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"Dinotopia" (2002) (mini)

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59 comments in total

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17 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
I have never been more jubilant about mini-series (or a four-hour movie, whatever you prefer), 28 December 2002

Author: Dark_Fox from Rimburg (in zuid-west Limburg), The Netherlands

I saw the first part of Dinotopia on television. In advance, I knew nothing about it, and I thought it would be just another cheap movie with horrible effects and only a few dinosaur scenes. I have never been that wrong! Dinotopia is a gripping story with splendid animation, I have immediately bought it on video! The movie contains marvellous landscapes, introduces some new ideas about dinosaurs (the ability to speak, intelligence, the way they survived extinction), is filled with magnificent music and contains fascinating ways of human-dinosaur interaction. A must-see for almost everyone, since there are no gruesome blood-scenes. My points of comment:1) a total of four seconds bad acting, and 2) a couple of gaps in the script (however, very small). In contrast to Jurassic Park, this movie has very little scenes with flesh-eating dinosaurs. Dinotopia can count itself to the best dinosaur-movies ever (which is, even now, a disappointing small group), and is a movie I want to watch over and over again! Only he who is blind or deaf, doesn't like dinosaurs or adventure and/or wants to have killing action every second of a movie has to ignore this masterpiece.

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20 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
I think some people forget what movies are all about., 29 May 2004
Author: Utahraptor2002 from United States

I have read the comments of others who have seen this movie or say they have. It sounds to me that people are looking for the acting, graphics, etc., rather than what the purpose of the movie is really for and the lessons it can teach if you pay close attention. Sometimes the comments of others sound as if they didn't even watch it or try to understand it. It's too bad we can't all see eye-to-eye on this, but then again i'm sure this movie wasn't made for everyone. It was probably made for those with a strong imagination and who believe in the impossible.

Now of course the acting, script, graphics, and all could be better, but I didn't judge the movie on those things, but rather the story it told, and I found it to be a fantastic story. It reminded me of when I was young and tried to imagine what it would be like if dinosaurs did not become extinct and lived in the present day. Dinotopia shows one possibility, a possibility that I always imagined and more. I of course love dinosaurs. Zippo was awesome in my opinion. I think he is what got me interested in the movie in the first place because of the fact that he is an intelligent, friendly, and a talking dinosaur. I think it interested me because it is something that I do not get to see very often (visually anyways), but only in my imagination. This movie nearly brought it to life to me. I think Lee Evans did a great job as the voice of Zippo. He really put the emotion and personality in the character of Zippo. Have you ever imagined a city built on top of a large waterfall? I know I haven't and when I saw it, I thought it was breathtaking. Is it possible? Who cares? In this movie it is possible. I believe that it is possible if you can imagine it. I am a big fan of James Gurney (who is the creator of Dinotopia) and Dinotopia. This movie is what made me a fan of Dinotopia. Before I saw this I had never heard of Dinotopia. This movie in fact, is probably my all time favorite. This movie has even changed my life in every way that I can think of for the better. I am glad I saw it. I recommend that you read the books. They will tell all there is to know about Dinotopia better than the movies. Dinotopia is said to be fictional in reality. That may be true, but it has felt more real to me than anything else i've ever seen in reality. "It is possible if you can imagine it." That's probably why it seems so real to me. I have been able to imagine it. Dinotopia has it all and everything about Dinotopia is explained so well that the question I ask is: How can it not be real? Whether it is real or not depends on you. Does everything have to be determined on whether it is real or not by seeing it with your eyes or touching it with your hands? How about the feeling that it gives deep down inside of you. Isn't that proof enough? I give the movie an 8, but for the whole idea of Dinotopia I give it a 10.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastical adventure that is most watchable!!!, 14 May 2002
Author: celticbrit13 from Maine

Dinotopia is a fantastical adventure story that the whole family can sit down and watch together. Although it isn't mind-blowing fantastic, it is very watchable and mostly enjoyable. The main cast is made up of newcomers or not-so-easily recognizable actors and some very interesting CGI and Animatronic dinosaurs ("Zippo" and "26" really stick as as super-great). The pace is a little slow and the plot is a little predictable, but that doesn't make this mini-series any harder to get into. It is an interesting story, with some stunning visual sequences, that has most definitely gotten me addicted to it. All the same, you can still feel the story's morals being forcefully instilled on you as you watch the story unfold. All in all I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
I loved it!, 10 July 2002

Author: PaleoLover from Pennsylvania

I thought that "Dinotopia" was absolutely excellent. At the beginning, the acting seemed a bit, well, fake; but as it went on the actors became a lot more believable. Zippo has been compared to Jar Jar Binks...but how could you do that when Zippo isn't a thing like Jar Jar? Jar Jar was hard to understand and just plain silly, not smart at all. Zippo spoke great English and was intellectual. The dinosaurs were a delight to see, as well...I've been a huge fan of dinos since I was little. I'm definitely going to buy the DVD so I can see it again and again. Congratulations to the creators of such a great miniseries!

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Dinotopia is a Visual Spectacular!, 21 May 2002

Author: Tavishe from Ontario, Canada

Dinotopia is a Visual Spectacular!

Though the mini-series is corny in areas, it the good type of corny...not that crappy 'we're the best' Hollywood corny. It's a movie that's not afraid to admit that it's corny or that some of it's acting isn't the greatest at times. On the upside the visual effects are amazing. If you watch the mini-series and think that you are looking at a painting/drawing style it's really quite breathtaking. Another thing thing I must say for this movie is that it is entertaining, fun ride, action packed. I was neve bored watching this film. Overall it was just a good 4.5 hours to spend. Light hearted...good family fun...but not one of those typical family movies.

