Dinosaurs

The Land Before Time (Anniversary Edition)

This 1988 animated feature from Don Bluth (An American Tail) focuses on an orphaned young dinosaur, Littlefoot, who has to make his way to the paradise of the Great Valley in order to survive a plague. Along the way, he meets up with some other dinos from different species, and they all bond and travel together. On the way, they have plenty of adventures. Even with elements of suspense, this is a pretty relaxed movie that isn't in a particular hurry to roll out its story. Kids will like the originality of the concept, and the themes of friendship and cooperation are well woven into the fabric of the entertainment, plus the music is great. Bluth's artwork looks good, though--as always--he never seems to quite catch up with the quality of the Disney machine. --Tom Keogh

Dinosaurs - The Complete First and Second Seasons

Created before the days of computer animation, Dinosaurs is an early 1990s television comedy series featuring impressive anthropomorphic, animatronic creatures created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The story lines challenge some of society's most basic assumptions and explore some of the most universally troublesome aspects of "civilized" life. Set in six million three BC, the Sinclairs are your "typical" blue-collar dinosaur family attempting to adjust to the relatively new concept of communal living. The adjustments of moving from a nomadic lifestyle to one of domestication and social interaction are many, and challenging issues like the concepts of right and wrong, faith, and the intricacies of family relationships are forever besieging this every-man's family. Naturally, the Sinclair family approach is to address each obstacle with an abundance of slapstick comedy. The Dinosaurs episodes regularly function on dual levels: the puppetry and silly antics like Baby Sinclair's penchant for hitting her father over the head with a pan while hollering "Not the Mama" appeal to even the youngest children, but the often pointed social commentary and sometimes mature themes are squarely aimed at an adult audience. As a result, parental discretion and guidance are key in determining whether this series is appropriate for children under 9 or 10 years old. --Tami Horiuchi

Meet the Sinclairs -- the funniest family in 60 million years! They're just your average family with one BIG difference. They're dinosaurs living the good life in sixty million and three B.C.! Daddy Earl his wife Fran their kids Robbie Charlene and the Baby and feisty Grandma Ethyl bring a hilarious Jurassic twist to daily life as they eat drink make merry and get their kicks watching cavemen rub rocks together. Based on an idea by Jim Henson the award-winning comedy series features state-of-the-art puppetry and audioanimatronics. For the first time you can enjoy the complete first two seasons and rediscover the pre-hysterical fun all over again.Bonus Features:Pre-Hysterical Times: The Making Of DINOSAURS -- Get a first-ever behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Henson's Creature Shop brought the dinosaurs to life.The Art Of DINOSAURS -- Character designer Kirk Thatcher takes viewers through his original designs for the dinosaurs.Dino-Eggs -- Join the adventure and excavate all the buried bonus clips! System Requirements:Running Time 60 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 786936698718 Manufacturer No: 05000000

Dinosaur

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 D.B. 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 installment of the Land Before Time series and Fantasia). Disney's usual mix of modern language (one lemur calls himself "a love monkey") is present, as is its typical capital punishment law: 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. Rated PG for general intensity, the film should be a favorite for the 6- to 11-year-old set. --Doug Thomas

Join the action-packed adventure of a group of dinosaurs overcoming enormous challenges through courage, loyalty, and hope in Disney's DINOSAUR, a special effects phenomenon! Set 65 million years ago, DINOSAUR tells the compelling story of an iguanodon named Aladar, who is separated from his own kind and raised by a clan of lemurs, including the wisecracking Zini and the compassionate Plio. When a devastating meteor shower plunges their world into chaos, Aladar and his family follow a herd of dinosaurs heading for the safety of the "nesting grounds." Along the way, Aladar befriends Baylene, the dignified, elderly brachiosaur with a take-no-prisoners attitude; Eema, the unstoppable styrachosaur; and Neera, a feisty fellow iguanodon. Together, they must stand strong amid food and water shortages, the threat of attacks by carnotaurs, and Aladar's run-ins with the herd's stubborn leader, Kron. As the trip becomes one pulse-quickening adventure after another, it also forges friendships that no hardship can destroy. A landmark in filmmaking technology, Disney's DINOSAUR is a breathtaking spectacle filled with adventure, fun, and life lessons that the whole family will love!

