Search - Dinotopia on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children, Scary Moments Movie Release: 2002 DVD Release: 07/30/2002 Format: DVD - Closed Captioned SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 4 hrs 0 mins Studio: Hallmark Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Fantasy, Children's/Family, Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure

Based on the children's books by author/illustrator James Gurney, the three-part, six-hour ABC miniseries Dinotopia got under way when a pair of teenaged half brothers, Karl and David Scott, took over the controls of their father Frank's (Stuart Wilson) private plane. Not surprisingly, the boys crashed the plane into the ocean, whereupon they were washed on the shore of an unchartered continent. While searching for their missing dad, Karl and David wandered into Waterfall City, the capitol of Dinotopia, a hidden civilization where human beings and dinosaurs peacefully coexisted. In fact, some of the dinosaurs, notably a neurotic Stenonychosaurus named Zippo, possessed human intelligence and spoke perfect English. Among the many rules in Dinotopia was the edict that, once an outsider arrived, he or she was never allowed to leave. As Karl and David prepared to take their rightful places in their new surroundings, both boys developed a strong bond with young Marion (Katie Carr), who was on the verge of becoming a "matriarch" of the Dinotopian society. Unfortunately, the incursion of vicious carnivores, not to mention an unanticipated human villain, threatened to destroy Dinotopia and everyone living on the island. Decked out with special effects courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop and the British FrameStore CFC, Dinotopia was designed as the pilot for a proposed weekly ABC adventure series. Co-produced by Disney Television and Hallmark Entertainment, the miniseries premiered as an episode of the Wonderful World of Disney anthology on May 12, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dinosaurs live -- and walk, and talk -- in the made-for-TV feature Dinotopia, featured in a 2-disc edition from Artisan. The film is presented in a 1.33:1 full frame transfer and looks very nice. The colors, black levels and flesh tones are all accurately represented with only a small amount of grain showing up from time to time. Otherwise, this is a fine transfer that features hardly any major imperfections. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround in English. This sound mix is only mildly interesting with most all the effects, music and dialogue being filtered through only the front and rear speakers. While the bulk of the track is free of any excessive hiss or distortion, overall this isn't a 2.0 mix to write home about. No alternate subtitles or soundtracks are included with this set. This 2 DVD set includes a wealth of extra materials, starting with the featurette "Evolution: The Making of Dinotopia" which includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with producer Robert Halmi, Sr., writer Simon Moore, and others. This is a fairly fluffy featurette that adds little to one's knowledge of the film's production. "An interview with composer Trevor Jones" is a nice piece for those with an interst in film music. A storyboard for the T-Rex attack and some deleted scenes allow the viewer a quick glimpse at what it took to bring ideas to the screen, and what was left on the cutting room floor. The "Dinotopia Encyclopedia" features three separate sections ("Dinosaur Data," "Saurian Alphabet" and "Travel Through Dinotopia") which includes maps, definitions and other info about the dinosaurs of the film. Finally there are a few deleted scenes, six trailers for other Hallmark titles, an animated photo gallery, some cast and crew biographies, a Game Boy Advance preview, a maze game for kids, and some DVD ROM features. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide