Dinosaurio

I admit it, I am a fan of stop motion animation. It can be excellent or hideous but if it's stop motion I am so there! I was first attracted to this movie when I was very young because it had dinosaurs in it (yes it had a caveman too but he was secondary to me).

Anyway, so why is this particular movie forever tied to my birthday? Therein lies a tale. 20 July 1969 will be forever remembered as the day Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. That day was also my 5th birthday and I was watching DINOSAURUS in my room on my 12 inch b/w TV. Just at the scene where the mortally wounded Brontosaurus lumbers into the quicksand the movie faded out for a commercial break. Then it cut to the TV newsroom where they were talking about the landing on the Moon. My uncle came into my room to ask if I was watching the news and I said "No, I'm waiting for the movie to come back on."

This made him start talking about how history was being made and I should be proud I could see this moment live and so on. Okay so to-0day I am aware of how important it was but back then I was 5 years old and this was a movie that had DINOSAURS in it for cryin' out loud! Let's just say my priorities were a lot different back then.

When the movie finally came back on I was as happy as could be and it had my undivided attention all the way to the end.

Now I make it a point to watch this movie every year on my birthday and at the scene where the Brontosaurus dies I cannot help but think about the first Moon landing. Curious how completely unrelated memories somehow get joined together isn't it?

I must confess that I, a middle-aged "adult," learned a valuable life lesson from the juvenile film "Dinosaurus." That lesson is, if you're ever building a harbor on a Caribbean island, and dredge up a perfectly preserved T. Rex and brontosaurus from below the ocean floor, do NOT leave them lying on the beach during a thunderstorm, as a freak bolt of lightning may revive them and lead to all sorts of trouble. Yes, that's just what happens in this cute little film, with the added attraction of a grunting, Alley Oop-like caveman getting revived as well. This Neanderthal is basically used for comedic effect, especially when he invades a modern house on the island and runs afoul of waxed fruit, mirrors and up-to-date plumbing. Gregg Martell, I must say, is perfectly cast as this confused misfit. Less impressive, however, are the two dinosaurs. This is no "Jurassic Park" or Ray Harryhausen movie, and the creature FX are unconvincing; a serious suspension of disbelief will be required for adult viewers. The kiddies should just eat this one up, though. There's a cute little boy character for them to sympathize with (he befriends the bronto, and even rides atop him!); one, fortunately, who's not overly annoying for older viewers. The bottom line is that "Dinosaurus" is good, goofy fun; put your brain on hold and enjoy it, preferably with your kids or your young nephew. Oh...as for that title, it's what one of the characters, Dumpy(!), yells when the T. Rex approaches. Don't ask me why.

How well I remember this film Dinosaurus from seeing it in the theaters way back when I was 13 years old. I liked the special effects in creating the two dinosaurs and the climax is a very exciting one still. Of course now I can spot some of the ludicrousness of the story.

The location is a small Caribbean Island where a group of construction workers are dredging a harbor to make it a deep water port. Their dynamiting has unleashed a cold underground river and two dinosaurs, a tyrannosaurus and a brontosaurus are released from being cryogenically frozen for a million years or so. As is true in a flock of other science fiction films they thaw out and lightning strikes them and they come alive like Frankenstein's monster.

Of course they're kind of hungry and the brontosaurus has a nice tropical rain forest to feast on. But T-Rex is a flesh eater and there's lots of people flesh around as well.

Unknown to everyone else a caveman also was washed ashore and he thawed out as well. He was found by Fred Engelberg who has to be one of the stupidest villains ever on record. In the absence of the governor he's in charge. I'm assuming the island is an American possession, the rest of the natives have Spanish accents both white and black, but Engelberg for reasons I can't figure out has a French accent. He wants his caveman to make a profit off of and even with a raging T-Rex around he's going to capture that caveman. As the natives of the island would say, Que Pendejo.

The climax involves the lead actor and construction boss Ward Ramsey dueling with Tyrannosaurus using a steam shovel as a weapon. That has stuck with me since childhood and it's very excitingly staged.

Dinosaurus is still a suspenseful and exciting science fiction film to watch with its no name cast and nice special effects for their time.

I have an emotional attachment to this movie, as it was the first movie I ever went to a theater to see. As a six year old living in Fairbanks, Alaska, I begged my mother to take me to see this move about my childhood passion, dinosaurs. Thirty years later, I stumbled across a copy of this film at a video store and purchased it. I was surprised to find that, despite the rather unrealistic dinosaur animation, the movie holds up pretty well. Although much criticism has been directed against the leads in this film, Wayne Treadway as Dumpy ("Dinosaurus!"), Jack Younger as Jasper (Jasper: "Well, we're looking for a caveman, right? So, I think we ought to look in a cave!" Hacker: "Very good, Jasper, I had no idea you were an anthropologist." Jasper: "Not a very good one, boss. I haven't been to church in years.") and Gregg Martell as the Neanderthal Man turn in excellent performances in supporting roles. Martell, especially, combines comedy and pathos in his portrayal of a man caught out of his time but still very much a human being. The scene where Julio (Alan Roberts) rides the back of his pet brontosaurus thrilled me and the final battle between the T-Rex and the steam shovel gave me nightmares for years. How many good movies can you say that about?

Whilst building a harbour on a Caribbean island, construction workers discover two perfectly preserved dinosaurs—a brontosaurus and a T-Rex—frozen under the sea for millions of years. After being brought ashore, the prehistoric creatures thaw out and are struck by lightning during a storm, bringing them back to life. As the beasts wander the island, looking for food, construction boss Bart Thompson (Ward Ramsey) tries to ensure the safety of the islanders. Meanwhile, a neanderthal (Gregg Martell), who has also emerged from the ocean, befriends local boy Julio (Alan Roberts) and protects him from his wicked guardian Hacker (Fred Engelberg).

Dinosaurus! is the one in which the 'cute' kid (ie., thoroughly irritating brat) and the caveman ride on the back of the brontosaurus, putting the audience squarely in family territory—good clean fun with very little to seriously scare the young 'uns. The juvenile nature of the film, along with some naff neanderthal-based comedy, make it just a little too cloying at times, but as a fan of dinosaur movies in general, and especially those that make use of stop motion animation, I couldn't help but be entertained. Yes, the animation is a long way from Harryhausen standard, and there's some even worse puppetry, but it still proves to be a reasonably decent dose of mindless fun. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the film also features two helpings of eye candy—tasty blonde Betty (Kristina Hanson) and dusky island beauty Chica (Lucita Blain)—to hold one's attention whenever the dinos are off-screen.