Adventures in Dinosaur City

Buy This Item Adventures in Dinosaur City by Republic Pictures  Available from Amazon  $9.98  on 8-31-2008     I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS SENCE I WAS A KID. THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT THREE KIDS WHO GET SUCKED INTO THEIR FAVORITE CARTOON "DINO-SAURS". IN ORDER TO GET BACK HOME TIMMY, MICK, AND JAMI MUST INLIST THE HELP OF THEIR HEROS (REX, TOPS, AND FORRY) TO GET A FUSE THAT WAS STOLEN BY CAVE PEOPLE KNOWN AS "THE ROCKYS" WHO WORK FOR THE CARTOON'S VILLAIN "MR.BIG". IT'S A RACE AGAINST TIME TO DEFEAT THE BAD GUYS, RETREAVE THE FUSE, SAVE SAUR CITY, AND GET BACK HOME BEFORE TIMMY'S PARTRENTS RETURN. Reader Reviews "Made-for-TV" cannot excuse any of this. As a fan of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Godzilla", and just about any production that dresses up actors in rubber outfits, I had little doubt that my expectations - having been placed not too high - would easily be met by a wannabe-'80s PG title, starring Omri Katz of "Eerie Indiana" fame. I had watched the film years ago, but had largely forgotten much of its happenings, and therefore was eager to refresh my memory. Little did I know that nostalgia was the only possible hope of a positive legacy for this debacle. Yes, this is a kid's film (and I, who has passed the median mark of adulthood, am still largely a kid, myself), but that label can hardly account for the shoddy production values and atrocious puppetry the movie displays. "Atrocious puppetry"? - yes, indeed: this is a film headlined by two big guys in dinosaur suits that have about as much expression and consequent believability as a pair of hand-puppets. At best, the dinoes of this film may be able to compete with (and lose to) the creatures of Disney's "Dinosaurs" sitcom...not only concerning the abilities of their operators, but also for lessons in humor, choreography (some points go to Tops' actor for unexpected karate moves), and voice-acting charisma. With the costumes a complete shot in the bucket, a film like this would have to fall back on an admirable plot, witty jokes, and the ability to immerse the audience in prehistoric locales such as Saur City, Tar Town, and Mr. Big's Tower, right? Well, what ought to be the case simply isn't, and the plot (as well as the character development) has about as much depth and span as an entire television cartoon episode, the jokes are...nonexistent, and the sets reflect an out-of-the-pocket budget that might rival a children's gameshow gimmick for quality. Nitpicking could take me to critisizing the talentless animated sequences, but that's hardly the film's biggest concern. The lone bright spots of the entire film are Omri Katz, Shawn Hoffman, and Tiffanie Posten, whose acting, while not extraordinary, is the only acceptable aspect of this failed kids' film, but even they're at odds to compete with a nauseous script that has them attempt to believably interact with guys in rubber suits who look like guys in rubber suits - without exaggeration, "Barney" has done a better job with the children/suit-wearing man deal. Best suited for the youngest of viewers, "Adventures In Dinosaur City" is a cool premise (dinosaurs as freedom fighters) that's utterly trampled by a mediocre production, without a hint of moral redemption or technical quality to save it. As much as I hate to say so, this is a movie that isn't worth the VHS cassette it's recorded on, and certainly not worth watching if there's anything else to see. Director Brett Thompson - you're a pistol.

Adventures in Dinosaur City Available from Amazon Price: $9.98 Updated on 8-31-2008.

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