Dinosaur (2000)

65% of critics liked it
(122 reviews)
48% of users liked it
(67,759 ratings)

Walt Disney Pictures redefined computer animation with this technically accomplished fantasy of prehistoric life, combining live-action backgrounds with computer-generated animals. After a pterodactyl snatches a dinosaur's egg and accidentally drops it while flying away, the egg is rescued by a… More Walt Disney Pictures redefined computer animation with this technically accomplished fantasy of prehistoric life, combining live-action backgrounds with computer-generated animals. After a pterodactyl snatches a dinosaur's egg and accidentally drops it while flying away, the egg is rescued by a family of lemurs, who keep it warm until it hatches. They raise the baby dinosaur, named Aladar, as one of their own, and as he grows to adulthood, Aladar protects the primates that he has come to regard as his family. When a giant meteor appears in the sky, packs of dinosaurs have no idea what to make of the strange fiery light, but Aladar and the lemurs are convinced that they must escape to a safer place before the huge flaming stone destroys their home, leading Aladar to encounter his own kind for the first time. D.B. Sweeney provides the voice of Aladar; other actors in the voice cast include Joan Plowright, Julianna Margulies, Alfre Woodard, and Ossie Davis. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By: Ralph Zondag, Eric Leighton
Written By: John Harrison, Robert Nelson Jacobs
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family

In Theaters: May 19, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Jan 30, 2001
Studio: Buena Vista

Critic Reviews

Jay Carr, Boston Globe
Dinosaur is a fable, and a hugely and sometimes wondrously watchable one, even if its emotions retreat to certain levels of programmed predictability as the film proceeds.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Dinosaur, although still impressive, just misses being a great, truly revolutionary film.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
You begin to get used to the film's pictorial wondrousness -- to take it for granted, even -- and start to realize that the characters and story are exceedingly mundane, unsurprising and pre-programmed.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Offers $200 million in special effects and a script worth about 2 cents. Still, that won't bother the picture's target audience.
(CNN.com) Paul Clinton, CNN.com
If the devil is in the details, then this is one devilishly delightful film.
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
If studios are going to be paying out hundreds of millions of dollars for these films, shouldn't some of that money go to writers whose imaginations match the visuals?
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Stunning, but can be dark and scary in places.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
When you have spent $200 million on "the dumber version of The Land Before Time", you deserve everything that comes to you.
Bob Grimm, Sacramento News & Review
The story doesn't matter much when a movie looks this good, and it's a breakthrough of technical achievement.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
It's the small details, like dino-skin, that Blu-ray really brings to life.
Wally Hammond, Time Out
Aurally and visually this creature feature is a treat.
Chris Gore, Film Threat
Parents, you may enjoy the scenery but remember the dinosaurs talk, so bring your earplugs.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
It is the next generation of high technology that further blurs the lines between reality and fantasy.
James Plath, Reel.com
Accept the concept and it's easy to appreciate the technical wizardry
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
The movie follows a rather dull tale similar to the 1988 animated film The Land Before Time.
Bob Aulert, culturevulture.net
The audience is left with a beautiful setting populated by predictable and largely uninteresting characters.
Eugene Novikov, Film Blather
Visually, it's even more astonishing than the high-profile trailers made it look, an astonishing blend of real-life backgrounds and computer-generated characters. It's a shame that the script seems to have been wholly computer generated as well.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
It is an awsome experience, visually; on the story side it's a tad thin.
Leslie Felperin, Sight and Sound
Sadly, there is little sign of the benefits of evolution in the storytelling itself, which sticks too closely to a narrative template seemingly dating back to the Mesolithic era.
Jon Niccum, Pitch.com
Dinosaur mixes state-of-the-art visuals with bottom-of-the-barrel scripting.

