T-Rex - Back to the Cretaceous (1998)

70% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
35% of users liked it
(955 ratings)

Brett Leonard directed this 3-D Imax short feature (running 45 minutes) about a famous paleontologist's teen daughter, who's able to enter into the world of the dinosaurs. In Alberta, Canada, Dr. Donald Hayden (Peter Horton) and his assistant Elizabeth (Kari Coleman) find a Tyrannosaurus egg.… More Brett Leonard directed this 3-D Imax short feature (running 45 minutes) about a famous paleontologist's teen daughter, who's able to enter into the world of the dinosaurs. In Alberta, Canada, Dr. Donald Hayden (Peter Horton) and his assistant Elizabeth (Kari Coleman) find a Tyrannosaurus egg. Donald's daughter Ally (Liz Stauber) hopes the egg will prove her theory that dinosaurs were ancestors of present-day birds. Back at their museum, Ally knocks the egg on the floor, loosening some strange dust. At night, a T-rex skeleton springs to life, and Ally discovers she can use museum exhibits as a springboard for time travel, encountering famed dinosaur illustrator Charles Knight (Tuck Milligan) and paleontologist Barnum Brown (Laurie Murdoch). She also sees a flying Pteranodon, an Ornithomimus and other creatures -- which all become extinct in the meteoric conclusion. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 40 min.
Directed By: Brett Leonard
Written By: Andrew Gellis, David Young
Genres: Documentary, Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Special Interest

In Theaters: Oct 23, 1998 Limited
On DVD: Jul 3, 2001
Studio: IMAX Corp.

Critic Reviews

Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
It represents the pinnacle, so far, of 3-D filmmaking, and even apart from the technology, it's a very watchable little movie.
Michael Joseph Gross, Salon.com
Instead of giving its eponymous protagonist center stage to strut and fret and sit in the audience's laps, it spends its best energy throwing a watered-down, imitation-Spielberg story in your face.
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times
The film is the sort likely to whet active young minds to know more about the past.
Gary Susman, Village Voice
The Imax 3-D format continues to evolve toward narrative maturity, without bothering to ask whether viewers want it to.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Has a pleasant narrative that's impressively elevated by the IMAX 3-D process.
Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly
Leonard seems confused about his mission: amusement-park ride or educational film? He tries for a little of each and ends up with a hodgepodge.
Shelly Decker, Jam! Movies
It is for all of us who have wondered about this amazing period in our history.
Bruce Kirkland, Jam! Movies
T-Rex may be dumbed-down science and indirect educational material, but there is a lot going on in this 45-minute movie. And it isn't ever boring.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Dynamite 3-D dinosaurs invade an Afterschool Special-style story.
Paula Nechak, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The tepid story line sinks this 45-minute, big-screen film right into the tar pits.
Edward Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly
For those who marvel at dinosaurs, this is an absolute must-see.
Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
A rousing 3-D dinosaur adventure.