The Film
Seeing as how I'm both a Blu-ray critic and the father of a 5-year-old boy who's positively gaga about dinosaurs right now, I feel supremely qualified to evaluate Image Entertainment's latest Blu-ray Disc release: Dinosaurs Alive! Developed as an IMAX 3D production and narrated by veteran actor Michael Douglas, Dinosaurs Alive! boasts scenic, sweeping vistas and plenty of scientific dinosaur information to satisfy its adult viewers. At the same time, the film's short and sweet 40-minute running time is just the right length to keep kids engaged without boring them to tears, making it ideally suited for an after-school or Saturday morning treat.
Dinosaurs Alive! follows a group of renowned paleontologists as they travel to far-off, fossil-friendly locales such as Mongolia's Gobi Desert and the "Ghost Ranch" dig site in New Mexico. Amidst CGI recreations of dinosaur life, the film routinely returns to the scientists as they tirelessly attempt to shed new light on these fascinating prehistoric beasts. Although much of the information being shared is intriguing, younger children may get bored by the filmmakers' decision to keep the human scientists front and center. Not helping things is the fact that most of the discoveries shown and their ensuing conversations feel terribly staged, overly scripted and poorly "acted." It's hard to fault these non-actors when they sound stiff and rehearsed, but that doesn't change the fact that a more candid, fly-on-the-wall approach would undoubtedly have worked better.
The Picture
The CGI sequences within the film have a somewhat low budget look - not quite on a par with the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs series - but the dinos themselves are richly detailed and scientifically accurate, or so they say at least. If you were only watching these CGI scenes, DVD would probably suffice. However, it's the live-action stuff that really shines in 1080p.
For the same reasons we saw improved detail and enhanced picture quality on the IMAX-filmed sequences within The Dark Knight, the live-action, modern day footage in Dinosaurs looks truly fantastic on Blu-ray. From the granular close-ups of the Gobi Desert sands to the fine details we can make out inside the scientists' laboratories, Dinosaurs makes full use of the clarity afforded by those monstrous IMAX 3D cameras and their 65mm film stock.
The Sound
Particularly for the kids in the audience, a film entitled Dinosaurs Alive! needs to sound, well, alive. Thankfully, the film sports an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. From the Mongolian helicopter's swirling rotors to the growls and screeches of battling dinosaurs, this is an engaging sound mix with surprisingly potent low end punch.
The Extras
Pay attention now, there will be a quiz. In addition to reviewing individual dinosaur profiles ("Meet the Creatures"), kids should enjoy taking a 10-question trivia test to tax their powers of recall. Beyond those two special features, the main attraction is a making-of documentary shot entirely in HD. This is actually quite good and well worth a look if only for the fascinating tidbits about the trials, tribulations and costs associated with the IMAX filming process. It should also be noted that this disc is BD LIVE-enabled, but at the time of this writing there was no additional content to be found online.
Final Thoughts
I hate to call my son Danny a geek, but his dad's a geek so why should he be any different? Mind you, he's not a geek in many respects but when it comes to dinosaurs, he's a lot like that know-it-all kid in Jurassic Park who wouldn't stop pestering Sam Neill - and I love him for it. (Danny, not Sam Neill.) The bottom line is that my son represents a key demographic for Dinosaurs Alive! and the fact that Danny loved it and already wants to know when we can watch it again should tell you everything you need to know.
Product Details
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