the herd because he believes in survival of the fittest, so one can't really consider that immoral, either.
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OVERALL RATINGS:
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- Entertainment Rating
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A little egg goes through much turmoil before finally coming to land in a lemurs lair…so goes the opening scene of this summer's family blockbuster Dinosaur. This initial piece of footage has been used as a demo for animation in fairs and expositions across the country for quite awhile now. Four years in the making and 200 million dollars later, Dinosaur is finished, and now we finally get to see what's inside the egg.
Once the lemurs finally decide the hatchling iguanodon is harmless, they raise it as their own. Can anyone say Tarzan? Luckily we don't spend much time watching the little dinosaur grow up, so we are spared the story we can all tell in our sleep. Unfortunately they skip right to the part where the now-grown Aladar realizes he has never seen a female iguanodon. The point is moot, however, because it is only moments later when their world is turned completely upside down, and mating is the last thing on their minds.
The fact that a meteor shower probably did have a major impact on the extinction of prehistoric life lends to the lump that planted firmly in my throat through the duration of the film. I literally gasped out loud as the innocents witness the meteors without fear, in awe of the bright lights with no possible knowledge of what was soon to come. Fear doesn't set in until instinct tells them something is tragically wrong in their little Eden. Now besides having to run from predators, they must find a new place to call home. Fast!
In true Road Warrior fashion, Aladar the iguanadon and his adoptive lemur family trudge through the aftermath of destruction in search of life. When they come across a herd of dinos trekking across the land to find water, they realize they had better join up or be gobbled by predatory carnosaurs that are never too far behind.
The pack is led by Kron, a huge iguanodon who doesn't like to be challenged. He leads the herd with a Darwinian attitude, and spouts often that it is ok for the weak to be left behind to die. His sister Neera is the first female iguanodon Aladar has ever seen, and they seem to have an instant chemistry. They keep the romance in perspective, however, knowing survival is their number one priority. Aladar's lemur brother tries to get Neera to notice his dinosaur brother with silly cat-calls, much to Aladar's embarrassment. She fires back with a hasty "Jerk-a-saurus". Not very dinosaur-like language, but one must remember the film is aimed at the kids, and they deserve a joke or two they can understand!
Two important concepts are pitted against one another in Dinosaur. Survival of the fittest versus strength in numbers. Some great lessons both historical and metaphorical are presented in the film, and we learn there's more than one way to stay alive. We come to care a great deal about these characters, and walk away with a sense of longing for them, because even a happy ending can't take away the actual fate that led to their extinction.
Once in awhile a movie like this comes along that blows me right out of the water. At first I thought, how could an animated film move me so much? Then I think to myself, remember Bambi? Remember Dumbo? What was I thinking? Disney is an expert when it comes to making me cry!
Dinosaur is a combination of films like Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time, with the enormosity of King Kong. That's what makes surround sound so important to these new films…we get to hear how big the dinosaur is. In Dinosaur, I swear I felt the chair shake with the crash of their steps.
Dinosaur gives us an awesome look at the Cretaceous Age, (though some seen in the film don't fit that era), and at the same time allows the prehistoric animals to express themselves in a modern manner in which we can all identify. Humans have wished animals could tell their stories for an eternity. Dinosaur walks a fine line between reality and fantasy. The lemurs come off muppet-like, but the rest of the film looks extremely real. The landscape is phenomenal, and the dinosaurs fit in more realistically with the backdrop then they did in Jurassic Park. Some of the scenes are very intense, and parents should consider the emotional level of the child before allowing him or her to see the film. (My 9 year old son had nightmares for a month after seeing Jurassic Park). Though the graphic content is limited to some injured, bleeding and dead dinosaurs, the suspense and carnage that goes along with our little heroes brutally fending off carnivorous meanies is pretty scary, even for me.
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- Children's Value Rating
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- Great Bet - Definitely a good movie for kids that can handle intense scenes where the characters fear for their lives, and can understand basic principles such as death, mating, and predatory violence. Children under ten should definitely have a grown-up nearby.
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Reviewed by C.A. Batchelor Email Me! -- May 24, 2000
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