--- title: "Dinosaur" year: 2000 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dinosaur" fi1m_id: "dinosaur" imdb_id: "tt0130623" tmdb_id: 10567 wikidata_id: "Q476329" fi1m_score: 52 critics_score: 49 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-10-05T01:56:37.625034+00:00" updated: "2026-10-05T01:56:38.077345+00:00" region: "NO" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dinosaur (2000) Directed by Ralph Zondag, Eric Leighton · 1h 22m · Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family ## Identity Dinosaur - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/dinosaur - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** dinosaur - **IMDb ID:** tt0130623 - **TMDB ID:** 10567 - **Wikidata ID:** Q476329 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0130623/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10567, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q476329 **Fi1m score: 52** · Critics 49 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* The dinosaurs look real enough to deserve better dialogue > *Dinosaur* makes its prehistoric creatures convincing, then gives them a routine family adventure to talk through. The animation rewards a close look; the thin characters make the modest running time feel less modest. ## Synopsis Aladar (D. B. Sweeney) is at the centre of a prehistoric family adventure populated by computer-generated dinosaurs and lemurs. Plio (Alfre Woodard), Yar (Ossie Davis) and Zini (Max Casella) are among the other characters, alongside Suri (Hayden Panettiere). Samuel E. Wright voices Kron, while Julianna Margulies voices Neera, Peter Siragusa voices Bruton, Joan Plowright voices Baylene and Della Reese voices Eema. The creatures inhabit landscapes combining animation with live-action backgrounds, in an animated film that mixes adventure with elements of family drama. ## Review *Dinosaur* is an impressive exercise in making prehistoric creatures look solid, attached to a story that gives them too little worth saying. Directors Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton have made a family adventure whose scenery promises more than the script delivers. There is enough to reward an interest in animation, but not enough to make a satisfying evening for everyone else. At 82 minutes, at least it keeps the disappointment reasonably brief. The opening views are the strongest reason to bother. Cinematographers Steven Douglas Smith and David R. Hardberger provide photographed landscapes against which the computer-generated creatures can appear to have real weight and a place to stand. We were absorbed by those early prehistoric views, because the animals seemed to belong on the ground beneath them. The joins between photography and animation are persuasive enough to let us look at the creatures without continually inspecting how they have been put there. Walter P. Martishius’s production design helps that illusion by keeping the creatures and their surroundings visually compatible. The detail is often absorbing: lemur hair and the movement in the dinosaurs’ cheeks invite a close look. Yet the faces also suggest familiar cartoon expressions, which become harder to ignore once the dialogue takes charge. Their conversations soon become tiresome. John Harrison and Robert Nelson Jacobs’s screenplay settles for familiar plotting and a simple message, with little room for surprise in the characters. The contemporary sound of the dialogue is particularly unhelpful: it makes the prehistoric setting feel incidental whenever anyone starts talking. D. B. Sweeney voices Aladar with an amiability that suits a family lead, though the part gives that friendliness little to develop into. Alfre Woodard’s Plio has warmth, but a reassuring voice cannot make these thinly written characters more involving. H. Lee Peterson’s editing keeps the visual passages moving, although briskness cannot disguise how little the story develops. The running time is modest, and the characters still feel short of things to do. James Newton Howard’s music supplies a sense of scale that the dialogue repeatedly reduces. The music encourages us to take the landscape seriously. The thin drama remains difficult to care about. Family animation does not need complicated plotting, but it does need characters whose company survives a second look. Here, the broad characterisation leaves little to discover once the novelty of the images has settled. The gentle approach also costs the adventure tension, because the writing rarely makes its situations feel emotionally urgent. That matters in a genre built on asking us to worry about creatures we know have been drawn or assembled inside a computer. There is care here, particularly in the detail of the animals, and it deserves more than a dismissal of the technology as a distraction. The problem is how quickly the film exhausts the pleasure of looking. Anyone interested in the combination of animation and photographed scenery will find passages worth examining. For a family evening, there are more engaging creatures to spend time with. *Fi1m score 52, published 5 October 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews lean towards disappointment, though most critics find substantial technical skill in Dinosaur. Praise centres on the detailed computer-generated creatures, prehistoric landscapes and large-scale visual sequences; even several negative notices admire the animation. RogerEbert.com offers the clearest positive assessment, praising the realistic-looking dinosaurs and their integration with live-action backgrounds while acknowledging the familiar story. The main reservation is that the storytelling does too little with those images: critics repeatedly describe the plot as predictable, the characters as thin and the drama as emotionally slight. The AV Club also objects to the overly contemporary dialogue. The spread is wide, but much of the disagreement concerns how far the visual achievement compensates for these weaknesses. Eye for Film is a notable dissent from the technical praise, finding the animation unconvincing and the landscapes barren as well as faulting the characterisation. ## Straight answers **Is Dinosaur worth watching?** *Dinosaur* is worth a look for animation enthusiasts, but we find it a disappointing family adventure and score it 52 out of 100. The computer-generated creatures sit convincingly within photographed landscapes; thin characters and tiresome dialogue mean the story offers much less to enjoy than the scenery. **How long is Dinosaur, and what is it rated?