13 interesting cartoons about dinosaurs

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Full-length films, short films and even animated series.

The best full-length dinosaur cartoons

1. Fantasy

• USA, 1940.
• Animation, musical.
• Duration: 125 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

A unique animation experiment, staged by Walt Disney Studio with the participation of the great conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, consists of several parts related to the music of the world's most famous creators.

One of the episodes tells about the evolution of life on Earth - from its origin to the death of dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert. Most of all, the audience remembered the mortal battle of lizards to the music of "The Rite of Spring" by composer Igor Stravinsky, and the scene looks very gloomy for a studio known for its kind fairy tales.

2. Earth before the beginning of time

• USA, Ireland, 1988.
• Animation, adventure.
• Duration: 69 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The cartoon by director Don Blute tells the story of the growing up and survival of the little dinosaur Littlefoot, who, along with his friends, fought off his fellows. Young lizards will have to go through difficult trials alone and find their way to the legendary Great Valley.

The film was produced by commercial filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who shot the fantastic blockbuster Jurassic Park a few years later. Spielberg envisioned the cartoon as a prehistoric version of Disney's Bambi. But at the time of creation, the picture was seriously cut down due to creative differences, and this did not in the best way affect the integrity of the plot.

3. We're back! Dinosaur story

• USA, 1993.
• Animation, adventure.
• Duration: 72 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 1.

The good professor Blagovgazy, moving in time, catches four dinosaurs and miraculously endows them with a human mind. The scientist decides to go with his new acquaintances to our days to show children the once extinct animals. However, due to an unforeseen situation, the lizards find themselves not in the laboratory, but not far from the house of an ordinary boy Louis.

In the wake of interest in dinosaurs, Steven Spielberg also produced the children's animated musical We Are Back! True, the cartoon did not receive much success and failed at the box office, despite an active advertising campaign.

4. Dinosaur

• USA, 2000.
• Animation, adventure.
• Duration: 82 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Dinosaur Aladar, raised by a family of lemurs, miraculously survives after the fall of a huge meteorite. Now the hero and his family will have to survive among the desert lands, where very dangerous and gluttonous monsters roam.

The graphic design of the film, made at the Walt Disney Studios, is severely lame by today's standards. But this does not apply to the exciting plot, somewhat reminiscent of "Earth before the beginning of time."

5. Ice Age - 3: Age of the Dinosaurs

• USA, 2009.
• Animation, adventure, comedy.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The restless sloth Sid finds three eggs belonging to unknown persons, from which small lizards soon hatch. Unfortunately, their mother turns out to be a huge Tyrannosaurus rex and takes Sid to an unknown cave.

The third installment of the prehistoric animated saga Ice Age is ideal for dinosaur lovers. Indeed, according to the plot, the main characters discover a lost world hidden underground with lizards living in it.

6. The Legend of the Dinosaurs

• UK, Canada, 2011.
• Animation, documentary, adventure.
• Duration: 87 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

The main characters are two young dinosaurs, the vegetarian Scar and the carnivorous Patch. But one day, the life of both changes dramatically. The first lags behind his family and is forced to take care of himself, while the second has to survive a long polar night in the brutal north.

The full-length spin-off of the hit TV series Walking with the Dinosaurs is based on real scientific facts. Some dinosaurs did indeed migrate great distances in search of food, while others resided permanently in the North of America.

7. A good dinosaur

• USA, 2015.
• Animation, adventure.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

65 million years ago, dinosaurs did not become extinct - on the contrary, they evolved into intelligent beings. One day the shy Apatosaurus Arlo fell into the river and was carried away from home. Now he has to challenge his fears in order to return to his family. On this journey, Arlo is helped by a small primitive man named Druzhok.

Although "Up" director Bob Peterson was originally going to work on "The Good Dinosaur", the company's plans changed and the picture was brought to mind by debutant Peter Sleep. It ended up being Pixar's first commercial failure, despite cutting edge photorealistic animation.

Best Dinosaur Shorts

1. Veselosaurus Rex

• USA, 2012.
• Animated comedy.
• Duration: 7 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The awkward toy dinosaur Rex has once again let down his friends. But then the hostess decides to play with him during an evening swim, and it turns out that the hero is the real soul of the company.

Pixar studio is famous not only for full-length animation, but also for short films, which sometimes turn out to be no less iconic. Often, the latter expand the already existing cartoon universes: for example, after watching "Veselosaurus", viewers will better recognize the good Rex from "Toy Story". Of course, Buzz, Woody and other familiar characters will also appear in the cartoon.

2. Chitipati

• Germany, 2015.
• Animated drama.
• Duration: 6 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

A student short film tells how a small dinosaur of the Chitipati breed spent the last minutes before its death. The dark cartoon was highly appreciated by the audience at film festivals, but it is better not to show it to children.

3. Lost and Found

• Australia, 2018.
• Animated drama.
• Duration: 8 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Two crocheted toys live peacefully in a Japanese restaurant until one of them accidentally falls into a fountain. Then the second - the green dinosaur - gives all his strength to save his friend.

The breathtaking animation by Australian directors Andrew Goldsmith and Bradley Slabe is a bit like the touching work of Pixar. At the same time, the cartoon was filmed using the stop-motion technique, which gives the project a special charm and originality.

The best dinosaur cartoons

1. Walking with dinosaurs

• UK, 1999.
• Scientific and educational series.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

The popular science series tells the story of several prehistoric creatures that live in the air, on land and under water. Among them is the ornitocheir hurrying to mating games, a huge diplodocus and a small ophthalmosaurus fleeing from predators among the vast coral reefs.

The project can only be called animation partly: to convincingly show the dinosaurs, the creators used a complex combination of nature filming, animatronics and computer graphics. But the effect turned out to be amazing: the viewer really seems to be transported in time for many millions of years ago. And even if some facts are already outdated or disproved by modern discoveries, watching the series is still delightfully interesting.

2. Earth before the beginning of time

• USA, 2007-2008.
• Adventure, family comedy.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Although the series is based on the cartoon of the same name, Steven Spielberg and Don Bluth no longer have anything to do with it. The plot is centered around the life of the little dinosaur Littlefoot and his friends in the vastness of the Great Valley. Moreover, more attention is paid to the relationship of the characters, their daily life and entertainment.

3. Dinosaur train

• USA, UK, Canada, 2009 - present.
• Children's educational series.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

Each episode tells about another amazing journey of the tyrannosaurus Buddy. An inquisitive lizard moves through time and space with the help of a fantastic train of dinosaurs.

Educational program from the creator of the animated series "Hey Arnold!" Craig Bartlett is ideal for kids ages three to six. School-aged children will likely be bored by watching it. But preschoolers learn a lot about the habits and habits of prehistoric dinosaurs.