Image © Disney
“Dinosaur” (2000), Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 39th animated motion picture. Talking dinosaurs and their lemur friends try find the safe and verdant “Nesting Grounds” after their home gets trashed by meteors. They have to overcome their own infighting along the way as well as steer clear of the nasty “carnotaurs” who want to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The film has some technical innovation and visual appeal with its combination of live-action backgrounds and photo-realistic computer animated characters. However, the dreadful, derivative plot sinks it early on and it never recovers. You know you’re in trouble when when two of the dinosaurs in the pack are sassy old ladies (voiced by British actress Joan Plowright and Della Reese of “Touched by an Angel” fame) that belong more in “Steel Magnolias” than in “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth.” As the Della Reese character says, “Who booked this trip anyway?”
Stanford Clark 