THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
In the year of 2000, the first year of the 21st Century, we assumed we were prepared for Hollywood’s new generation of movies with the likes of Gladiator and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon etc. But I don’t think anyone saw it coming when Walt Disney Pictures stepped their game up with Dinosaur.
PLOT
The film takes place in a prehistoric era, following an Iguanodon named Aladar. He was raised in an island of lemurs after being separated from his original nest. The closest he grew up with included: the patriarch Yar, his daughter Plio, her brother Zini (Max Casella) and daughter Suri (Hayden Panettiere). After a mating ritual between lemurs, the time of celebration halts when a meteor shower attacks the planet, destroying almost everything in its path. Aladar and Yar’s family survive the blast and move forward in hopes to find a new home. They first get chased by a pack of velociraptors, but escape death again when encountering a surviving herd of dinosaurs. They quickly befriend a trio of dinosaurs at the end of the line: An elderly styracosaurus named Eema, an elderly brachiosaurus named Baylene and a pet Ankylosaurus named Url. Aladar doesn’t leave a good impression on the leader, a fellow iguanodon named Kron, for requesting to slow down, but does so on his sister Neera. After days of non stop traveling, the herd finds a dry lake. With Baylene’s help, Aladar digs up the water for everyone. His compassion leaves a good impression on Neera, resulting in her growing a liking to him. However, the herd must keep moving when Iguanodon lieutenant Bruton alerts that two Carnotaurs are near, after surviving an attack during a scouting mission. Although Aladar wants to catch up with the herd, he stays behind with his friends and family. When it begins to rain at night, they rest in a cave alongside the injured Bruton. Surprisingly, the two predators catch up and attack when discovering the cave. Bruton sacrifices himself by causing the cave to collapse in which kills the calf, but causes the older one to retreat. When Aladar’s group move forward, they reach a dead end, but the dinosaurs smash through and find the Nesting Grounds on the other side, a sanctuary valley that the herd is planning to head towards. Aladar quickly decides to go after them when discovering that there’s a landslide that blocked the original entrance. He ends up fighting Kron when he refuses to take his path. Kron does try to kill him, but Neera intervenes before he could do so. This ultimately results in Aladar taking his mantle of leadership, which results in the herd following him. He even encourages the herd to rally against the remaining Carnotaur, who ultimately pursues Kron in the process. Aladar & Neera try to save him, but fail to get to him in time. They retaliate by pushing the predator over the sheer drop to its death, only for it to collapse on the beast. Once the herd reach their new home, the film jumps to some time later, showing a new generation of dinosaurs hatching, as well as Zini discovering more surviving lemurs. The film ends with the whole herd celebrating a new chapter of their lives.
THOUGHTS
This is part of an extensive list of films I have gotten to see early on in my life and this is one where I believe is aging fine like wine. I'm not trying to call it great like The Godfather, but I'm always left satisfied with each viewing. James Newton Howard's score is a treat for feeling more epic one would expect. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The visual effects are the true phenomenon of this movie as the computerized characters are all placed on top of actual location shots. When you put that in perspective, you can only appreciate the cinematography even more as it feels that real. The best example goes to the entire opening sequence. And even the meteor shower was tragically gorgeous. The main reason I always come back to this movie is that through its big heart, it presents a strong moral about how to persevere through struggle. In this movie's setting, it actually makes sense for these characters to feel such because they need to survive. Knowing that these creatures were able to last longer than they should have makes it all the more empowering, reminding me that there's no result to not trying. With a slew of colorful characters, it makes the whole experience worthwhile. Aladar is arguably the most underrated protagonist is Disney's catalog as after all the hell and back he goes through, he remains compassionate for those he cares about and accepts everyone for who they are. He is also the most merciful as he doesn't want to hurt anyone and only defends himself when he has to. You feel all of this weight through the voice alone of DB Sweeney. I honestly felt moved when he tells the herd to 'Stand Together' because that is the only way to make a difference in life. So seeing the herd live up to the phrase when they rally against the Carnotaur, it's satisfying and inspiring to say the least. Although Aladar is the hero we can't get enough of, he again is not the only one who caught my attention. Alfre Woodard is definitely the biggest gem of this movie as Plio for being