Dinosaur (2000)

 

Maybe this one is not known for being a Disney 'grand cru', but in all fairness: if you like dinosaurs this one is a feature you shouldn't miss. The animation is excellent, the story good and the voice acting for the most part good. Yes, they take a shitload of liberties with creatures and timelines and what have you and yes, this does irk me at times (being an avid and complete dinosaur nutball who probably knows most names and dates by heart because I have no social life), but still. 

It's pretty darn good. And it's a bit darker than most people are accustomed to, so that's a plus.

After a pretty radical opening scene, whereby an egg travels quite the distance to an island just off the coast, it turns out a group of lemurs adopt a baby Iguanodon. He grows up to be Aladar, leading a life of leisure and family warmth amidst the mammals. Things change when a meteor hits and burns the entire island, forcing Aladar and his adoptive family to flee to the barren mainland. Here, they meet up with a massive herd led by Kron, one pissed off Iguanodon who doesn't take kindly to criticism and who leads this herd with an iron fist. Paw. Foot. Hoof. 

Of course, Aladar is the fly in the ointment, as he does care for the young, old and infirm, whereas Kron would just leave them behind as carrion for the predators. Aladar befriends Eema and Baylene, two old ladies (a Styracosaur and a Brachiosaur) and even gets to make doe eyes at Neera, Kron's sister. Of course she is attracted to this newcomer, because reasons.

The plot thickens when it turns out two Carnotaurs are following the herd on their way to the nesting grounds. Danger, adventure and sacrifice loom...

Yes, you can tell what is going to happen for the most part, but that is okay. It is well done and one would be hard-pressed to find faults within the story. This film is lifted up by some good voice acting and especially by stunning animation. There's little to fault here: it all looks almost photorealistic and the settings are spot on. The animals all move in a realistic manner and if you ignore the fact that (except for the predators) they speak, this could almost be like a documentary. Couple that with some rousing music and you have a winner.

Also: this film can be pretty brutal at times. There are some deaths and events that don't shy away from the harsh reality. And Carnotaurs look pretty darn cool as well. Okay, so what if they enlarged them to the size of a T Rex? They had to, because in real life, Carnotaurs were actually a smidgen smaller than Iguanodons, which would make them a lot less imposing. 

The occasional jokes, usually courtesy of lemur Zini, thàt you have to take along with the rest. It isn't awful, but it's not really funny either.

All in all, this is an enjoyable adventure and pretty much obligatory if you happen to like dinosaurs. Just try and ignore the obvious scientific adaptations for the story's sake.