Disney's Dinosaur

[action9000]

Ratiasu

A lot of people have called Disney's Dinosaur "Land Before Time with CGI", but I personally think this somewhat old movie deserves more respect. I don't understand why people say the characters aren't deep - there are numerous times when there are subtle hints of internal conflict or hesitation and such, an example being the short conversation Neera and Aladar had during sunset.

"Look Neera, if we watch out for each other, we all stand a chance of reaching your 'Nesting Grounds'."
"You sound so sure."
"I'm not...but it's all I know."

This shows us that Aladar is slightly hesitant about sharing his often-opposing views with other dinosaurs, as he was raised differently. He's not very confident in himself and he just wants the best for everyone. Neera is slightly skeptical of his views, but takes it into consideration nonetheless, showing she is very open to peopl---err, dinosaurs ideas and considerate overall. There's more I could type about that quote, but too many people accuse the characters as having one-track personality (ex., Aladar, the "Heroic Stand-Up-For-All Good Guy", Kron, the "Bully"). The characters ARE multi-dimensional, you just have to LOOK deeper then usual - they aren't 'spelled out' for us.

The dialogue, I agree, wasn't written that well, and there were may too many Disney ClichÈs, but at least there weren't any annoying songs and dances.

So anyway...what did you guys think of the movie?

Cyberlizard

Meh. I didn't like it because people said it was an LBT ripoff. I just thought all of the stuff was rediculous. Monkeys in the Mesozoic era??? Come on, that would piss off Jack Horner more than Jurassic Park with the plethora of other scientific errors I found in this movie. o_O No offense to anybody who likes it, I'm just stating my opinion on it. ^^;

Weirdraptor

CyberLizard, did you even see the movie? You say you disliked it because someone else told you it was a LBT rip-off? You have a problem with monkeys in that era, but not rats, like in LBT4? While we're pointing out biological inaccuracies, let us look at the fact that the dinosaurs are talking.
Anyway, I've never drawn any connection between "The Land Before Time" and "Dinosaur", witht he exception of the fact that both feature a journey from one place to another, which many, many other stories also feature. IMO, I actually prefer "Disney's Dinosaur" to "The Land Before Time", in all honesty.

Darkhououmon

Actually..I thought those "monkeys" were lemurs. ^^; And I thought rodent-like mammals *did* exist during dinosaur times.
I never actually seen Dinosaur myself, but I never had any interest towards it for some reason. The trailers I saw for it never caught my interest.

[Petrie.]

Well, if Dinosaur is not a rip-off, then its really close.  It's almost like putting ice cream in the microwave for fifteen seconds and seeing what it looks like when its done.  Same idea.  The plot looks a lot like it could be LBT all over again, but its been melted a bit to avoid a direct duplicate.

Was Dinosaur a bad film?  No.  Could it have been a lot better?  Oh yes.  Considering it had been in the pipeline for eight years and the finished product reminds many kids (not just adults mind you) of another film with a similar storyline, you know there was room for improvement.  So much development in the graphics department...too bad they didn't give the story the same magic.

You don't have to take my word for it.  Go to imdb and under the section for Dinosaur, see how many people mention it reminded them of LBT.

[KingdomKey23]

Wow! I haven't seen that movie in years! It showed some similarities to the LBT, like the dinosaurs journeying to this peaceful place...and...yeah..as I said, I don't remember much of the movie...except for the love monkey line.

[Ratiasu]

Well, if Dinosaur is not a rip-off, then its really close. It's almost like putting ice cream in the microwave for fifteen seconds and seeing what it looks like when its done. Same idea. The plot looks a lot like it could be LBT all over again, but its been melted a bit to avoid a direct duplicate.

Was Dinosaur a bad film? No. Could it have been a lot better? Oh yes. Considering it had been in the pipeline for eight years and the finished product reminds many kids (not just adults mind you) of another film with a similar storyline, you know there was room for improvement. So much development in the graphics department...too bad they didn't give the story the same magic.

You don't have to take my word for it. Go to imdb and under the section for Dinosaur, see how many people mention it reminded them of LBT.

Mmm, yes, I did notice a lot of the parallels between LBT and Dinosaur. I think one of the downfalls of the movie - the plot - can be explained, or at least somewhat. In the little booklet that came along with the 2-disc addition, I found this: "Dinosaur didn't come to use as a story we had to tell. It came to us as a concept we wanted to try." That right there is the movie's problem. They should have focused on the story a bit more, but honestly...how many extremely different plots set in the Cretaceous can you have, especially if it's centered around herbivores? Oh, and I actually post on the IMdB Dinosaur forums quite a bit - I'm juunanagou.

