Review of Dinosaur (2 disc set)

Introduction

Poor old Walt Disney. He`d be turning in his grave right now if ever he found out that his organisation had spent over $200 million producing what is essentially an animated movie. Six years in the making, Dinosaur looks state-of-the-art, sure, but is underpinned with a traditional Disney plot and good old-fashioned family values. Centering around an orphaned Iguanodon called Aladar, Dinosaur tells the story of the battle of wills between this young upstart and Kron, the leader of the odd ball Dino pack that he joins. And when they start being pursued and hunted by the evil Carnotaurs, the excitement really begins.

I have reviewed the Collector`s Edition of Dinosaur, which has a second disk containing a mass of extra material that I will cover in more depth later. The Standard Edition contains not only the movie, but also a smaller collection of goodies. Those keen on special effects and want to know just how the filmmaker’s created the amazing CG images will surely opt for the more expansive, but more expensive, 2 disk set.

Anyway, enough of all this. Settle back and travel with me, if you will, to the Age of the Dinosaurs. Kids are optional, but seeing as this is a Disney movie, quite welcome.

Video

The 1.85:1 anamorphic picture is, in a word, stunning. This is what DVD is all about - digital source to digital disk, giving us pixel-perfect visuals. Every dinosaur wrinkle, crease and texture has been painstakingly created and the end result is nothing short of genius. The attention to detail is immense with the first ten or so minutes giving us a wonderful flight over the prehistoric landscape, filled with majestic scenery and incredible creatures. I guarantee that you will be mightily impressed with the eye candy on offer here.

Colours are deep and accurate and as you would expect from a DVD created directly from the digital source, there are no artifacting or other encoding faults visible. The pin sharp pictures really pull you in and there is almost a 3-D look to some scenes, such is the immense quality of the CG creations.

Audio

The THX certified audio encoding (DD5.1 and DTS) ensures a lively soundstage, full of ambient effects and various dinosaur noises. Vocals are clear and lucid and although the musical score is standard Disney fare, it is good quality, with some effective songs to move proceedings along. The thunderous roars of the Carnotaurs are captured perfectly and your subwoofer will get a good work out during some of the movie`s more sinister moments. There are some great surround effects too, with various whistles and clicks coming from all angles.

Features

As I mentioned previously, those with a passing interest on how this movie was planned, written, created and edited, should purchase this Collector`s Edition. This has a second disk packed to the gills with everything you would ever wish to know about this movie. CGI fans will lap up all the information on offer here, and with an effective menu system it is quite easy to navigate. As there is so much information on offer here, I will merely point out the highlights.

Disk 1 contains an interesting and informative commentary from the Directors and Effects Supervisors who share some quite interesting (but technical) background facts and the techniques they employed during the making of this movie. There is also a second commentary track with the Producer and Production Team where they give us some insight into the locations and other filming techniques used. Also included is a ‘white rabbit’ Matrix-type feature where you can choose to branch off to view some interesting facts about the dinosaurs seen on-screen. For the youngsters, there are a couple of dinosaur-related games and a multimedia dinosaur encylopedia called ‘Dinopedia’. Lastly, there is an isolated musical score and a descriptive audio track for the visually impaired that is actually fascinating to listen to as the narrator describes what is being shown with amazing detail and clarity.

On disk 2 we find the majority of the technical information. There are comprehensive features on how Dinosaur was developed including pre-production test artwork and clips. Computer animation tests show how the various characters within the movie were created and developed. It is fascinating to see just how much work went into even the most trivial of details and explains why this movie took 6 years to make. There are also some additional features on how the prehistoric world was created and how the producers traveled around the world to shoot the live action footage that forms the background for the majority of the CG creations. Also included within the character design section is a comprehensive collection of artwork and rotating 3-D objects. The movie’s music and sound effects feature heavily in their own section as we are taken on an informative trip through the world of scoring and effects creation. As well as all this, we have a 3-D workbook, progression reels, deleted scenes, a superb audio mix demonstration, a collection of publicity materials including trailers and TV spots and for the really keen amongst you, a number of hidden ‘Easter eggs’ that reveal more information (should you manage to find them).

It is worth mentioning that I had some trouble in navigating some of the above features, especially viewing the artwork archives. It seems that the remote control operations do not always work as expected and I hope that this is rectified for the movie’s Region 2 release. That said, the problems I encountered did not detract from the sheer wealth of material on offer here, it just required a few extra button presses to do what I should’ve been able to do with one.

Conclusion

The quality of the visuals is unfortunately the shining star of this movie. It seems that the majority of the effort went into the appearance of the movie, at the expense of a well-rounded plot and storyline. However, the various dinosaur characters are likeable with some well-performed vocalisations. The movie for me just never really seemed to get going and just felt a bit too mushy, even for a Disney feature.

Making a great bed partner to the BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs, this movie will surely rank as one of the most stunning ever to be created by computer and will pave the way for the ‘House of The Mouse’ to release wave upon wave of CG movies over the coming years. Personally, I believe what we have here is the tip of the iceberg. The best is yet to come.