Read all 23 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Directors C

I get so emotional looking at the animation of this film. It just looks so real. I strongly believe that time was taken by the writers to further the character development. The only distraction and the only loophole in making dinosaur was the decision to let the dinosaurs speak.… More
I get so emotional looking at the animation of this film. It just looks so real. I strongly believe that time was taken by the writers to further the character development. The only distraction and the only loophole in making dinosaur was the decision to let the dinosaurs speak. However, I know it is the last good film made by disney as the dawn of a terrible new era dawns..
Matt G

the effects were OUTSTANDING. all together an entertaining film. Grade: B-
Michael E

i loved it at the time i saw it and i thought the effects are great, but when i watched it now i just thought the effects Looked way to obviously CG and it looked like something that you would see at a museum at a dinosaur bones display with the cheesy looking cg, though that part is… More
i loved it at the time i saw it and i thought the effects are great, but when i watched it now i just thought the effects Looked way to obviously CG and it looked like something that you would see at a museum at a dinosaur bones display with the cheesy looking cg, though that part is kinda stupid i will say the only thing keeping me from giving it a rotten tomato on the tomatometer is that the plot and acting i have to admit are really interesting
KJ P

Great disney film! Great animation and story!
Conner R

An extremely good movie, much more breathtaking than anything Pixar is involved with. The blend of cgi with real environments looks amazing, escpecially without the involvement of human characters. While the story can be corny at times, it is essentially a very mature Disney movie… More
An extremely good movie, much more breathtaking than anything Pixar is involved with. The blend of cgi with real environments looks amazing, escpecially without the involvement of human characters. While the story can be corny at times, it is essentially a very mature Disney movie that shouldn't be forgotten.
Luke B

The animation was state-of-the-art in 2000 and is still fantastically impressive today. I remember seeing the extended trailer on the big screen, but have only just gotten around to watching the whole film. It really is breathtaking at the beginning, but unfortunately, the creatures… More
The animation was state-of-the-art in 2000 and is still fantastically impressive today. I remember seeing the extended trailer on the big screen, but have only just gotten around to watching the whole film. It really is breathtaking at the beginning, but unfortunately, the creatures then begin talking. Both this and Land Before Time, were originally conceived as having no dialogue, but this soon changed. The dialogue is pretty poor, and quite annoying when you see prehistoric lemurs working on their chat-up lines. It's a simple, but decent enough story and has enough action to keep one entertained. See it as a demonstration of glorious animation, even if the lemurs fur proves a tad more troublesome than the lizard's skin.
Jason O

A terrible meteorite attack kills all but about 50 dinosaurs. The dinosaurs have always known of a lush part of land that they call the "nesting grounds." However, the dinosaurs are led by two vicious leaders who pretty much think that only the strong survive. An iguanodon… More
A terrible meteorite attack kills all but about 50 dinosaurs. The dinosaurs have always known of a lush part of land that they call the "nesting grounds." However, the dinosaurs are led by two vicious leaders who pretty much think that only the strong survive. An iguanodon who was raised by monkeys and who has never even seen his own kind (dinosaur), might have to join the dinosaur clan in order to keep away from the ferocious predators and to have a chance to stay alive. That's all I'm going to tell you, you'll have to watch the movie to find out what the rest of the suspense and story has in store for you. And let me tell you it is more than worth it! "Dinosaur" not only tells a great story and has its suspenseful, edge of the seat parts, it is also something great to look at. The dinosaurs look real and the terrains, water, and the meteor shower all look SPECTACULAR!!! And keep in mind that this is a Disney movie! "Dinosaur" in my opinion is a step up in technology for an animated movie as much as "Toy Story" was, maybe even more so. Don't miss your chance to pick up this gem today! NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. One of the better Disney flicks that never received much fanfare.
danny d

a well made disney film that is great for the family. the story is a little weaker than what i have come to expect from disney, but it is solid none the less.
Jennifer X