Wow! I haven't seen that movie in years! It showed some similarities to the LBT, like the dinosaurs journeying to this peaceful place...and...yeah..as I said, I don't remember much of the movie...except for the love monkey line.

Heh heh. I personally wished the writing had been a lot better ("Jerkasaurus" just about killed me), but I'm glad you remember something.

[WeirdRaptor]

I would have to say I disagree with everything negative said about the film thus far. I actually loved the "jerasaurus" line.

[Ratiasu]

I would have to say I disagree with everything negative said about the film thus far. I actually loved the "jerasaurus" line.

Uh-huh...so you think the plot is gold and Dinosaur doesn't have similarities to LBT?

[action9000]

The best I can say about "Dinosaur" is that I didn't mind it.  I haven't seen the movie for over a year, but I'll do my best to recall what I can.

the movie seemed very focussed on relationships, specifically love-type relationships: The Lemurs early in the film, the single 'bachelor' lemur, and Aladar and his lady friend (is it Neera?  I think Ratiasu said it earlier).  Overall, it was reasonably well-done, but little more than 'satisfactory'.  I didn't have a problem with the relationship aspect on its own.  Mostly what I had a problem with was how the film as a whole was executed.

The film had many elements which could have been powerful, moving, suspenceful, and joyful.  I must admit, however, that I didn't feel it in this film.  I remember I didn't like the destruction scene prior to Aladar's joining up with the Herd, but I don't remember exactly why.  Perhaps it wast just uninteresting, like much of the movie.  Overall, I just found that this movie couldn't hold my interest very well.  It *should* have been good.  It *could* have been a masterpiece.  Instead...well...I don't know exactly who it was written for, but it wasn't written for me.  It is difficult for me to explain since I haven't seen the film in so long, but I just remember it not being as interesting as I had hoped.  

Now don't get me wrong; I didn't dislike the movie.  Perhaps I just expected more, like an epic movie with huge emotions, great discoveries, great conflicts, powerful scenes, a great soundtrack (I didn't think it was especially memorable.  I can't remember it at all now ).  When it wasn't there, I was just disappointed.  For what it was, it was decent.  I just wish it were bigger, better, longer, and cleaner.  

By "cleaner" I mainly mean the flow of the film in the last half, and the flow of the film just after the introduction.  I wasn't overly impressed with the meteor shower (is that was it was?) near the beginning, as it felt overly embellished (like the deep red colour one would expect in a Grosvenor LBT sequel ) and drawn out too long; it just got monotonous after awhile.  The ending felt a little bit rushed and even forced.  Again, I don't remember exactly why, but I do remember I was disappointed with the last 15 or 20 minutes of the movie.

I wish I could remember more details, but I do remember that, while it was a decent movie, I wish it would have been more than that.  I loved the idea, it just wasn't up to my high expectations is all.

[WeirdRaptor]

Yes, there are similarities between "Dinosaur" and "The Land Before Time", and I do consider "Dinosaur" gold, but while we're on the topic of stories heavily inspired by another/other work(s), let's look at "The Lord of the Rings". Most read fictional book in the 20th Century, right? Well, if you do any research at all, you'll find countless inspirations that Tolkien actually grabbed stuff right out of, and there is a particular piece of work called, "The Kalevala", its about as similar to "The Lord of the Rings" as "Dinosaur" is too "The Land Before Time". And just like "Dinosaur", while it does follow the same basic concept and plot, but its profoundly different in every other aspect. So, if you hold me thinking that "Dinosaur" is gold in question, then you'll have to do the same with everyone who adores "The Lord of the Rings".

So, we'll say that you just didn't like the movie that much and leave it at that.

[Malte279]

I liked the movie enough to get the DvD with the bonus stuff (remember watching it with me during my visit in 2004 Jason?). There is no comparison between "Disney's Dinosaur" and "The land before time" and I think Disney's Dinosaur fell short of LBT. However, there are many things to be said on the pro side of Disney's Dinosaur.
The movie had awesome music, spectacular animation, some interesting characters. If it comes to science it is in fact more accurate than LBT. Bayleen is actually the only character which didn't fit in the time frame of the plot, which is set in the late Cretaceous. In the audio comment on the DvD they say that this caused some concern in the production team, but was finally approved, especially as it was thought not to be too bad as they do mention that she is supposed to be the last of her kind.
If it comes to the plot I must say that I agree with those who say that there are some strong similarities to the land before time. The basic theme is the same. However, to be fair we must mention that it is not easy to come up with a story in a dinosaur time setting without some of the elements. Remember that Disney's Dinosaur still had to introduce characters and could therefore not just start with a more complex plot as those to be found in some LBT movies.
Nevertheless I do think they could have done better if they had included some more elements that weren't shown in movies before. The bonus DvD of Dinosaur includes many scenes from a widely different plot. It almost appears like they made the movie before they agreed on a plot. There are bonus scenes including grandparents of Aladar (who in earlier stages of the movie was named "Noah" while Zinni's original name was "Adam") or a brother of him. Some presenting Aladar as a character who has become frustrated with his own kind and deliberately avoids them etc. I think it would not have hurt to add a bit more to some of the characters. Aladar was a bit too much of the flawless utopian character. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but unfortunately many characters were kind of easy to understand. Some said that Disney's Dinosaur was supposed to be a more adult version of the land before time. If indeed that was the aim I don't really think it was achieved, especially because they hammered in the moral messages of the movie a bit too much (similar to the way they did at the end of LBT 3). I suppose it would have been better to be a little more subtle.
Generally I agree it was a good movie (I pointed out why) but not as good as it should have been.

