We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

I wouldn't call "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story" simply a kiddie version of "Jurassic Park". I found it more interesting than that. Like the former, it calls into question the security of bringing beings from one era into ours. But it really opens my eyes when I see who provided the voices: John Goodman, Rhea Perlman, Jay Leno, Walter Cronkite, Julia Child, Kenneth Mars, Yeardley Smith, Martin Short and Larry King. To paraphrase that: a given actor, the "Cheers" woman, the "Tonight Show" host, the Most Trusted Name In News, a famous chef, the "Young Frankenstein" police chief, Lisa Simpson, one of the Three Amigos and the CNN guy.

But I guess that I shouldn't focus only on the cast. I thought that this movie had something for both children (purely fun) and adults (natural history). True, it's escapism, but the perceptive kind. I would actually say that John Goodman doing Rex's voice here is sort of a precursor to his voice work in "Monsters Inc". Worth seeing.

When I was a kid, I loved dinosaurs. Jurrasic Park, The Land Before Time, (the original, not the crappy umpteen sequels), and We're Back especially were my favorite movies.

Now when I look at it again, I see that the movie's plot made no sense, the characters were stereotypical, and that it was sappy at the end.

But as a kid, I didn't care. What could be cooler than a singing tyrannosaurus(with the exception of Barney)? I didn't care if the plot made no sense to an adult because it made perfect sense to me. I never wondered why Rex didn't know what lunch was but instantly knew the tune of "Row your boat". I didn't see the average example of "unhappy" children and a villain that was one sided and overly symbolic. I saw some cool kids and a crazy scary guy with a screw for an eyeball that somehow had magical powers.

Because that's what this movie was and is: a children's movie. And somehow in all the critic reviews and hype and over analyzation of movies in general, I forgot what it was like to watch a movie as a kid and to just enjoy it regardless of plot and characters.

I get the same feeling from watching old Saturday morning cartoons. They were stupid, and the plots were ridiculous, but I loved them. Bring on the genetic mutants who know kung-fu and fight crime! Throw in a few aliens and you've got a good thing to eat sugary cereal to! Anyway, I guess the real reason I wrote this review was to perhaps remind people to simplify their lives from time to time, and quit over-analyzing. You enjoy more that way.

Okay, so as many of you have so eloquently stated, this is no The Land Before Time. You know why? The Land Before Time is a classic, it's my all-time favorite animated movie that still brings tears to my eyes. It's... legendary.

This is a totally different movie with a totally different premise, so no, it's not like The Land Before Time because it's not supposed to be. The only thing that links the two is they both have animated dinosaurs that talk. This movie takes you on a fantastic ride through the wishes of children. This movie is all about seeing childhood wishes come true. And being so, yes, it's ridiculous and a bit beyond the realm of reason, but hey, what childhood fantasy IS logical?

Good points about the movie: The voice acting was wonderful and believable. I absolutely fell in love with Louie's character. He is adorable and the deepest character in the film. I love how he progresses in his character with the help of the dinosaurs (especially Rex) to not only get his wish for a friend but also find there is more to life than being a "tough guy" because the "original tough guy" chose the life of love and heart instead of teeth and claws. The sacrifice the dinosaurs made for the children was very heartwarming. Imagine basically giving up your sanity for a friend. Having a mental illness myself I can imagine that as someone forcing me to give up my medicine to save a friend and I can tell you it'd be a tough decision, a terrible one, but I'd do it in a heartbeat. Thinking of it that way, one cannot belittle that moment in the plot by saying this movie doesn't have a lot of heart. The animation was great but I would have preferred they kept the dinosaurs slightly more realistic when they entered the human world. They looked a lot like mushy balloons to me and as an artist and fan of animation I would have loved to see a film with a more realistic and anatomically substantial set of lovable, cuddly dinosaurs. I immensely enjoyed the scene where Rex shows how he started life as a "monster". That part of the movie and that alone reminded me of the animation in The Land Before Time. It was excellently pulled off. And the other animation was great too but as I said, it had a "saturday morning cartoon" sort of feel rather than an animated movie. The dinosaurs were goofy in comparison to the animation given to the humans. And we can't talk about good things without mentioning Professor Screweyes. I love this villain very much. I wish his character had more development and that they had kept the deleted scene explaining his past. There were some issues I had with the parts of the movie with him in it but I'll get to that later. But I will say this, I will never forget the fear I had as a young child watching this villain. It was wonderful.