Dinosaurs - The Complete Third and Fourth Seasons

Families and civilizations are, on the most fundamental level, built on relationships. The third and fourth (final) seasons of the 1991 television series Dinosaurs delve deeply into the relationships between the individual members of the Sinclair dinosaur family while simultaneously tackling huge societal issues like sexism, rising medical costs, the negative influence of television and advertising, environmentalism and conservationism, and the modern relevance of faith and ritual to everyday life with fervency and an abundance of slapstick humor. Parents can't help but relate to the extreme characterization of Baby Sinclair as completely possessed by evil upon entering his "Terrible Twos" and will laugh hysterically at Baby's response to the ineffective "solutions" of Dr. Piaget, the babysitter, and his parents. Teenage rebellion and the angst of growing up are just as outrageously satirized in episodes like "The Son Also Rises" and "Charlene's Flat World" and Dinosaur writers poke fun at the debate about the effects of television and advertising on young children and society in virtually every episode. The complex issue of conservationism becomes all too personal to Earl in "If You Were a Tree" when he and a tree inadvertantly switch bodies and environmentalism becomes an intergalactic issue in "We Are Not Alone." Bonus features include seven never-before-seen-on-television episodes that deal with everything from the rituals of growing up to family bonding and the perils of materialism; optional audio commentary for the "Nature Calls" and "Into the Woods" episodes; a look at the incredibly funny, self-absorbed character of Baby with writer Kirk Thatcher, executive producer Brian Henson, and actor/puppeteer Kevin Clash; and a discussion about some of the causes behind the Dinosaurs series and how the program's format made it possible to address such far-reaching issues. Because Dinosaurs functions on dual levels, appealing both to children with its silly puppet antics and adults with its pointed social commentary, some parental guidance may be in order for children under 9 years. --Tami Horiuchi

They're huge. They re pre-hysterical. The Sinclairs are back in their final two seasons of Earth-shaking fun as they face the challenges of everyday life in sixty million and three BC. Baby turns two and into a total terror. Daddy Earl confronts his "diaperphobia." Charlene s theory that the world is round lands her in scholastic hot water. Robbie deals with overwhelming pubescent urges and in the final controversial episode the family s jumpin' Jurassic lifestyle gets the big chill. The brainosauraus of Jim Henson the award-winning comedy series brings state-of-the-art puppetry and audioanimatronics to the screen -- and a whole new meaning to the words "family fun." Add Seasons 3 and 4 to your collection of evolutionary entertainment and get ready to rock your funny bones.Bonus Feature(s):"I'm The Baby Gotta Love Me" Featurette -- Rock With The Baby To A Hot Jurassic Beat You Just Gotta LoveDINO Eggs -- Dig The Fun As You Excavate Buried Bonus Clips"Creatures With A Cause: The Issues Of DINOSAURS"Audio CommentariesRuntime: 670 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: G UPC: 786936727425 Manufacturer No: 05373200

Ultimate Dinosaur Collection (Walking with Monsters / Walking with Dinosaurs / Allosaurs / Chased by Dinosaurs)

Four award-winning, massively popular Walking With... programs now in one monster set! Explore the amazing worlds before o own with the Ultimate Dinosaur Collection! Take a journey back hundreds of millions of years to a time when monsters roame the primordial seas and forests with Walking With Monsters, discover how dinosaurs moved and looked with Walking with Dinosaurs, follow the life and death struggle of one dinosaur who really existed in Allosaurus, and go back in time with zoologist-adventurer Nigel Marven to be Chased By Dinosaurs! Each program is a virtual lost world which has been recreated with spectacular digital effects and animatronics. The end of their era is only the beginning!

DVD Features:
Documentaries
Documentary
Featurette
Other
Photo gallery
Screen Saver
Storyboards

Go Diego Go! - The Great Dinosaur Rescue

Like his free-spirited cousin Dora, the Explorer, eight-year old animated character Diego Marquez makes his film debut, an animal rescue extravaganza based on Nick Jr.'s show, Go, Diego, Go!. The preschool program focuses on animal exploration and discovery while incorporating Latin American culture, Spanish vocabulary, and plenty of audience participation. Based on the sweeping success of the series, The Great Dinosaur Rescue applies the same winsome elements to an original storyline that starts in a dinosaur museum with some fun facts about the fascinating reptiles. When Diego, Dora, and Baby Jaguar hear Alicia tell a story about a Maiasaura who got separated from her family, they know it's time for a rescue. With a little help from viewers, the team jumps back in time to the age of the dinosaurs to find Maia and return her safely to Egg Island. But the journey has some obstacles to overcome--including muddy pits, rocky cliffs, and a rumbling volcano--which require teamwork, cool gadgetry, and Diego's unique ability to communicate with animals. Preschoolers are invited to interact with the story as Diego rouses them--often in Spanish--to "Stand up!" and stretch, stomp, and jump. Integrating repetition, music, and movement, the film (like the series), is a standout for teaching problem-solving skills along with an appreciation of the animal kingdom. The 50-minute VHS ends with a computer-like game offering a question/answer review of the story; the 92-minute DVD includes two bonus episodes, "Diego Saves Baby Humpback Whale" and "Rescue The Red-Eyed Tree Frogs." (Ages 3 to 5) --Lynn Gibson

"It's Diego and You to the Rescue!" From the creators of Dora the Explorer comes a whole new adventure - Go Diego Go! This animated, preschool, action adventure series stars Diego Marquez, an 8-year-old bilingual, Latino, animal rescuer with in intense love of nature and the animals around him. In each episode Diego partners directly with the view on a high stakes animal themed adventure.