[Ratiasu]

Bayleen is actually the only character which didn't fit in the time frame of the plot, which is set in the late Cretaceous.

Hence the reason why Baylene was "the last of her kind."  :

some interesting characters

I thought Kron and Bruton were the most interesting characters. Bruton believes in survival of the fittest, but ultimately sacrifices himself for the weak, and Kron had a lot of 'hidden' personality traits and morals that you really had to search for, such as how it seemed he wanted to protect his sister from Aladar (he only become really aggressive towards Aladar when Kron saw him hitting on his sister. Ex., the "stay away from him!"/throwdown/threat/"the carnotaurs are coming" part) and how he hated change so much he refused to go around the rocks that blocked the valley entrance, a decision that would ultimately kill him. He certainly didn't want to listen to Aladar because he hated him so much, no matter what he had to say, but at least he put up a good fight against the carnotaur in the end...until it got his spine in its mouth and the carnotaurus threw him violently against the rocks. Ouch. I swear he broke a few ribs and punctured a few internal organs there. I was actually sad when he died. Bruton was a good character, too. I mean, he had just gone through a major character arc and WHAM, he died in an avalanche of rocks. It makes me wonder what would have happened had he had survived that...he was a pretty old Iguanodon, in any case. Who did you like?

The bonus DvD of Dinosaur includes many scenes from a widely different plot. It almost appears like they made the movie before they agreed on a plot. There are bonus scenes including grandparents of Aladar (who in earlier stages of the movie was named "Noah" while Zinni's original name was "Adam") or a brother of him. Some presenting Aladar as a character who has become frustrated with his own kind and deliberately avoids them etc. I think it would not have hurt to add a bit more to some of the characters. Aladar was a bit too much of the flawless utopian character. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but unfortunately many characters were kind of easy to understand.

I agree, it does seem that way, with the movie coming before the plot. I remember the whole grandparents thing, too, and how they stayed behind and sacrificed themselves to slow down the carnotaurs. Kron was also Aladar's brother once, I think. And yes, Aladar was a bit flawless, but he had imperfect moments, too, such as during the cave scene when that rock blocked out the bit of light that was shining through and Aladar had a mini-mental we're-not-meant-to-survive breakdown. His sheer boldness/naivetÈ can be a flaw, too, as when he approached Kron the first time. He's also not always confident himself (ex., there was a moment near the end when the carnotaur was charging that he froze and had a "how did I get myself into this" eye-twitch), but when he is confident he can be a bit of a...cocky guy. Like when he did that "everyone follow me" speech at the end just before Kron and Aladar fought. He did that tail flip at Kron that was like the middle finger of today's society and said "alright, let's go!" and began walking all macho-y away. Then Kron got all ticked off and thus enter the Mortal Combat song. I also wished the lemurs had been removed. They were a bit pointless, but I like Suri and Plio. I wished Yar had died with the Velociraptors attacked and Eema had stepped on Zini, because lemurs freak her out.

Some said that Disney's Dinosaur was supposed to be a more adult version of the land before time. If indeed that was the aim I don't really think it was achieved, especially because they hammered in the moral messages of the movie a bit too much (similar to the way they did at the end of LBT 3). I suppose it would have been better to be a little more subtle.

I agree again. I haven't seen LBT 3 in years, but if they had left the ending part in Dinosaur without some kind of narration it would have just ended suddenly and people would have been like "huh?". I actually liked the alternate ending better, the one on the 2-disk edition about Gatoma. I wished we had been able to find out what ALL of the alternate endings were, or rather had been.

Generally I agree it was a good movie (I pointed out why) but not as good as it should have been.

Yeah, it wasn't as good as it should have been. I concur.