Bizarre Dinosaurs

Movie review by Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media
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Common Sense says

age 7+

Kid-friendly docu examines strange-looking dinos.

NR 2009 48 minutes
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Parents say

age 14+

Based on 1 review

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Bizarre Dinosaurs is a 2009 National Geographic documentary that will please dinosaur-lovers of all ages. In paleontologists' quest to determine the reasons for certain unusual anatomical adaptations in some of the animals, "display," that is, attracting the opposite sex, is frequently examined and a few brief sequences of modern animals mating are shown. Scientists also debate body parts made for defense and attack, and some computer-generated scenarios demonstrate how such parts might have been used in fighting, but no blood is shown.

Community Reviews

daveclancy
daveclancy Adult
September 13, 2021
age 14+

Bizarre Indeed — Beware

Did Common Sense watch this film before reviewing it? The documentary is preoccupied with issues of attraction and mating — the movie’s basic theory is that various dinosaur appendages were about attraction rather than defense, and it just won’t let the issue go. This would be OK — even in a movie rated for “budding paleontologists” 7 and up — if the issue had been handled with some restraint, for example by referring to “mating rituals” and “courting behavior” and such. But no — the narrator cannot stop using the word “sex”, as in “It’s all about sex.” At one point, frustrated, my wife fast-forwarded a bit hoping to get past this stuff and landed on the exclamation “It’s sexy!!” At which point we stopped watching, since after all we had wanted to enjoy a fun and educational dinosaur movie with our youngsters (7, 9 and 11), not field questions about the meaning of “sex” and “sexy” while watching creatures historical and modern bump, grind and “tickle”. The “Sexy Stuff” section of the official review is a total miss, and the whole review — “family friendly”, “7-plus” — is disappointing. To each his own on age-appropriateness, but Common Sense should do a better job flagging potential issues.
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What's the Story?

Scientists featured in BIZARRE DINOSAURS enthusiastically discuss reasoning for their positions on the evolution of dinosaurs' bodies. Many body adaptations remain unexplained as researchers try to figure the role plates, spikes, thick heads, short arms, and long necks may have played in the health and well-being of a particular species. Were long necks useful for reaching food on high branches or for wooing members of the opposite sex? Were multi-horned heads or extra thick heads useful for fighting or scaring off predators, or rather for fighting rivals for the right to mate? Computer-generated animation shows imagined, fully-fleshed animals roaming the earth, eating and fighting, based on educated guesses that fossils have suggested.

Is It Any Good?

At 48 minutes, this is a perfect length for budding young paleontologists to absorb and enjoy. Differing arguments among scientists about why dinosaurs looked the way they looked leave open to young viewers the option to argue their own opinions and try out their own theories. Bizarre Dinosaurs makes it clear that there are many questions still to be answered, and young viewers may be inspired to make their own helpful discoveries to add to what's known about animals that were kings of the earth millions of years ago. Adding to the interest, paleontologists are seen digging in the ground, examining fossil cat scans in labs, and molding plaster models of what some dinosaurs might have looked like.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why dinosaurs are so fascinating. Why are people curious about these creatures? Did you learn anything new from Bizarre Dinosaurs?

  • Theories on their extinction include asteroid impact, volcanic eruptions, deadly plague, or perhaps all three. What's your guess?

  • Had they lived, what do you think dinosaurs would look like now?

Movie Details

  • In theaters: October 11, 2009
  • On DVD or streaming: February 9, 2010
  • Director: Jenny Kubo
  • Studio: Disney+
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Character Strengths: Curiosity
  • Run time: 48 minutes
  • MPAA rating: NR
  • Last updated: February 27, 2022

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