''Dinosaur'' is an animated short film directed and produced by Will Vinton. In 1987 the film was extended and released on video under the title ''Dinosaurs!''. The new footage stars Fred Savage playing a grade school student named Philip who gives a class report on dinosaurs, with the help of an animated chalkboard and Will Vinton's claymation dinosaurs.

Background

Originally created in 1980, when it was known more simply as ''Dinosaur'', the 17-minute claymation short by Vinton Productions would later be used for this 1987 video. The popular short is also played at the

Smithsonian Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

and has won numerous awards. This film is also played BOB's request in Rocky Hill, Connecticut at the museum in Dinosaur State Park. It is also played at the Pacific Science Center (in Seattle, Washington) in the ''Dinosaurs A Journey Through Time'' exhibit, but cuts out the first two parts and narrows it down to the claymation dinosaur story. ''Dinosaurs!'' was designed as an educational film for young children new to the world of

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

life; the video slipsleeve describes the film with "Discover the ''real'' monsters who dominated the earth for millions of years!" The

cartoon animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

of the chalkboard is used to elaborate on attributes such as the

extinction of the dinosaurs Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

as well as their brain capacity, while the Vinton claymation illustrates, in a colorful and simplistic manner, the brutal lives of the many dinosaurs. The movie also introduces a music video for the song " Mesozoic Mind" by Charmer, featuring cartoon dinosaurs performing it.

Plot

The video—with beginning scenes filmed in 1987—begins with a young boy named Phillip (played by Fred Savage) sitting in his bedroom, listening to

loud music Loud music is music that is played at a high volume, often to the point where it disturbs others and causes hearing damage. It may include music that is sung live, played with musical instruments, or with electronic media, such as Radio broadcast ...

, and struggling to find an idea for a class report on a science topic. While struggling to find some ideas, and irking his mother (who threatens to call his father if he does not turn off the music and go to bed) with his loud music, he plays a song on his

boom box A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape recorder/players and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through ...

(titled "Mesozoic Mind"). And the song provides him with an inspiration for his report: DINOSAURS! Philip then goes to sleep and has a dream, where he discovers that the search for the truth about these magnificent animals and their astonishing 160-million-year success on Earth is probably the most fascinating speculation there is. Phillip then finishes his report and presents it to the class. The class report is then covered through the 1980 claymation short ''Dinosaur'' by Will Vinton Productions.

Awards

* Chicago International Film Festival, 1980 * Gold Hugo * Gold Award, Houston International Film Festival, 1980

References

External links

MesozoicMind.com—Give me a Mesozoic Mind...
* *
Overview of the Dinosaur Documentary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinosaur (1980 film) 1980 animated films 1980 films 1987 animated films 1987 films Films using stop-motion animation Museum educational materials Smithsonian Institution publications Films about dinosaurs American animated short films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films