After the huge success of Jurassic Park, Amblum Entertainment knew that making an animated movie about talking dinosaurs would certainly be a smash hit. Unfortunately, this movie only took in less than 10 million dollars in the USA, and got mostly poor reviews. I can see why the reviews were bad. This is a strange cartoon, and sometimes, for little kids (who this is geared towards), this can be really scary.
With the scarce running time of 72 minutes, or 65 without end credits, this flick moves at a brisk speed. It has to introduce the protagonist kids, Louie, the street wise tough kid, with a soft side just dying to get out, and Elsa, the sweet little girl who sounds oddly similar to Lisa Simpson. The dinosaurs have to be introduced, including how they became smart and nice, and what they're doing in New York city, and who brought them there. It has to scare the little kids with the evil Dr. Screweyes, a circus ringmaster who has a screw for an eye (hence the name), and fears the dark. There's much more to the plot too, including a dinosaur circus, which might scare toddlers to death, and an amusing scene where the dinosaurs walk through a parade singing a catchy tune.
The animation is quite good in this film, about as good as Disney animation was at the time. The characters are likable, including the dinosaurs, all voiced by television actors, led by John Goodman as Rex, the T-Rex. The story is strange, involving rival brothers, Captain Neweyes, and Professor Screweyes. Neweyes created a cereal to make the dinosaurs less realistic and more cartoony, and Screweyes invented a potion that reverses the effect, which works on any being (including humans). Like many cartoons, this is both corny and cheesy, and parents will be looking up at the ceiling or staring blankly elsewhere to avoid the effects of the corny writing. Kids won't care.
Overall, this is an okay movie, but will scare little kids. Parents won't like it, because unlike Disney, Amblum is only catering to the little kids needs, not the parents.
My rating: ** 1/2 out of ****. 72 mins. G.
With the scarce running time of 72 minutes, or 65 without end credits, this flick moves at a brisk speed. It has to introduce the protagonist kids, Louie, the street wise tough kid, with a soft side just dying to get out, and Elsa, the sweet little girl who sounds oddly similar to Lisa Simpson. The dinosaurs have to be introduced, including how they became smart and nice, and what they're doing in New York city, and who brought them there. It has to scare the little kids with the evil Dr. Screweyes, a circus ringmaster who has a screw for an eye (hence the name), and fears the dark. There's much more to the plot too, including a dinosaur circus, which might scare toddlers to death, and an amusing scene where the dinosaurs walk through a parade singing a catchy tune.
The animation is quite good in this film, about as good as Disney animation was at the time. The characters are likable, including the dinosaurs, all voiced by television actors, led by John Goodman as Rex, the T-Rex. The story is strange, involving rival brothers, Captain Neweyes, and Professor Screweyes. Neweyes created a cereal to make the dinosaurs less realistic and more cartoony, and Screweyes invented a potion that reverses the effect, which works on any being (including humans). Like many cartoons, this is both corny and cheesy, and parents will be looking up at the ceiling or staring blankly elsewhere to avoid the effects of the corny writing. Kids won't care.
Overall, this is an okay movie, but will scare little kids. Parents won't like it, because unlike Disney, Amblum is only catering to the little kids needs, not the parents.
My rating: ** 1/2 out of ****. 72 mins. G.