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Part of the reason there isn’t so much dinosaur media is that it is, at its core, a subgenre of creature features. It’s a relatively limited range of stories that can be told, and they can all pretty much be categorized as one of the following:
Lost World:
The basic idea being an isolated environment where some lineages survived mass extinction events. It’s usually an exploration-adventure story with science and discovery portrayed as awesome. Can actually happen in real life, though never as extreme as in fiction.
The basic idea being an isolated environment where some lineages survived mass extinction events. It’s usually an exploration-adventure story with science and discovery portrayed as awesome. Can actually happen in real life, though never as extreme as in fiction.
Dino Park:
Science brings extinct species back to life, often with “modifications” to justify inaccuracies. You seldom see this because any example gets called a Jurassic Park knockoff. The animals will pretty much always escape because the filmmakers have never been to a zoo.
Science brings extinct species back to life, often with “modifications” to justify inaccuracies. You seldom see this because any example gets called a Jurassic Park knockoff. The animals will pretty much always escape because the filmmakers have never been to a zoo.
Castaways:
Similar to Lost World, but the humans discover it by accident. Alternatively, they’re stranded in a time-travel mishap. The ecosystem is usually ridiculously hostile and the plot is about survival and escape, not the thrill of discovery.
Similar to Lost World, but the humans discover it by accident. Alternatively, they’re stranded in a time-travel mishap. The ecosystem is usually ridiculously hostile and the plot is about survival and escape, not the thrill of discovery.
Dinosaur Journey:
Basically, a bunch of prehistoric animals go from point A to point B. Humans are absent. If there are multiple species and they talk, it’s always a sociopolitical metaphor for kids. That’s the case in nearly every example.
Basically, a bunch of prehistoric animals go from point A to point B. Humans are absent. If there are multiple species and they talk, it’s always a sociopolitical metaphor for kids. That’s the case in nearly every example.
The Documentary:
It’s a documentary. Prone to reusing clips over and over due to low budget. Only the best-funded ones will be able to avoid constantly interrupting the dinosaurs with talking heads segments.
It’s a documentary. Prone to reusing clips over and over due to low budget. Only the best-funded ones will be able to avoid constantly interrupting the dinosaurs with talking heads segments.
Just Give Us Creative Control, Please:
This was clearly supposed to be a semi-realistic story without narration or voices. The executives decided that wouldn’t sell, so they forced it to be either The Documentary or Dinosaur Journey. It is a flop as a result.
This was clearly supposed to be a semi-realistic story without narration or voices. The executives decided that wouldn’t sell, so they forced it to be either The Documentary or Dinosaur Journey. It is a flop as a result.
