Dinosaurs have long exerted a pull on film directors and audiences, and a few of these movies have stomped the box office. Life! highlights five noteworthy dino flicks.
THE LAND BEFORE TIME (1988)
Steven Spielberg has had dinosaurs on his brain for a very long time. He executive produced this animated movie about a group of young creatures fleeing famine and destruction. It was a hit which led to a short-lived television series (2007-2008) and more than 10 straight-to-video sequels. Also known as the movie which included the hit song If We Hold On Together, incongruously sung by Diana Ross.
JURASSIC PARK (1993)
The Land Before Time was merely a warm-up for the live action dino thriller that was Jurassic Park. Spielberg directed the adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same name and cleaned up at the box office. Who can forget the tense scene of a glass of water vibrating, portending the arrival of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus Rex? The film earned more than US$1 billion worldwide and was followed by box office successes The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001).
ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (2009)
The world of the Ice Age opens up when dinosaurs living in a mysterious underground land are added to the familiar cast of mammoths, sloths and tigers. Despite mixed reviews for this third instalment in the franchise, this is the seventh-highest grossing animated flick of all time.
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS: THE 3D MOVIE (2013)
The 1999 six-part BBC television series Walking With Dinosaurs was critically lauded for its use of computer-generated imagery to recreate life in the Mesozoic Era. The film though was a disappointment and the mix of supposedly realistic animation with cutesy voiceovers did not go down well with critics.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR (2015)
Imagine a world in which dinosaurs never became extinct. This Pixar animated feature starts with that premise and is about a young Apatosaurus which befriends a cave-boy. While the film's release was delayed from May last year to November this year, reportedly over story problems, it just goes to show that you cannot keep a good dinosaur down.
