Dinosaurs in the Media

Dinosaurs have long fascinated and entertained people. Just look at all the movies and television shows that have involved or been about dinosaurs. Kids and adults alike love dinosaurs, and they become more interesting the more we learn about them. Here is a top five list of my favorite movies and television shows featuring dinosaurs:

Dinosaurs in the Media #1 Pick: The Land Before Time. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and the storyline is based on a group of juvenile dinosaurs. I realize this is a kids movie, but the animated dinosaurs are beautifully illustrated, and the plotline is meaningful. For some interesting trivia bits on The Land Before Time, read my article The Land Before Time Trivia.

Dinosaurs in the Media #2 Pick:Jurassic Park. This movie only ranks second because of my fondness for childhood memories. Jurassic Park was a movie released in 1993, written by Michael Crichton and directed by Steven Spielberg (who also produced The Land Before Time). In this movie, the main characters have to make their way through a dinosaur park, and all the dinosaurs featured in the movie are quite impressive. The first time I watched this movie, I was about seven years old, and I remember running and hiding in the kitchen every time Tyrannosaurus rex appeared on screen (we watched it at home on VHS). That's how realistic/cool those dinosaurs were (although we now know T-rex was not a hunter but a scavenger, it probably could not walk fast, it walked upright, and it could still see you even if you held real still).

Dinosaurs in the Media #3 Pick: Dinosaurs. This was a comedic television show that ran from 1991-1994, and was developed by "Muppet masters at Jim Henson Productions," who combined real people with muppet costumes and animatronics. The show depicted dinosaurs living human lives, and although most of the dinosaur characters were made-up, Earl Sinclair, the father, was a Megalosaurus.

Dinosaurs in the Media #4 Pick:Walking With Dinosaurs. This was a six-part documentary-style television mini series that aired on the Discovery Channel in 2000, although the BBC produced it in 1999 and it originally aired in the UK. Walking With Dinosaurs used computer-generated imagery and animatronics, similar to the way dinosaurs are shown in feature films, to recreate the lives of dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Age.

Dinosaurs in the Media #5 Pick: Dinosaur Planet. This was a four-part nature documentary-style television show that aired on Discovery Channel in 2003. It shows different dinosaurs all over the world during the late Cretaceous period, and it uses CGI to depict all the dinosaurs.

Another great dinosaur show, although this is a live show not a television show, is Walking With Dinosaurs. It was created by the BBC and is based on the television show, except it shows 15 life-sized dinosaurs in an arena and takes the audience "back through time." All the dinosaurs can move, and it is incredibly well done. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you see this show.

References:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/

http://www.tv.com/dinosaurs/show/4176/summary.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101081/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_with_Dinosaurs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_Planet_%28TV_series%29

http://www.dinosaurlive.com/about-the-show/