From jaw-dropping CGI to meticulous stop-motion effects,dinosaurshave roared their way through some of the most unforgettable films in movie history. While the outstanding success ofSteven Spielberg’sJurassic Parksignaled the potential of special effects reaching grand new heights, this isn’t the only dinosaur movie to leave a lasting mark on cinema.
Whether it’shorrific monster moviesorkid-friendly adventures, dinosaurs have fascinated filmgoers sincethe release of the four-minute caveman comedy shortPrehistoric Peepsback in 1905. While these real prehistoric creatures may have gone extinct millions of years ago, movie lovers' interest in dinosaurs on film is alive and well today.
It’s not surprising that the release of Steven Spielberg’sJurassic Parkmeant there were plenty more dinosaur-centric movies piggybacking on its success in 1993. With this comesCarnosaur, a sci-fi horror about a mad scientist attempting to exterminate the human race with a deadly virus and replace it with his own genetically modified dinosaurs.
Carnosaurdivided critics, with Roger Ebert calling it the worst movie of 1993 while his colleague Gene Siskel praised it (viaSiskel & Ebert.) However, there was enough B-movie fun forCarnosaurto develop a cult following and launch a series complete with sequels and spin-offs. As an over-the-top and gory horror movie,Carnosaurwas definitely a love-it-or-hate-it kind of film.
The Valley of Gwangiwas a fantasy Western about a cowboy hoping to make his fortune by capturing an Allosaurus living in a Mexican valley and putting it in a Wild West show. The film wasoriginally a project of Willis O’Brien, who was responsible for the effects in the 1933King Kong, but he wasn’t able to finish it.
With impressive stop-motion effects and great action sequences, the scene when Gwangi appears from behind a hill and snatches a fleeing Ornithomimus in his jaws was directly copied by Spielberg inJurassic Park. It may not be well known, butThe Valley of Gwangiwas the best cowboy dinosaur movie of all time, although there aren’t many to choose from.
Having already revitalizedGodzillaand kick-started the MonsterVerse in 2014, Gareth Edwards turned his sights toward theJurassic Parkfranchise withJurassic World Rebirth. This fun-filled adventure recaptured the appeal of Spielberg’s original film but didn’t add anything new of note to the mythology of the series.
Instead,Jurassic World Rebirthwas simply fun for fun’s sakeand worked incredibly well as an action-packed summer blockbuster. However, without much substance beyond broad entertainment, it’s hard not to wonder if this franchise is best left alone, and rather than being continually reborn, the natural order of things should be to let it go extinct.
Disney tried their hand at their own prehistoric adventure withDinosaurin 2000. With a mix of live-action and animation, this effects-heavy story follows a young Iguanodon who was adopted and raised by a family of lemurs on a tropical island and who must set off to find a new home after a catastrophic meteor hits Earth.
Dinosaurlooked absolutely stunning, but its plot was generic, and it came across as a blatant attempt to cash in on the success of bothJurassic ParkandThe Land Before Time. The mixture of realistically rendered dinosaurs and human voice actors also putDinosaurinto strange, uncanny valley territory.
While it doesn’t win any points for historical accuracy,One Million Years B.C.was a classic adventure that depicted caveman humans and dinosaurs living side-by-side. With impressive stop-motion effects from animator Ray Harryhausen, this was just the first of many dinosaur movies he worked on, includingPrehistoric Women,When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, andCreatures the World Forgot.
One Million Years B.C.was a great example of 1960s movie effects at their absolute best, and watching as the banished prehistoric man Tumak (John Richardson) struggled to survive the harsh conditions alongside the gentler tribeswoman Loana (Raquel Welch) made for an enjoyable adventure. With many natural threats, dinosaurs were just one of many prehistoric dangers.
The Good Dinosaurwas set in an alternate history where dinosaurs never went extinct and followed a timid Apatosaurus named Arlo who befriends a human child while traversing the treacherous landscape. As a Pixar original,The Good Dinosaurfeatured truly outstanding visuals, but its narrative didn’t live up to the expectations set by classics likeToy Story,Finding Nemo, orWALL-E.
While there’s a lot to love aboutThe Good Dinosaurfrom a visual perspective, it didn’t connect with viewers and became Pixar’s first box office bomb. While it holds up well as enjoyable family-friendly entertainment,The Good Dinosaur’ssimple story was just too conventionalto overtakeThe Land Before Timeas the definitive dinosaur movie for young kids.
Coming 14 years after the release ofJurassic Park III,Jurassic Worldwas a legacy sequel that arrived after enough time had passed for audiences to miss this big-budget, dinosaur-based franchise. StarringChris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, these heroes must save yet another theme park of cloned dinosaurs after a transgenetically modified dinosaur breaks loose and plunges it into chaos.
Jurassic Worlddelivered everything audiences could want from a summer blockbuster, and it was exciting to see the realistically rendered dinosaurs made famous by Spielberg on the big screen once again. While the sequelsFallen KingdomandDominionweren’t nearly as well received,Jurassic Worldwas an excellent revival of a long-dormant franchise.
With great characters, impressive worldbuilding, and a unique setting,The Land Before Timewas the quintessential kid-friendly dinosaur movie. Telling the story of a young Apatosaurus named Littlefoot who ends up alone after his mother is killed by a T-Rex, this wayward dino must go on a perilous quest to find the Great Valley to reunite with adult dinosaurs.
WhileThe Land Before Timeled to a litany of direct-to-video sequels, the original remains one of Disney’s very best movies of the 1980s. As a kind prehistoric version ofBambi,The Land Before Timemanaged to blend child-friendly thrills with true tragedy as it told a complex and mature story of growing up in harsh circumstances.
Steven Spielberg returned to direct a rare sequel withThe Lost World: Jurassic Park, a film that thrust the fan-favorite character Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) into the spotlight as he returns to study the genetically engineered dinosaurs. With underhanded business interests coming into play, Malcolm’s signature wit was on full display in a story that was even darker than its predecessor.
WhileThe Lost Worldwas set in another extraordinary display of awe-inspiring visuals, it still couldn’t quite manage to match the appeal of the original film. However, it still stands leagues above most other dinosaur-centric movies, as even in his lesser works, Spielberg knows how to capture movie magic in a way that nobody else can.
There was never going to be any other answer when it comes to the best dinosaur movie of all time, asJurassic Parkabsolutely changed the gamewhen it came to the depiction of these prehistoric creatures on the big screen. As a true Steven Spielberg classic, few movie moments can capture the magic of seeing these dinosaurs for the first time.
While writing the originalJurassic Parkscript, screenwriter David Koepp accidentally mistook a Brachiosaurus for a Brontosaurus, a mistake which has been corrected in subsequent films.
From the terrifying T. Rex to the wonderful Brontosaurus, the CGI ofJurassic Park’sdepiction ofdinosaurswas unlike anything audiences had previously seen. Add to this the all-time great trio of Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum, and you’ve got a movie whose outstanding success film studios have been trying to replicate ever since.