Negative: As mentioned earlier the friendly forms the dinosaurs took looked more like the goofy form to me. They could have been friendly and more anatomically correct. I would have loved to see Rex looking more like a friendly version of Sharptooth because I've always found these animals beautiful just the way they are. They took Rex's beauty.

Also I do have a bone to pick with Screweyes and the whole premise of him being a villain. Captian Neweyes told the dinosaurs that Sreweyes was insane and evil right from the beginning. As a child I didn't understand Screweyes was a villain because he manipulated the kids and the dinosaurs. The moment I saw him, before he made the children sign the contract, I thought he was a villain just because he dealt with fear and that he scared people. That is the way a lot of people teach their children. Horror is evil. Exploring fear is evil. When it is not. I love horror, good creepypasta, and even write my own. This movie displays anyone who enjoys fear or dresses in a darker more alternative style as "evil". Yes I know he IS evil and shows this later in the film but the first thing you get from the movie as proof of his evilness is that he runs a scary circus and prefers horror to comedy. There's nothing wrong with a good scare when it's under control. If he hadn't had his backstory deleted it would have made more sense as to why his scaring people is evil. It shows that he scares and manipulates people to feel in control of fear so that he isn't afraid of things himself. A very selfish reason for doing what he does. Without it he just seems like a horror buff for a while until the real "bad" things happen. Even Rex as a monster couldn't find a reason to eat the poor guy.

Overall I love this movie. It will always be one of my childhood favorites and a great memory. It has heart, fear, childlike wonder, and even a tiny smidge of romance. It is short and yes, Screweyes will be horrifying to younger children but I watched it at 2, got a wonderful scare out of it and turned out fine. Sometimes watching the darker animated films from that time is good for kids. A more realistic take on the world than all the bubbly, happy nonsense our kids watch today. If your kids haven't seen it yet I say give it a try.

I'm 17 and I am a fan of animated films. Today, I decided to watch We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story just for fun. I wasn't expecting much from this, but I enjoyed it.

Four dinosaurs named Rex, Elsa, Dweeb and Woog are taken inside a time machine where they are feed Brain Cereal. This turns these ferocious reptiles into friendly, cuddly chaps and gives them the ability to talk. The time machine operator Captain Neweyes (wisely voiced by Walter Cronkite) informs the dinos that he has chosen them to be sent to the present day to fulfill kids wishes. Thats when they are dropped off in New York City.

Yes, I found this plot a bit strange (it's based on a children's book) but it was fun enough to enjoy. This film has nicely done animation, the character drawings are good and James Horner's score is pleasant to listen to. I also liked the voices in the film. The dinosaurs were well casted with likings of John Goodman (Rex), Charles Fleischer (Dweeb), Rene LeVant (Woog) and Felicity Kendal (Elsa). They weren't too annoying either, which is a good thing.

Still, I have to report a few negatives for We're Back!. About half way through the film, the theme suddenly changes from happy and colorful to a scary, dark perspective. I think kids might get a fright or two from this. Another minor problem is that I found it somewhat too short (72 minutes at most). It should have been a bit longer, but it's appropriate enough for a kids flick.

With all that said, We're Back! is colorful, silly and has friendly dinosaurs, things children like. It may not be a masterpiece, but kids are going to enjoy this movie a lot if they can forgive the few scary scenes. "B-"

The basic plot: Four dinosaurs (made more intelligent by a kindly scientist) are given the chance to delight children by coming into the future to live with Dr. Bleeb at the Museum of Natural History.

Why it works: Kids love dinosaurs (especially big cuddly talking ones that sound like John Goodman), kindly scientists, time travel, and (when given the chance) Natural History.

The animation is good quality, the basic premise is fun, the music (with a surprise by Thomas Dolby) is good and well placed (no one bursting into an annoying song every 30 seconds) and the voice talents are wonderful, featuring well known actors such as Martin Short and Rhea Perlman, voices we know from elsewhere--Walter Cronkite and Julia Child, and veteran Voicers Yeardley Smith (the unsinkable Lisa Simpson) and the remarkable Charles Fleischer (Roger Rabbit).

Some characters needed a little more character...a little more explanation (such as Professor Screweyes--who went mad and turned evil because he lost his eye--??). But hey, this is a kids' movie, right? Let it slide.

Will kids' like it? Absolutely. And the adults? Relax and have a good time, and try not to think too much.