A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Dinosaur

Date Viewed: 6/10/00

Details:

Voice talents: D.B. Sweeney (Aladar)

Julianna Margulies (Neera)

Joan Plowright (Baylene)

Ossie Davis (Yar)

Max Casella (Zini)

Alfre Woodard (Plio)

Samuel E. Wright (Kron)

Peter Siragusa (Bruton)

Della Reese (Eema)

Director: Eric Leighton & Ralph Zondag

Score: 0

The Review:Technically, Dinosaur is an animation tour de force. Artistically and intellectually, it is boring and uninteresting. Essentially an egg-to-egg quest accompanied by fur-balls, it documents a small window of time near the end of the Cretaceous period (some extra-terrestrial bombardment provides dramatic angst and the motivation to move to a different breeding ground), showing the improbable impact of trans-species knowledge transfer from proto-mammals (lemur-like) to a generic veggie- saurus (the orphaned dinosaur). At least the kids in the audience seemed to enjoy it.

Two technical features stand out. First is the use of natural terrestrial backgrounds: rock formations, rain forests, waterfalls, desert, etc. I have mixed opinions about this, because there are situations where it works well and those where it fails abysmally. The latter include situations where there are clearly modern birds flying in the frame (perhaps it is hubris to claim to recognize the difference between modern bird flight and pterosaur flight), and also where it is not possible to ignore grasses and trees. I find it difficult to pay attention with such botanical cognitive dissonance rattling around in the background. The second technical feature is the meticulous attention to detail in the texture-mapping and animation of the dinosaurs. One of the reasons it is so easy to pay attention to the story (such as it is) is because the quality of the animation is so high; these critters -- appearance, motion, behavior -- are "real", so any requisite suspension of disbelief fades rapidly into the background.

From the viewpoint of interest, novelty, and exhilaration, the best portion of the movie is concentrated in the first 5 minutes -- not unlike what Disney did with the Lion King (this time without dialog or lyrics) -- focusing particularly on the long establishing shot from the time the pterosaur (pterodactyl?) picks up the egg and flies to its nest. This sequence appeals to me in the same way the "flying over the edge of the Grand Canyon" sequence appeals in the first iMAX film, Flight. Indeed, if you have seen the Dinosaur trailer -- the one that is forever embedded in the Tarzan DVD promo section -- you have seen most of this sequence already. Unless you are a real maven of computer-mediated animation, watch that preview, and stay home.

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