Dinosaur

Name: Dinosaur
Genre: Adventure, Thriller, Animation, Family
Released: May 19, 2000
Duration: 82 min
Rating: 56
Cast: D.B. Sweeney, Julianna Margulies, Samuel E. Wright

2000

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 93 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	Your Score
7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 93 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: May 19, 2000 | PG

Starring: D.B. Sweeney, Julianna Margulies, Samuel E. Wright

Summary: When a meteor shower destroys their home, Aladar and his family follow a herd of dinosaurs heading for the safety of the "nesting grounds." Along the way, Aladar befriends other colorful dinosaurs. Together, they must stand strong amidst food and water shortages, the threat of carnotaur attacks, and Aladar's run-ins with the herd's stubbornWhen a meteor shower destroys their home, Aladar and his family follow a herd of dinosaurs heading for the safety of the "nesting grounds." Along the way, Aladar befriends other colorful dinosaurs. Together, they must stand strong amidst food and water shortages, the threat of carnotaur attacks, and Aladar's run-ins with the herd's stubborn leader, Kron.… Expand

Director: Eric Leighton and Ralph Zondag

Genre(s): Adventure, Thriller, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 82 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Jack Mathews

For sheer bravura film making, for creating a cartoon world with real air, flesh, blood and the exhilarating cycle of fear and escape, Dinosaur is tops. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

An eye-popping visual spectacle that serves up a vivid picture of what the planet might have looked like when reptiles ruled the Earth. Read full review

Walter Addiego

Parents should note the PG rating. There's little bloodshed, but several fight scenes, lots of loud roaring and some overwhelming special effects sequences could vex younger viewers.

Film.com Sean Means

A cool movie and a must-see for anyone who wants to see the next stage in computer-generated animation. But it could have been so much more. Read full review

Film.com Robert Horton

A truly stunning technical experiment. Read full review

Stephen Hunter

The occasional big moments are stunning, and kids from the ages of, say, 6 years to 6 years and 3 days will love it. Anyone younger will be scared; anyone older, bored. Read full review

Dallas Observer M. V. Moorhead

May find it hard to sit without embarrassment through this bizarre mixture of paleontology, preposterous anthropomorphism, and fuzzy-headed New Age myth-making in which the only thing missing is the show tunes. Thank God for small favors. Read full review

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User Reviews

donovanoliver71

Apr 23, 2017

I love it. It is awesome at this Disney animation and live action CGI movie with a talking Dinosaur named Aladar raised by Lemurs. Still though, nice.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Genesisambrocio

Dec 7, 2020

Best characters in dinosaur movie and awesome dinosaur villains love it great job this flim is masterpieces awesome performances characters and the soundtrack great intro flim end everything in movie and visuals are stunning in this movie and the movie is better than Jurassic park 2 and 3Best characters in dinosaur movie and awesome dinosaur villains love it great job this flim is masterpieces awesome performances characters and the soundtrack great intro flim end everything in movie and visuals are stunning in this movie and the movie is better than Jurassic park 2 and 3 best dinosaur Disney movie… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MovieLonely94

Nov 10, 2010

an unforgettable CGI movie from my childhood.

5 of 6 users found this helpful51

MovieMasterEddy

Apr 7, 2016

"Dinosaur" is an eye-popping visual spectacle that serves up a vivid picture of what the planet might have looked like when reptiles ruled the Earth.

To modern audiences for which technological achievements usually count for far more than artistic ones and special effects coolness very"Dinosaur" is an eye-popping visual spectacle that serves up a vivid picture of what the planet might have looked like when reptiles ruled the Earth.

To modern audiences for which technological achievements usually count for far more than artistic ones and special effects coolness very often reps the most valuable possible B.O. component, “Dinosaur” definitely has what it takes. The startling visions of the first few minutes alone a ferocious toothsome attack and a flight over huge herds of dinosaurs inhabiting magnificent actual landscapes are enough to thrill any viewer as well as to serve notice that there’s never been anything quite like this before.

The visual splendors continue, to be sure, across the pacy 75 minutes of story time (seven minutes of credits follow). But it’s also the case that, somewhere around half-way through, you begin to get used to the film’s pictorial wondrousness to take it for granted, even and start to realize that the characters and story are exceedingly mundane, unsurprising and pre-programmed. Directors Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton seem afraid to show anything that will be the least bit disturbing or upsetting to anybody. Sure, 5 year olds will be momentarily frightened by the sight and sound of giant lizards roaring at them, but this is a dinosaur picture that’s petrified of showing death, for God’s sake , that shies away from all the grand elements that could have given it true stature and resonance: Majesty, terror, grandeur, tragedy and savage instincts in their most primitive state. Pic’s sensibility is closer to a “Sesame Street” lesson in caring and cooperation than to any monster favorite one could think of , from the original “The Lost World” and “King Kong” to “Jurassic Park” and even Disney’s own “The Rite of Spring” episode in “Fantasia.”

The great leap forward here lies in the incomparably “photorealistic” placement of computer generated creatures within real-world settings. Per the press materials, finished film includes more than 1,300 individual effects shots , and special attention was paid to such difficult-to-achieve illusions as detailed animal muscle movement, physical contact with water and dust, credible shadows and dinosaur p.o.v. shots. All the effort in these areas has paid off magnificently, to the extent that it’s safe to say that the bar has again been raised in this realm of CGI and effects-based pictures.

Would that one-tenth as much time and energy gone into developing more musculature and a few additional wrinkles for the storyline. Having begun life in 1988 as a script by Walon Green for Paul Verhoeven to direct as a live-action feature with effects by Phil Tippett (one need only think of “Starship Troopers” to imagine what that might have been like), screenplay as ultimately worked out by John Harrison and Robert Nelson Jacobs feels cobbled together with elements from the likes of “Tarzan,” “The Lion King” and, of all things, “Red River.” Result is synthetic rather than elemental, and with a pre-digested taste.

The various creatures are brilliantly rendered; they interact credibly with one another and are integrated seamlessly into the backdrops. But as realistic and expressive as they are, they don’t engage the emotions any more directly than have many more cartoonishly rendered animated characters in the past.

In a film in which the foreground technological wonders will be so widely noted, the superlatively chosen backgrounds should be mentioned; fantastic locations in California, Australia, Hawaii, Florida, Venezuela and Western Samoa have been combined to fashion the world of the late Cretaceous Period. James Newton Howard’s orchestral score is unusually good, and the sound work is expert.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bfoore90

May 6, 2020

It's a passable film, the plot is pretty generic and doesn't offer alot to be desired but the CGI was extraordinary at the time for an animation. Still, the screenplay can be dark and rather intense at times and I liked how they didn't shy away from the violence of animal nature

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

heyitsmegrif4

Dec 17, 2011

Well it is visually dazzling and can be heartwarming, but its thin story makes this a very boring and unentertaining film you wish you had never laid eyes on. I give this movie a 56% of a good movie.

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

cmainthuging12

Aug 10, 2014

I thought the movie was bad. really suprised at the ratings, i only watched a minute of it and knew it would suck because of the airplane scene that was copied from jurassic park 3. Also the fake bigfoot, a cheap movie trying to convince people that it's real.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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25	#25 Most Discussed Movie of 2000
10	#10 Most Shared Movie of 2000