fakest, most messed-up animation i've seen in my film.
DOCTOR P

2nd of the Competition Era While it has aged, the film still has a beautiful look on the cg. The dinosaurs look pretty good against the realistic backgrounds. From a visual standpoint the movie is close to perfect even if the age is showing. This film is not a musical, but… More
2nd of the Competition Era While it has aged, the film still has a beautiful look on the cg. The dinosaurs look pretty good against the realistic backgrounds. From a visual standpoint the movie is close to perfect even if the age is showing. This film is not a musical, but it does provide a score that works well enough. The characters in the film are okay and are not the worst, but they could've been so much better. Mainly if none of them had talked and they had been silent characters they would have been better. The dialogue is just so poorly written and unnecessary that it ruins a lot of what would would've made the characters fun to watch. Not the most original in plot, the film follows what previous dinosaur films had for plots, having the characters look for a new paradise after destruction to their old homes occurs. It is done well enough but the dialogue just ruins it and makes the film less interesting then it should have been, it really slows it down. "Dinosaur" has a great premise though unoriginal, problem is this success is ruined because of Michael Eisner convincing the people behind it to add dialogue. Up Next: Kingdom of he Sun? This sounds like an emotional Disney film... *Special Note This film was not a part of the Disney canon until 2008
Dillon L

The animation is impressive, but the story is droll and the film itself is far too short.
Matthew Y

It would have been better if the Dinosaurs didn't talk. I'm telling you! It would have been! Regardless, Dinosaur is an interesting film that was shot with live-action backgrounds and computer animated characters cropped into the scenes. It's visually stunning while… More
It would have been better if the Dinosaurs didn't talk. I'm telling you! It would have been! Regardless, Dinosaur is an interesting film that was shot with live-action backgrounds and computer animated characters cropped into the scenes. It's visually stunning while being (sigh!) poorly written. A trend that will haunt Disney for many years to come. It's worth a watch only because of the style but don't expect much else. FYI: The Disney ride at Animal Kingdom based on the film is freaking epic! High recommendation for that!
Bradley J

Lame story but that is my only complaint. The animation is one of the best I've ever seen. Everything looks so real and pretty. I love the characters. Eema is awesome, Aladar is a good role model for children, and Baylene is kind and strong. There is some slow parts that children… More
Lame story but that is my only complaint. The animation is one of the best I've ever seen. Everything looks so real and pretty. I love the characters. Eema is awesome, Aladar is a good role model for children, and Baylene is kind and strong. There is some slow parts that children won't like, but kept me entertained the whole time. If your 8 or older see it. Overall Rating:76
Juan C

it's visual effects are outstanding as well as it's charecters and score and not to mention it's CGI animation with a combination of live action background technique! a stunning visual effects animation film like noting of it. A
Sylvester K

It's genuinely an uncomfortable film to watched, plot is not only cliche, but cheesy too, ultra unrealistic!! The film really is about showing off the amazing CGI, and that's about it. The protagonist is a meddling self righteous anti-hero, non of the fellow dinosaurs were… More
It's genuinely an uncomfortable film to watched, plot is not only cliche, but cheesy too, ultra unrealistic!! The film really is about showing off the amazing CGI, and that's about it. The protagonist is a meddling self righteous anti-hero, non of the fellow dinosaurs were any better. Hated the monkeys, they served as black slaves throughout the film. D.B Sweeney did a great job, but the rest were horrible. It's an oblivious film from Disney, something like Sarah Palin.
Andrew P

Dinosaur is a film that as a kid really interested me, that scene where the meteors strike is visually burned into my brain. But unfortunately I don't think it holds up as well when it comes to the plot. In hindsight, it's very similar to Ice Age which managed to be funny as… More
Dinosaur is a film that as a kid really interested me, that scene where the meteors strike is visually burned into my brain. But unfortunately I don't think it holds up as well when it comes to the plot. In hindsight, it's very similar to Ice Age which managed to be funny as well as beautifully animated. While the live action backgrounds are an interesting idea, Dinosaur unfortunately has nothing else going for it.
Marion R

Who knew a film about dinosaurs walking slowly could be boring?
Sunil J

It's okay but only the one time.
Marcus W

Fantastic animation...and that's about it.
Lee K

love this c.g.i. effort great eye candy and i cant wait for it to get released on blu-ray