DINOSAUR

Familiar but fun filmmaking, enlivend with awe-inspiring visuals.

By Steve Biodrowski     May 18, 2000

What began as a fairly innovative attempt at dramatic, non-dialogue filmmaking, has emerged, after more than a decade, as a fairly typical Disney film, complete with cute, talking creatures--but at least it's a good Disney film, one of their best full-length narratives (i.e., not counting Fantasia 2000) of the last several years. Dinosaur is a wonder to behold, a virtual non-stop special effects show that combines live-action backgrounds with amazing prehistoric creatures, created through computer-generated imagery. The result is truly amazing to the eye, and the storyline manages to hold interest as well, even though much of it is overly reminiscent of other Disney effortsnot to mention Disney defector Don Bluth's The Land Before Time.

The project began in the mid-1980s when stop-motion animator Phil Tippett proposed the idea of making a dinosaur movie to director Paul Verhoeven during the shooting of Robocop. Screenwriter Walon Green then developed a script that tried to give a gritty, realistic portrayal of prehistoric life, with some nods to dramatic necessity, such as a small mammal character named Suri, the audience identification figure, who befriends a dinosaur in a scene borrowed from Androcoles and the Lion. In the final script by John Harrison and Robert Nelson Jacobs, Suri survives only as a supporting character, and most of the dinosaurs have been transformed into a familiar Disney cast of anthropomorphized animals.

The result is a slightly odd combination. There is a legitimate effort to move away from the usual formula and appeal to an older audience, and a PG rating shows a certain attempt to take off the kid gloves. At the same time, however, there is an obvious attempt to make an uplifting story that will have the widest possible appeal to kids and their parents. The cute moments and comic relief sidekicks are still there, but thankfully they are not as intrusive and annoying as in , the Disney film that Dinosaur most readily brings to mind. Again we are seeing the story of a character (in this case an Iguanodon named Aladar) who is taken from his family at a young age and raised by a different species, only to rejoin his own kind as an adult.

It all works splendidly. The cornball moments are sold so well that you'll buy them while watching, even if you feel guilty afterward for being taken in. Even better are the serious dramatic sequences, such as the comet that rains destruction, forcing Aladar and his adoptive lemur family to flee their island paradise. They hook up with a heard of dinosaurs led by Kron, who are seeking a breeding ground where they will be safe. Of course, Aladar falls for Kron's sister, Neera, who comes to see that her brother's survival-of-the-fittest philosophy is inferior to Aladar's efforts to help the weaker members. Although Kron is weak material for a villain (he is after all leading the herd to a place where they will be safe), the film paints him as one anyway, then rigs the action against him in order to make him fail and let Aladar triumph. It works, but one wishes for a bit more sympathetic understanding of all the characters instead of forcing them into obligatory hero-and-villain roles.

The design and execution of the dinosaurs is truly impressive. The live-action backgrounds are breath-takingly beautiful, and the special effects artists have seamlessly inserted the prehistoric stars, figuratively breathing life into creatures that continue to fascinate generation after generation of viewers. Unfortunately, the demands of making these dinosaurs into lovable characters has somewhat lessened their impact. The wide expressive eyes and expression while talking make them cute rather than awesome, and the lip-synch dialogue is somehow less convincing than in Babe. Fortunately, the fearsome predators on view (a pack of raptors and a mated pair of carnotaurs) do not suffer in this regard. The carnotaurs, especially, emerge with all the fearsome glory of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Their lurking, carnivorous presence drives much of the plot, and this is the closest the film comes to layering an adult sensibility onto the family-film storyline.

When all is said and done, the best sequences remain those in which the dinosaurs remain silent. Here we are given a glimpse into what might have been: a prehistoric pantomime of larger-than-life (as we know it, anyway) characters who inspire us with their majesty and grace. The opening five minutes (which serve as the film's trailer) are in many ways the best in the film, a Moses-like journey of a young babe who finds safety in the arms of a new and different family. But the minute those lemurs start talking, something is lost. The entertainment value is still there, but some ineffable sort of magic is gone. It's not enough to ruin the experiencenot even closeand all critical carping aside, it's impossible not to love a film that devotes this much time to dinosaurs. But it is just enough to make you realize that, as good as the film is, it could have been even better.

For Dino-related merchandise, click here

For Jurassic-related merchandise, click here.

To discuss this film on the message board, click here.

***

DINOSAUR. A Walt Disney Pictures Presentation. Directed by Ralph Zondag & Eric Leighton. Produced by Pam Marsden. Screenplay by John Harrison and Robert Nelson Jacobs; based on an original screenplay by Walon Green. Music composed by James Newton Howard. Editor: He. Lee Peterson, A.C.E. Production Design: Walter P Martishius. Visual Effects Supervisor: Neil Krepela, A.S.C. Digital Effects Supervisor: Neil Eskuri. Release date: May 19, 2000. Rated PG. Running time: 82 minutes.

Voice Cast:

D.B. Sweeny: Aladar
Plio: Alfre Woodard
Yar: Ossie Davis
Zini: Max Casella
Suri: Hayden Panettiere
Kron: Samuel E. Wright
Neera: Julianna Marguilies
Bruton: Peter Siragusa
Baylene: Joan Plowright
Eema: Della Reese