** *Dinosaur* runs 1h 22m. It is an adventure and animation film. **Where can I watch Dinosaur in Norway?** *Dinosaur* is streaming on Disney+ in Norway. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Dinosaur compare to The Land Before Time?** *Dinosaur* makes its creatures look convincing, but we recommend [*The Land Before Time*](https://film.one/film/the-land-before-time) as the more engaging family adventure. Its young dinosaurs have stronger emotional lives and face a more convincing sense of danger, though the squeaky voices and heavy lessons can grate. *Dinosaur* is chiefly of interest for its combination of computer animation and photographed scenery. **What should I watch after Dinosaur?** After *Dinosaur*, try [*The Land Before Time*](https://film.one/film/the-land-before-time) (1988, Fi1m 72): A smaller prehistoric adventure that gives its young creatures stronger emotional lives. Then [*Watership Down*](https://film.one/film/watership-down) (1978, Fi1m 81): Animal survival treated with moral seriousness and a frightening sense of consequence; and [*The Bear*](https://film.one/film/the-bear) (1988, Fi1m 78): An animal adventure whose physical surroundings matter as much as its characters. ### Reviews we read (9) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (3/4): Ebert finds the film technically impressive but limited by its familiar story. He singles out the realistic-looking computer-animated dinosaurs and their integration with live-action backgrounds for praise. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dinosaur-2000) - **Time Out**, WH (65/100, inferred): The review’s overall verdict is unavailable in the accessible page text. Its metadata praises the breathtaking opening view of prehistoric Earth. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dinosaur) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a New York Times film review, but the review text is unavailable. Its verdict and any specific praise or criticism cannot be confirmed from the page provided. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/19/movies/film-review-jurassic-lark-rex-of-the-cartoon-jungle.html) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (55/100, inferred): Newman finds the film’s story and character strands thin, despite its striking technical achievements. He particularly praises the convincing CGI backgrounds and the sweeping visual set pieces. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dinosaur-review/) - **The Guardian** (55/100, inferred): The review finds the film a safe, enjoyable family spectacle, though its impact fades after the technical novelty wears off. It praises the visual spectacle while faulting the story for feeling like a flashy cartoon. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,381373,00.html) - **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (35/100, inferred): Phipps finds the film a major animation achievement but a forgettable, formulaic Disney story. He singles out its spectacular animation and prehistoric imagery for praise, while criticizing its conventional plot and overly contemporary dialogue. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/dinosaur-1798192382) - **Variety**, Todd McCarthy (35/100, inferred): McCarthy finds the film a technical marvel but says its story and gentle sensibility lack dramatic force. He praises the photorealistic dinosaurs and landscapes while faulting the predictable, emotionally thin plot. [Read](https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/dinosaur-1200462446/) - **The New Yorker**, David Denby (30/100, inferred): Denby finds Dinosaur imaginatively constrained and its message overly simplistic. He praises the detail in the computer-generated creatures, especially the lemurs’ hair and the dinosaurs’ expressive cheeks. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/05/29/herd-mentality) - **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film largely unsuccessful and lacking memorable scenes. They single out its unconvincing animation, weak characterization, and barren-looking landscapes for complaint. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dinosaur-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Details - **Director:** Ralph Zondag, Eric Leighton - **Director:** Ralph Zondag, Eric Leighton - **Screenplay:** Robert Nelson Jacobs, John Harrison - **Story:** Robert Nelson Jacobs, John Harrison, Ralph Zondag - **Cinematography:** David R. Hardberger, Steven Douglas Smith - **Editor:** H. Lee Peterson - **Music:** James Newton Howard - **Production design:** Walter P. Martishius - **Producer:** Pam Marsden - **Cast:** D. B. Sweeney as Aladar (voice); Alfre Woodard as Plio (voice); Ossie Davis as Yar (voice); Max Casella as Zini (voice); Hayden Panettiere as Suri (voice); Samuel E. Wright as Kron (voice); Julianna Margulies as Neera (voice); Peter Siragusa as Bruton (voice) - **Runtime:** 1h 22m - **First release (the US):** 13 May 2000 - **Genres:** Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family - **Budget:** $128 million - **Box office:** $354 million ## Where to watch in Norway - Disney+: streaming, hd *Checked 2026-10-05.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Critics' Choice Awards 2000: Best Animated Feature (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Land Before Time* (1988), Fi1m 72: A smaller prehistoric adventure that gives its young creatures stronger emotional lives. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-land-before-time.md) - *Watership Down* (1978), Fi1m 81: Animal survival treated with moral seriousness and a frightening sense of consequence. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/watership-down.md) - *The Bear* (1988), Fi1m 78: An animal adventure whose physical surroundings matter as much as its characters. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-bear.md) - *The Red Turtle* (2016), Fi1m 84: A wordless island survival story that finds feeling in animal movement and weather. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-red-turtle.md) - *Wolfwalkers* (2020), Fi1m 84: Forest animals and human fears rendered through animation that welcomes visible invention. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wolfwalkers.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/dinosaur