i don't have a nose: Monster Miscellany: Dinosaur (2000)

For a Disney movie, Dinosaur (2000) represented something rather innovative. In fact, even when compared with today’s average Disney fare, Dinosaur remains something of a rarity. Consequently, there’s been some uncertainty over the years over precisely what canon the feature belongs to. It was only in 2006 when it was finally inaugurated into the Disney animated canon. Consequently this means that the animated classics collection is, at least in the UK, inaccurate, being as this film is omitted from it, and was subsequently replaced with C.O.R.E. Feature Animation’s The Wild (2006). The predominant issue is most often cited as that it was produced by The Secret Lab, a subsidiary company which is now defunct, and so was, for a long time, not part of Disney’s canon. Arguably there were other factors that contributed. Some might say it was because many of the backgrounds were in fact live action – but part-live action features have been accepted into the canon before, such as The Three Caballeros (1945) and even Fantasia (1940). Some may also argue that it was because it represented something of an anomaly, in that it is wholly computer-animated – although this argument is also problematic in that CG films and effects were becoming increasingly ubiquitous, demonstrated even in Disney’s canon by the likes of Fantasia 2000 (1999). Rather, I would argue that its overall neglect in subsequent years is its daring departure from the traditional. While the story isn’t the most complex, Dinosaur is more impressive than you might think, at least in the visual sense.

Disney’s 39^th animated feature concerns Aladar, a lone Iguanodon adopted by a family of lemurs. After their home is destroyed by a catastrophic meteorite shower, the remaining family members and Aladar stumble upon an extensive dinosaur herd in the middle of the desert, comprised of a large number of different dinosaur species. Led by the brutal and uncompromising fellow Iguanodon Kron, the herd heads for the nesting grounds, a safe haven where the dinosaurs go to have their offspring, keeping one step ahead of a pack of vicious Raptors, poised to feast on any strays. Aladar joins the elderly dinosaurs at the back – towering Brachiosaurus Baylene, Styrachosaurus Eema, and her, er, ‘dog’ Ankylosaurus Url. Struggling to keep up, Aladar assists the elderly dinosaurs and gradually develops an enemy in Kron. Events take a turn for the worse when two large Carnotaurs appear to be following too.

Firstly, I want to address a subject that often arises around dinosaur flicks – that of anachronisms. While Blue Sky’s blatant anachronistic juxtaposition of Ice Age mammals with dinosaurs was altogether too jarring (and frankly desperate) to be enjoyable in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Dinosaur’s use of a family of lemurs is somehow believable, despite the fact that they did not live alongside dinosaurs in actuality. In addition, the herd itself is comprised of a large number of dinosaurs, when in reality they did not exist in the same time frames. Regardless, visually, this makes the film more interesting. And speaking of visuals, this film is a real treat. For 2000, the film’s graphics are truly captivating. There’s such detail and realism, it’s hard to believe the film is 15 years old!

Plot-wise, however, the film is nothing special. The narrative is rather plain, but its characters and visuals do enough to maintain your attention throughout. In addition, the story is extremely similar to the Rite of Spring segment of Fantasia. The defeat of the Stegosaurus by the Tyrannosaurus in that film bears a direct parallel to the Carnotaur’s rampaging through the nesting grounds, while the scenes of their crossing the desert during a drought bear an even stronger resemblance to the sequence. Regardless, whether or not inspiration was derived from the segment, it works well – but it makes its unoriginality all the more conspicuous.

I will commend Disney’s resistance of the temptation to utilise a Tyrannosaurus as its predominant antagonist, resorting instead to the use of the more menacing-looking Carnotaur (so what if in reality the Carnotaur was far smaller… You have to allow some leeway for creativity!). Furthermore, the voice acting is top-notch, with D. B. Sweeney leading the cast. Of particular note is the character interactions and development of the elderly characters; they gel and complement each other beautifully. That said, the film’s primary appeal is indeed its visuals. Otherwise, there’s little of any innovation or interest despite its soundtrack, composed by James Newton Howard. Regardless, it’s not a bad film by any means. The plot’s simplicity and limited environments (even if they are breath-taking) ultimately prevent this from being an overly memorable experience. In any case, it remains one of Disney’s most profoundly underrated, even if its visuals are its saving grace.