Parents' Guide to

Dinosaur Island

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Uneven time-travel adventure has peril, mild violence.

Movie NR 2015 82 minutes
Dinosaur Island Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 7+

Based on 3 parent reviews

green girl april
green girl april Parent of 8-year-old
January 26, 2023
age 8+

Easy watch but wouldn’t watch it again!

Watched with my 8.5 year old, having recently watched Jurassic Park 1 & 2 this definitely isn’t as good but it’s ok. Time travelling aspect was a bit confusing. Acting was not great but my son didn’t notice. Dinosaur animation were good, liked that they had feathers & my son especially liked the Mimius.
Hqchick
Hqchick Parent of 5-year-old
July 6, 2019
age 7+

Great for Dino lovers

Just watched this with my 5 1/2 year old. He loves dinosaurs and pretending they are eating each other. This movie had just the right amount of dinosaurs acting realistically but no gore. (Similar action/scary scenes as “How to train your dragon”) However he didn’t understand the concept of time travel so didn’t get the plot. There is a number of very brief sophisticated dialogues about geology and palaeontology but then rephrased in every day language, otherwise the majority of the language was aimed at junior audiences which made it a little precocious from an adults perspective. We will probably watch it again for the great dino scenes but won’t be a regular family favourite.
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In DINOSAUR ISLAND, young Lucas (Darius Williams), on his way from his home in Australia to catch a plane to America, visits the long-abandoned house of his deceased grandmother. Fascinated by the many strange and wonderful artifacts from the past, Lucas picks up and pockets a curious crystal. Later, traveling on the plane on his own, Lucas studies the object. Eerily, the crystal starts to glow. Then a bizarre mist comes up, surrounds the aircraft, and carries it through dense clouds, lightning, and roaring upheaval before all goes black and silent. When Lucas awakens, all alone on an isolated beach, he has no idea of where he is or how he got there. He only knows he has to find the plane and its passengers. Instead, he meets Kate (Kate Masmussen), a young girl who landed on the island decades earlier and has never aged. Kate share her magical island home with Lucas, showing him a land out of time and place, filled with a vast population of creatures from the past and perhaps even the future. Lucas is intrigued but desperately wants to go home. As the two kids search for Lucas' plane, they find themselves on a perilous adventure, forced to use their wits and their courage to survive.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (2):

Kids may enjoy this adventure of two scrappy kids taking on a magical prehistoric land of predators and oddities. But even fantasies are best when they're logical or based on some sense of truth from within the designated fantastical notion. In this case, everything has simply either been dropped onto or happens on Dinosaur Island (lost kids; dinosaurs; man-eating plants; time travel; airplane relics from the past, present, and future; a glowing crystal with mystical powers; a tribe of African boys). The kids discover, battle, or befriend all those they encounter with no explanation other than "it's magic" and with no connectedness between creatures or events. Then, when one considers the low-budget nature of the production, the primitive CGI, and some stilted, amateurish performances, it's clearly, at best, a film for action or dinosaur fans with moderate expectations.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the advances in filmmaking technology to recreate prehistoric creatures. What is CGI? What is "stop-action"? Is a movie scarier if the dinosaurs look real?

  • Movies often place kids alone in a fight for survival. Why do you think young audiences like stories like that? Do you ever daydream that you're on your own or protecting someone you care about? What does it feel like when you imagine that you're strong and can handle whatever comes your way?

  • In Dinosaur Island, the filmmakers made the creatures bright and colorful, not like the usual depictions of scientifically correct dinosaurs. Use your imagination to create (draw or write) an island of mythical or actual living beings from another time and place.

Movie Details

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