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Dinosaurs come alive like never before in this costly computer-animated film from Disney. After a breathtaking opening (a dino egg is kidnapped), the film changes style; realistic dinosaurs are given human characteristics and voices. The kidnapped egg grows into an iguanodon named Aladar (voiced by DB Sweeney), who is raised by lemurs (shades of Tarzan) on a lush island void of other dinosaurs. When a meteorite destroys their island home in a thrilling sequence, the lemur family and Aladar become part of a dinosaur troop roaming the mainland deserts looking for the lush nesting grounds (shades of the fourth instalment of the Land Before Time series and Fantasia). Disney's use of cheeky modern slang (one lemur calls himself "a love monkey") is present, as is its typical capital-punishment narrative logic: anyone against our forward-thinking hero (or even disagreeing with him) ends up dead. Curiously, the meanies, a pair of carnotaurs following the group, are nameless and voiceless. This more realistic approach might have been a bigger wow, as in the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs, which looked extraordinary with only a fraction of the budget. The complexity and scope of Dinosaur's visual scale is impressive, and group shots and a point-of-view angle are stunning. The film should be a favourite for the 6 to 11-year-old set. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

Release Date: Mar 26, 2001
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