Dinosaur (2000)

Why so much hype?

Thanks for the memories!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Dinosaur is a merely passable movie, but it isn't necessarily disposable. The main issue that I have with it is the story, as the humor doesn't hit half the time and it is very easy to get distracted from some scenes, including the ones that are supposed to be perilous. With that said, though, I took immediate notice of how well the soundtrack was done in mixing with the scenes and amplifying the reactions. The animation is landmark for 2000 and actually holds up today, even against films like the 2016 remake of The Jungle Book, though there are some spots where the rendered characters don't mix well with the live-action scenery, such as characters entering water and not appearing visibly wet. The characters are bearable and in enough cases likable, having good heart and being able to get some sporadic smiles, and the story was written in a way that the voiceovers could be justified. Of course, though, it simmers down to another polarized Disney movie that mixes major boons with major flaws to give us something that is worth your time viewing. Think of it as Walking With Dinosaurs with better, more necessary voices, better humor (if marginally), and less obnoxious.

I think the only thing keeping Walt Disney from rolling in his grave due to this film is the fact that at least it is a sign that his company was still trying out new things, learning new ways of animation. Because as a movie it doesn't hold up at all.The first mostly CGI-animated film - the backgrounds are mainly live-action - to be produced by Disney, it tells about a young iguanodon dinosaur named Aladar, who gets taken by predators, but eventually ends up on an island inhabited by a conspiracy of lemurs, which end up adopting and raising him. But then a meteor forces them out of their island and looking for a safe haven known simply as the Nesting Grounds. Along the way they meet other dinosaurs, get chased by predators, learn things about compassion and perseverance, et cetera, et cetera. If the plot sounds a lot like The Land Before Time mixed with some Tarzan, it's because it's exactly that. It's not trying to be subtle about it.Furthermore, it's a dull movie. None of the characters are all that defined beyond a characteristic or perhaps two, which means that you don't really care what happens to them. Though yes, there's Zini, the self-titled Love Doctor Monkey, but he's more annoying than anything else. The romance is supbar, Aladar's rivalry with Kron goes nowhere, the story barely has an arch and the ending climax doesn't feel like one, because the movie has barely set any stakes. Plus, it looks dull. Though the first act on the lemur island is actually not so bad. At least then we had colours. But as soon as they leave the island, it's nothing but shades of brown and grey for the rest of the film. I shall repeat that. Nothing but brown and grey. Nothing.To the film's credit, the actual animation has aged pretty well. Having the backgrounds be live-action helps a lot and the dinosaurs look mostly okay even still. The opening shot of Aladar's egg being carried around is very impressive and the lemur island part of the story is not so bad.I don't like that this is part of Disney animation canon. It was added retroactively in order to give Tangled the status as the 50th Disney animated classic, but it's an ill fit. Its story has no ambition, its characters are lackluster and all in all it's a very forgettable experience. It's everything a Disney classic should not be.

I honestly don't see why people are so upset whit this movie. Yes, there is talking dinosaurs, but how are you supposed to understand them otherwise. Mute dinosaurs walking around wouldn't be interesting at all and remember, this is a kid's movie. And yes, the animation might not be as good as in Jurassic Park, but this is a fully animated movie, JP used a mix of animatronics and CGI inside an otherwise live action movie, and in a interview I saw, Spielberg (or if it was a special effects guy, I don't remember) said that they would use the animatronics when ever possible and only cover up rigs and refine movement with the computer 'cause the CGI models looked like crap in comparison the robots. And yes, the story has been used before, but so has the story in most films we're watching today, only in varying degree and in different mixes and it's not like Disney is known for their originality story wise. As good as everyone of their Classics are based or inspired by other works.Personally I love this movie. The CGI is still good, and at times more realistic than many rushed animations we see today, the characters are fun to follow, unlike Land before Time were they were unbearable and made me hate the movie (even as a kid the first one was never my favorite) despite a similar story to Dinosaurs', which I by the way like, and the moral of it is a really good one.

I want to get this out there I loved this movie. However it's the story line, people its Moses again a young-ling is separated from its kind and is raised by someone else re united with his kind and emerges a leader. Reused but okay another thing is THEY TALK! Come on I thought they were going for a serious approach and with the story they're trying to tell I think you can't do it with this kind if dialogue. However I liked aladars character and his compassionate nature, I liked when bruton realized his mistakes and is willing to die, and I loved the elderly dinosaurs who despite being slow still have hope. The one quirk is the talk you can't have that dialogue with this kind of story. Despite that it is a great movie with great action and lessons that remains as one of my favorite Disney films