Chased By Dinosaurs

What do you get when you cross the Crocodile Hunter with the Jurassic Park trilogy? You get Chased by Dinosaurs, an awesomely entertaining BBC follow-up to the phenomenally successful Walking with Dinosaurs programs. Hosted by zoologist-adventurer Nigel Marven, this compilation of playfully exciting 30-minute programs is a time traveler's dream come true, presenting a feast of impressive prehistoric scenery as if it were readily accessible to any present-day camera crew. It's digital fakery at its finest, and Marven's infectious enthusiasm combines up-to-date research with wide-eyed intensity as he introduces us to a wide-ranging menagerie of long-extinct species, thriving in their native habitats and raging from 75 to 450 million years B.C. "Land of Giants" leaps back to the early Cretaceous period (100 million B.C.) to what is now Argentina, where Marven and his intrepid crew find Argentinosaurus, at over 100 feet long the largest dinosaur ever. Other marvels abound, including an Ultralight flight among a flock of Pteranodons, with wingspans up to 40 feet! "The Giant Claw" is a search for Therizinosaurus, an amazing herbivore (Mongolia, 75 million B.C.) with enormous 28-inch claws on 10-foot arms. The three-part "Sea Monsters" spans seven epochs to survey some of the most bizarre and terrifying creatures that ever swam the oceans, including sea scorpions, a multi-tentacled Giant Orthocone, and Megalodon, the ancient relative to Great White Sharks. And that's just a sampling: Many other amazing creatures are included among Marven's close encounters.

With each successive effort, the digital wizards at Framestore CFC (Europe's largest computer-animation company) rise to new heights of photorealism, interactive lighting effects, and biological authenticity. And while Marven's a fair educator and a robust adventurer, more science-minded viewers will appreciate the 50-minute bonus program "The Science of Giants," centering on the behavior of massive dinosaurs and the efforts of renowneds paleontologist Philip Currie to prove that "megacarnivores"--once thought to roam alone--actually hunted in packs. This is really amazing stuff, and the helpful "Fact Files" provide detailed profiles of every dinosaur and sea creature featured in these memorable programs. --Jeff Shannon

You'll be on the edge of your seat when the creators of the groundbreaking Walking With... series send zoologist Nigel Marvin back in time to track down the owner of the Giant Claw. But as soon as his mission is accomplished it's on to prehistoric South America in Land of Giants where Nigel witnesses the battle between history's largest predator and its even more gigantic prey. Finally in Chased by Sea Monsters our intrepid explorer dives into the world's most dangerous depths. In seven different seas in seven different eras Nigel meets scary sea scorpions terrifying giant squid massive armored fish and the vicious sixty-foot Mosasaur!Running Time: 150 min.System Requirements:Running Time 150 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 794051192721

Walking with Dinosaurs

New Blood, Time of the Titans, Cruel Sea, Giant of the Skies, Spirits of the Ice Forest, Death of a Dynasty. Ride the ultimate time machine from the beginning of dinosaurs to their spectacular end! Using the latest in computer animation, this series puts you in the middle of Jurassic stampedes and T Rex battles, through 155 million years of pre-history.

Walking with Monsters - Life Before Dinosaurs

Many people think of the dinosaurs as the first inhabitants of the earth, but this prequel to Walking With Dinosaurs puts viewers in the midst of a host of strange creatures that inhabited the earth millions of years before the dinosaurs ever existed. With the help of complex computer animation and the research of hundreds of paleontologists, the BBC presents an extremely realistic picture of the earth's earliest, most primitive aquatic inhabitants and chronicles their evolution to the precursors of man himself and the mighty dinosaurs. The first Walking With Monsters episode begins in the Cambrian period 530 million years ago, showcasing how a simple jellyfish-like sea creature evolved over 200 million years into new creatures with eyes and protective external and internal skeletal systems. These adaptations resulted in the world's first fish, arthropods, amphibians, and land-loving reptiles. The second episode details the giant insects of the Carboniferous period 300 million years ago and demonstrates how evolution empowered amphibians and reptiles by creating mechanisms to regulate their own body temperature and developing specialized teeth. The final episode begins in the late Permian period 250 million years ago when the earth was essentially one large desert full of volcanic activity. While much of earth's life was extinguished during this period, adaptation and evolution continued, bringing the development of a specialized hip in a tiny reptile called the Euparkeria that would prove to be the forerunner of mammals and evolve into the dinosaurs in the Triassic period. While some criticize this project as a somewhat overly dramatic presentation of speculative paleontology as fact, this program utilizes scientific inference to bring pre-history to life and highlight the amazing adaptations and evolution of the earth's earliest inhabitants. The bonus "Trilogy of Life" feature details the research, vision and hard work inherent in the creation of the Walking With Monsters, Walking With Dinosaurs and Walking With Prehistoric Beasts. (Ages 6 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Land of the Lost - The Complete First Season

Free-fall through an open time portal . . . to a world where menacing dinosaurs roam free! Get reacquainted with Cha-Ka even if it means having to come to blows over a gigantic vegetable or two. Then stumble once again onto the ruins of Lost City. No matter which path of adventure you choose to follow - above all else: Beware of Sleestak! For heeding that last little bit of advice alone should assure you survival in this anything-but-routine expedition with Marshall, Will, and Holly. Grab hold to the side of the raft! The falls lie just up ahead. Hang on, now! You'll soon be glad to have rediscovered the LAND OF THE LOST.