Writer:
Simon Moore
Based
on the “Dinotopia” Books by: James Gurney
Director:
Marco Brambilla
Feature
length: 240 minutes
Extras:
The Making Of Dinotopia, Interview With Trevor Jones, Storyboard Comparison,
Dino Data, Saurian Alphabet, Travel Through Dinotopia, 3-D Photo Gallery,
Trailers, Cast And Crew Information, Deleted Scenes, Tips And Tricks For Game
Boy® Advanced Game, 26’s Maze Game, Hidden Footage, Dinosaur Facts And Sounds
For Kids
Languages:
English Dolby Stereo 2.0
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions
Packaging:
Two-Disc Amaray Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 48
Sound:
Dolby Stereo Sound 2.0
Year
of DVD Release: 2002
Home Video Distributor: Artisan Family Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Dinotopia,
the
epic story of a lost continent where dinosaurs and humans live together in an
almost-utopian world, was brought to life as one of the most lavish and
technically complex productions in the history of American television. The
six-hour miniseries that premiered on the ABC Television Network and will now be
followed by a weekly television series, Dinotopia is based on the
best-selling books by author/illustrator James Gurney.
The
story begins when Frank Scott (Stuart Wilson, The Mask of Zorro), a
wealthy American, crashes his plane into the Caribbean. He appears to perish,
but his two teenaged sons, Karl (Tyron Leitso, Snow White: The Fairest of
Them All) and David (Wentworth Miller, Popular), survive, only to
find themselves castaways on Dinotopia, a fantastic lost continent where
humans and dinosaurs peacefully co-exist. Karl and David are constantly at odds,
even as they struggle to adjust to life in their strange new world. Dinotopia’s
colorful human inhabitants include resident rogue Cyrus Crabb (David Thewlis,
Seven Years in Tibet), a descendant of shipwrecked pirates, who lives as
an outlaw in the utopian society; smart, beautiful Marion (Katie Carr, Mrs.
Dalloway), who is in training to be a matriarch and leader of her people;
Marion’s father, Mayor Waldo (Jim Carter, Shakespeare in Love),
overseer of Dinotopia’s spectacular capital, Waterfall City; her
mother, revered matriarch Rosemary (Alice Krige, Star Trek: First Contact)
and Oonu (Colin Salmon, Tomorrow Never Dies), commander of the Skybax
Corps (humans that train to fly huge Pterosaurs with 30-foot wingspans). Marion
– who captures both Karl’s and David’s hearts – leads the brothers to
Waterfall City, where Mayor Waldo welcomes the “off-worlders” and has them
enrolled in the capital’s academy so they can learn to become Dinotopians. The
talkative Zippo, an academic Stenonychosaurus who speaks 17 human and Saurian
languages, soon befriends them. Upon receiving their Dinotopian assignments,
cynical Karl is assigned to a Saurian “hatchery” where he’s charged with
overseeing the birth of an infant Chasmosaurus named 26. David – terrified of
heights – is ordered to
Most
of the miniseries’ dinosaurs (including key character Zippo) were created by
FrameStore, the company that handled visual effects for the award-winning Merlin,
Arabian Nights and Walking With Dinosaurs, using state-of-the-art
digital special effects. A team of 75 computer animators, architects/designers
and CG staffers worked full-time on the company’s largest project to date.
Eight staff members alone made up the “Zippo Squad,” working exclusively to
bring the character vibrantly to life. The adorable baby 26 was hand-held, and
her intricate, life like movements were controlled off-screen by two operators,
allowing the baby to blink, breathe and wriggle her tail convincingly.
Constructed
as one of the largest sets in the history of London’s Pinewood Studio, the
production took 17 months to bring Gurney’s unique vision to life on the small
screen and after watching this DVD I can truly attest that there has never been
anything quite like Dinotopia. Watching
this film is like seeing the amazing artwork and fantastic storytelling that
made Gurney’s books the critically acclaimed and award winning best sellers
magically come to life from the amazing vistas, such as the Canyon and Waterfall
Cities to the near flawless combination of special CGI effects and live action, Dinotopia
not only set new benchmarks for what can be accomplished dramatically on
television, it also provided a new standard for fantastic visual storytelling in
all genres and mediums. Lee Evans provides the voice for “Zippo,” one of the
most amazing animated computer generated characters ever created for the small
screen. The mythology of the storytelling is as imaginative as any of the big
name fantasy stories ever created, including the big screen adaptation of Harry
Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone.
Artisan
Home Entertainment’s DVD edition presents “Dinotopia” in the (1.33:1)
aspect ratio of the original television broadcast. I am not sure if the series
was shot to be matted for eventual widescreen broadcasts on HDTV, in which case
we are not really missing any visual information or if it was simply shot with
only 4 by 3 televisions in mind, but I’m guessing it was probably shot with
both in mind so odds are we are seeing everything as it was meant to be seen.
The film has a very bright and colorful palette and this DVD presents the
miniseries beautifully with no noticeable artifacts at all.
The English Dolby Soundtrack is clear with no analogue hissing or
background noise that is not a part of the film’s soundtrack. English Closed
Captions for the hearing impaired are encoded on to both DVD-Video discs as an
option. Disc one contains the first 178-minutes while disc two contains the hour
or so plus all of the bonus features.
The
extra features include an 18-minute behind-the-scenes featurette on the making
of “Dinotopia” with various videotaped cast and crew interviews from the set
as well as Author James Gurney, Screenwriter Simon Moore, and Producer Robert
Halmi Jr., and are hosted by the CGI dinosaur “Zippo.” There is also an
interview with Composer Trevor Jones and a look at the orchestral recording
session at Abbey Road Studio. There is also an animated three-dimensional photo
gallery and a great three-dimensional gallery of the various dinosaurs in
“Dinotopia” complete with animated CGI models, narrated text, and sound
bytes from the film of the various animal sounds and whatnot. This is supported
by a tour of “Dinotopia” where viewers can choose between one of the four
main locales seen in the miniseries with a clip from the film for each along
with narration detailing information on each setting. There are also two deleted
scenes presented in equal sound and film quality as the feature in a (1.33:1)
aspect ratio as well.
There
is a maze game that can be played on any DVD-Video player where one searches for
sunstones to save Dinotopia as well as a look at the TDK video game for Nintendo
Game Boy® Advanced complete with detailed tips and tricks. There’s some
hidden footage from the original silent film “The Lost World” and detailed
cast and crew biographical information as well as a preview gallery that
includes trailers for “Dinotopia,” “Jack And The Beanstalk: The Real
Story,” “Snow White,” “Stranded,” “Snow Queen,” and a “Hallmark
Channel” advertisement. Sadly the ABC network TV trailers and teasers for
“Dinotopia” are not included in the set. Both Windows and Macintosh DVD-ROM
users have access to extra games and trivia and within the keep case in addition
to the insert detailing the scene selections there is another insert with all
sorts of rebate coupons and whatnot related to “Dinotopia” merchandise. The
menus are animated with animated transitions and are easy to navigate.
Artisan
Family Home Entertainment’s DVD edition of “Dinotopia” is not only a great
disc set, but also a great value with sales prices below $20 dollars at
retailers on and offline and is available for purchase now.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.