Recommendation: Read the books by James Guerny as well "Dinotopia" and the "World Beneath" =)

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
mediocre at best, 21 June 2005
Author: KP-XF from Switzerland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There are many plot holes, bad acting, undeveloped and uninteresting story and dialog, this overlong film (part I&II) had potential but failed to deliver; recommended for people who want to dream without thinking and for children. Don't look for a flawless story and interesting dialog, don't try to analyze. I expected much more and I got mediocrity. I've heard that James Gurney's Dinotopia books are great (unlike the movies) but I haven't read them. You don't find out how Frank Scott survived in the cave. Free Fall just happens to be at the temple. Frank Scott was in the caves for a long time and he didn't find the sun stones. There's no explanation why nobody can find Dinotopia in this world with satellites where no area of the planet is unknown. ............................................................. P.S. It's "dialog" because the stupid IMDb spell checker thinks the right word is wrong and wouldn't let me submit the message.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A magical delight, 11 January 2006
Author: michael-stead from Bournemouth, United Kingdom

I found this to be absolutely enchanting. There is a richness to the cinematography reminiscent of the film Babe, making it super-real, and the special effects add a layer of beauty to the film, rather than being a distraction.

There is a strong narrative thread, based around two half-brothers, washed up on the shores of the island. You have to make the leap into believing that somehow this island exists - almost undiscovered - as a haven where dinosaurs and humans co-exist.

The drama is driven along by the fact that the brothers barely know each other, having been brought up by different mothers. As they search for their father, who was with them in a plane that crashed, their differences become exacerbated.

With the exception of a lone tyrannosaurus attack, the story steers clear of the usual dinosaurs; instead it showcases some that appear less often in modern films, such as the enormous ankylosaurs, who act as acolytes and guards on the island.

I found myself caught up in the magic as the brothers take a ride on a dinosaur bus to Waterfall City. One of the lovely conceits of the films is that dinosaurs and humans work with each other in a variety of different ways. It is through the interaction with dinosaurs that the brothers each go on a journey of self-discovery and development.

There are some plot twists along the way, some love stories, and a complex villain, played very well by David Thewlis. The drama is divided up into rather lengthy sections. I find them enthralling and have watched them several times, but you really need to set a large chunk of an afternoon or an evening aside to enjoy each part.

This is a very male-centred drama, the women tend to be brought on in supporting roles and sometimes the leading characters behave quite infuriatingly. However, even though you are, like the brothers, dropped in the deep end of the story, it all makes sense, all the important plot strands get resolved and you can come out of it wishing that the island was real.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic, 13 May 2002

Author: kasatka from Long Beach, CA

The story takes place about three generations after the original books. It is the tale of two brothers that don't know each other all that well and end up getting stranded together on the island of Dinotopia. In short, it has something for everyone - action, adventure, mystery and romance.

The special effects are the best I've seen for any TV mini-series, and it was incredible seeing these books come to life. The dinosaurs were very well done, with an exception to the "talking" dinosaurs - they were a bit cartoony, but cute. There were a couple oddities concerning story canon and continuity here and there, but they're easily overlooked. This movie is still a great one to watch.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Utterly fantastic, 30 June 2005

Author: wiccanfae

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I thought that this movie was fantastic! The graphics were wonderful and the scenery was beautiful. I watched this movie when it came out on TV, and i remember watching it and thinking "it looks so amazing and surreal". The ideas, such as the mail birds, and the sky bax riders made me want to go to dinotopia myself. In fact, my favourite part of the movie is when David joins the sky bax corp. the graphics are breathtaking. The most beautiful scene in the movie by far though is the image of waterfall city. that took my breath away. for people to live in a city like that made me think, wow. The only disappointment i had with this movie was Marion's acting. She didn't portray her character that well. She was always so uptight. even David mentioned it in the movie. she needs to loosen up, and so does the actress. Marion's character was crap and if i was Karl or David, i wouldn't fall in love with her. I thought the actors that played Karl and Sirus Crabbe were fantastic. Their acting was well done and hopefully they get more jobs in the future. I give this movie a 9/10 and i recommend that everyone should watch it.

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8 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Underrated Future Classic, 15 May 2002

Author: Sample (sampleman411@earthlink.net) from Hollywood

I enjoyed the two Gurney books (upon which this mini-series was based) and their stories. I hope parents will buy their children a copy of "Dinotopia" (the last two installments were aired at 8pm, cutting into bedtime hours for the youngest audience members), it really warrants an entire family viewing.

Most of us TV and Film addicts know what Dinotopia is about, so I won't bother going into too much detail.

Dino' teaches (is that so wrong nowadays) and enlightens (so what that it's plot and characters are preachy and two-dimensionally depicted). The 'series (not the books) is about two brothers (one egotistical, the other afraid of his own shadow); one learns humility by becoming a ceratopsian-nanny and the other becomes a pterosaurian-pilot.

Watch this one with your children and don't listen to all those impatient and cynical film critics who write tired newspaper reviews. The action and dialog wasn't as bad as all that, and the climactic (and a little frightening) Pteranodon swarming sequences were about as good as any made-for-television film can get without the censors breathing down the program production's backs.

Ultimately, viewers will have the last word on whether Dinotopia becomes a staple on video/DVD family shelves.

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