able to teach the audience to appreciate life as it comes and to not being afraid of being different. Despite being the smallest character, she has the biggest heart for being one of the most loving mothers around and loves everyone equally. Thanks to that, she brings the best out of everyone who desire to be better. Yar is another memorable character as Ossie Davis makes him understandably paranoid and overprotective in his predicament, but compromises when it comes to satisfying his family. You honestly love him a whole lot when he spares the hatchling Aladar once he saw how innocent he was. Plus, you can tell Zini's sarcasm comes from him when he hilariously bickers with Eema. Suri and Zini were a treat because despite the hell they were witnessing, they remained true to theirselves. And to them, it is being young mischievous rascals that make the best of everyday. The pair of Joan Playwright's Baylene and Della Reese's Eema was a delight as well because they reminded me to always be kind to others in whatever given predicament and to not give up on what you choose to pursue. Seeing them help Aladar break through the dead end moved me because it also showed how powerful of a tool determination is. Juliana Marguiles makes a good impression in the role of Neera for playing her as one who felt unsure of her place in the world. That definitely changed when she met Aladar and quickly fell for him for teaching her it's okay to care for others because love is stronger than will. He fell for her in return because he appreciates her own set of bravery as she chooses to look after two orphaned calves when no one else would. In short, it is their selflessness that brings them together. While the Carnotaurs and raptors are indeed diabolical and the true villains of the story, Kron was indeed an obstacle Aladar should not have gone through to survive. Samuel E Wright presents him as a guy who thinks he is caring for others for demanding them to be strong, when he is only benefiting himself, which only makes him overall illogical. Due to how he made things difficult, it was hard for to sympathize his death since there wasn't anything to make us like him. If we should be bad, it would be how we wish we understood him like Neera did. The same cannot be said when it came to Bruton, as Peter Siragusa helped read through his complexity. He always came off rude and cranky throughout because under Kron's wing, he believed that being the strongest was the only way to live. When he got attacked by the Carnotaurs, he felt that he had no reason to live as he let Kron down and put the herd at risk. But being accepted by Aladar showed him that being stronger within is more important than outside. His sacrifice was saddening because it was the first time he truly put himself aside for others. This movie is always timeless in my eyes, but after hundreds of times re watching it, even I can admit that there were moments I was scratching my head over. Like first off, I was pretty confused of how Aladar picks up Zuni at the beach and they still miss Yar’s pep talk. If it was such an important night for lemurs, which it is because of it being mating season, he should’ve ran over there to hear the tips. I did say I was scared shitless when seeing meteor shower sequence and I am relieved seeing Aladar survive with the remaining lemurs. What bothers me is that he doesn’t hit the rock pile by the time he jumps off the island. He lunged as far as he could, but did the water move the rock pile or did he really jump over it? I really wish this was clear so I could not overthink it. It is funny when Zuni catcalls Neera because Aladar takes the blame and sets up their future as a couple. I want to admit it’s funny and cute at the same time, but how does Neera think it’s Aladar when the only thing he did was a nervous smile. It was close to being cute until it became nonsensical. I’ve made clear how gorgeous the animation is, but they mess up big time in continuity where in one shot we see a carcass when the Carnotaur duo appear which causes the raptors to flee, only for it to disappear in another when they see the tracks left behind by the herd. It is awesome that water was found under the dry lake, but how come Aladar didn’t make more holes after the conflict Kron had with the herd? If he had time to do it for Neera and the Iguanadon calves so easily, he could’ve made more before he napped. It is nice to see Bruton take the plant because it shows him to be more open minded than Kron, but how is he gonna such a small portion on himself? Plio should’ve given him more if she wanted to help. Also, why does anyone think it was a good idea to go back where they came from if they didn’t get through the dead end? Yeah we know Aladar could get through with lemurs, but it would take forever for Baylene & Eema being old and the former being gigantic. As long as you ignore these issues, you’ll still be enjoying the film for what it is. In short, Directors Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton were able to share a highly creative story that holds up very well in my eyes. If you generally like dinosaurs like me, check out this one when you can.
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