Dinosaur

Lavish Disney family movie, “Dinosaur” broke new ground with its awe-inspiring aesthetics of computer animation, set against live action backgrounds. The simplistic story is pure Disney - Aladar is an iguanodon snatched by a pterodactyl whilst still in the egg; the egg, via a range of predators and mishaps, makes a treacherous journey across land and sea until a clan of lemurs adopt the baby as one of their own; when a meteor shower rattles the inhabitants of the continent, they decide to flee; en route, Aladar experiences life with his own kind for the first time. The film entertains a gentle, traditional family brand of humour that supports the themes of compassion, friendship and tolerance with a gentle nod toward respecting one’s elders. The predictable narrative progression, a conventional quest that supports a basic morality of good triumphing over evil, is overcome by the impressive animation and stupendous set pieces.