Dinosaur

Animation, Adventure, Family

Max Casella	Zini
Julianna Margulies	Neera
Joan Plowright	Baylene
Della Reese	Eema
Peter Siragusa	Bruton
D.B. Sweeney	Aladar
Alfre Woodard	Plio
Ossie Davis	Yar
Hayden Panettiere	Suri
Samuel E. Wright	Kron

Director	Eric Leighton; Ralph Zondag
Producer	Pam Marsden
Writer	Walon Green; Thom Enriquez

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