Dinosaur (2000)

Dinosaurs can be both friendly and free range, Spielberg!

Dinosaur follows an adolescent Iguanodon named Aladar (D.B Sweeney), who after being stolen as an egg, is raised by a family of lemurs (Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Hayden Panettierre).After a cataclysmic event caused by a meteorite, Aladar and his family are forced to join a large variety of other herbivores on a trek across the desert to find “The Nesting Grounds”, an oasis for all herbivores. All this while being hunted by a pair of blood thirsty Carnotaurs, vicious carnivores bent on devouring the entire herd.
Dinosaur tackles a story of love and respect that a lot of other “Kids films” in the sense that it injects a lot of fear and overpowering situations into it’s story that enforces the morals that were obviously initialised in the early stages. The focus on the opposing force against the lesson they were trying to teach about friendship and love, it makes it much stronger than simply saying it in obvious exposition for the audience. Scenes like the Carnotaur attacks, the meteorite strike and Bruton's (Peter Siragusa) sacrifice, they all use the success of the antagonistic elements to further strengthen the successes of the protagonists throughout the film.
The use of militant characters like Kron (Samuel E.Wright) and Bruton supplies the story with another antagonistic force that isn’t simply villainous, it actually provides an obstacle to overcome that is rare to see in most modern Disney films that simply present a “Good VS Evil” dynamic that feels repetitive, most of these films featuring a “Disney Princess”. With Kron having a "Sacrifice everything for the mission" attitude and Bruton sharing that mentality until he witnesses the sacrifice first-hand, the audience sees that change within seemingly immovable objects can happen and will happen if you try hard enough.
It also boasts a cast that perform the parts incredibly, all fitting the roles with ease and carrying their characters with the realism and emotion that modern films lack, due to the studios wanting “Bigger names”. Gone are the days of actual animated characterisation, we are now in an age of recognisable names and celeb selling points. Alfre Woodard has often been a reference point for me when watching films with mother characters, especially in animated films, as she performs so fantastically and is constantly bringing a warmth that provides hope for Aladar and the audience in the darker areas of the movie.
At such an early stage in Disney’s exploration into 3D animated films, Dinosaur boasts a wealth of stunning visuals an animated feats that, again, a lot of modern CGI struggles to keep up with. Just five years after Disney's first 3D animated feature; Toy Story, Dinosaur carries the level that Toy Story started, with incredible reptilian designs, jaw-dropping landscapes and specific shots that would've honestly scared a lot of other companies at the time.
In an industry saturated by merchandising opportunities, Dinosaur represents a much needed look back at the earlier stories focused on characters and actual emotion, rather than loop-able soundtracks and promotable actors. 4.5/5 - We cannot let this beautiful creature go extinct.