I am married with two children and live in the heart of England.
I am interested in the Internet, D...
I am married with two children and live in the heart of England.
I am interested in the Internet, DVDs, Music and Cars. I am studying for my Masters degree within the Criminal Justice Sphere.
Member since:26.07.2000
Reviews:59
Members who trust:6
I took a bit of a gamble when I bought this on DVD as neither of my children had previously seen the film when it had been at the cinema. However, having taken account of the hype surrounding it’s cinema release I at least expected an engaging storyline, fabulous digital transfer and thumping state of the art sound. What I initially got was the SINGLE DISC REGION 1 DVD. That disc was released in the States back in January 2001 along with a two disc Collectors Edition. The British Region 2 offerings were not due until 26th March 2001. My kids decided I couldn’t afford to wait so I had to import the US version on the week of it’s release. This update will now include the various merits and shortcomings of the REGION 2 TWO DISC COLLECTORS EDITION which I have acquired recently. Being the owner of many, many Region 1 and 2 Disney DVDs I was, naturally, sceptical about the quality of the extras I might find. Had this been really important to me I would have got the American two-disc Collector’s Edition from the outset. The two disc sets sell at an additional 25% of the single disc price but on this occasion I was simply looking for a couple of bits and bobs to keep the kids diverted.
I was pleased to find the REGION 1 SINGLE DISC edition to be amongst the better Disney releases for extras. While I didn’t get the talking story book or trivia questions associated with other R1 releases I did get four ‘Behind the scenes’ type features, two interactive games and an animated ‘Dinopedia’
all accessible via the DVD player in addition to the usual DVD-ROM extras. These interactive games appear to be at the very limit of what DVDs can do and my poor old Samsung 709 has crashed once trying to cope. It also means there is some considerable waiting between action and reaction as the DVD player tries to catch up. Still, it’s nice they have made the effort and, together with the narrated Dinosaur Encyclopaedia, it kept the kids engaged. The menus are fully animated with a soundtrack though they are a little slow. The disc is single sided and dual-layered with the blank side covered in full artwork. It is packed in an Amaray style case but comes with only a menu card instead of a booklet.
The picture transfer is digitally sourced in the same way as Toy Story or Antz. It is produced in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen format and the result is a clear, sharp image which doesn’t show any flaws until you view it in widescreen zoom to increase the height of the picture. Only then does the Region 1 encoding short it’s short comings and lower resolution. For those of you with a standard 4:3 TV, an alternative ‘Cropped’ version is also provided direct from the menu.
The sound looks a good package on paper. It is THX certified and can use a rear centre speaker if one is available. It also has the choice of DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1 output and a soundtrack which you would expect to produce big bass sounds and fast, sharp movement of sound. This is where I am a left unimpressed. Despite the presence of DTS encoding the sound is not particularly sharp, the use of the rear channels is not particularly imaginative and the sub-woofer is given work to do on only a few occasions. For such a spectacle of a film I would have expected something much more grand but this is way behind films like Saving Private Ryan or Antz in it’s use of the DTS.
The British REGION 2 discs were released with very similar content to their American counterparts. The only noticeable omission was the absence of a DTS soundtrack from both of the British editions. On the plus side the single British disc does come with commentaries by directors Eric Leighton and Ralph Zondag and the production team together with a music video, all of which are excluded from the basic American disc and included only on their double disc edition. The double disc Collectors Editions appear to be an exact match with the exception of the DTS track. The picture resolution on the British disc is sharper than the Region 1 disc. I know it shouldn’t be noticeable on an anamorphic disc but it is and it looks great even in full screen zoom. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is as equally dull as the DTS soundtrack and perhaps even fails to deliver as well at the higher frequencies. The discs are single sided and dual-layered with the blank side covered in full artwork. They are packed in a Double-Amaray style case and the Collectors Edition now has a six page booklet.
The Collectors Edition has all the content of the single disc but has an ‘extras disc’ to boot. If you were hoping to find extra music videos, deleted scenes, a story book and so on you’d be disappointed. You still get just the one music video and five deleted scenes. On closer inspection there is really only one deleted scene as the others didn’t reach animation stage and are instead shown as a composite of artist sketches. There is no storybook, animated shorts or anything of that nature. The additional content is really only boring technical stuff explaining the art of animation. Highlights include features on the locations, visual development, character design, computer animation tests and so on. This second disc is not for kids! I watched it out of curiosity but found it very slow paced and tiresome to navigate. If you have an interest in the ‘Behind-the–scenes’ work it may be worth your extra five quid. If not, the Region 2 single disc probably represents the best value out of all four options. The DTS track is not going to be missed, you get slightly better content and improved resolution on the British version and it should be more readily available than the import.
The Region 1 (American/Canadian) Single disc has an RRP of $29.99. The Collectors Double Disc Edition is $39.99. The Region 2 (British) Single disc has an RRP of £19.99. The Collectors Double Disc Edition over here is £24.99
The film has a running time of 82 minutes in NTSC format and 79 minutes on the PAL format. It is the same film as found on the US discs, the difference in length attributable solely to the effect of Pal speed up. In the UK the film has been given a PG certificate.
What about the film? Oh, well the story of the film will no doubt be reviewed elsewhere on this site but I don’t think you’ll need to read them if you have already seen Disney’s Mulan and Tarzan. In short, a dinosaur is separated from it’s own kind, raised by friendly primates in a jungle, eventually meets animals of it’s own species when in adulthood (Tarzan so far!) and then fights to gain the respect of the herd and assume it’s leadership (shades of Mulan!). This was the biggest disappointment for me, that it was so unoriginal. While I can sit with the kids and watch Bugs Life and the Toy Story films over and over again I have to leave the room when this comes on. However, the kids like it and I’m only an adult so what do I know!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Dinosaurs come alive like never before in this costly computer-animated film from Disney. ... more
After a breathtaking opening (a dino egg is kidnapped), the film changes style; realistic dinosaurs are given human characteristics and voices. The kidnapped egg ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Dinosaurs come alive like never before in this costly computer-animated film from Disney. ... more
After a breathtaking opening (a dino egg is kidnapped), the film changes style; realistic dinosaurs are given human characteristics and voices. The kidnapped egg ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Discover an amazing blend of filmmaking technology and brilliant storytelling that only ... more
Disney could bring to you. Dinosaur is the remarkable action-packed story of dinosaurs who must face the challenge of their lives. Along the way they learn that w...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: The advantages of this film is it enables you to step back in time and see what these dinosaurs may have looked like. It also lets you see what incredible things you can produce with todays technology. Disadvantages: Some scenes are in the dark and you may not be able to see whats going on.
cazaline16_2000 11.04.2001 (11.04.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Dinosaur (Animated) (DVD)
Advantages: awe inspiring animation sequences, good storyline, great characters, some good bonus features Disadvantages: bit scary for smaller or more sensitive children
Advantages: Will keep the kids captured and glued to the TV for hours, a certain element of education in there to Disadvantages: When playing games DVD can be a bit slow
Advantages: The advantages of this film is it enables you to step back in time and see what these dinosaurs may have looked like. It also lets you see what incredible things you can produce with todays technology. Disadvantages: Some scenes are in the dark and you may not be able to see whats going on.
cazaline16_2000 11.04.2001 (11.04.2001)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Dinosaur (Animated) (DVD)
Advantages: realistic, beautiful cinematography, great for ages 6 and up Disadvantages: "scary" carnivores, and complex themes make it too much for under sixes
![Dinosaur (Disney) (2000) [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78537029.jpg "Dinosaur (Disney) (2000) [DVD]")
Jun 22nd, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
