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Parents' Guide to

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Movie

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Thrilling, semi-educational CGI movie with a few scary bits.

Movie PG 2013 87 minutes
Walking with Dinosaurs: The Movie Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 11 parent reviews

Cathren H.
Cathren H. Parent of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10-year-old
May 21, 2023
age 4+

Over all Great movie

We love this movie it made my son think dinosaurs were real and still alive we were disappointed that they couldn’t breath fire so 4 out of five but store was amazing and jokes were funny. the voice actors were very good. we meat the editor to the movie he showed up to the theater it was a re showing of and hade never heard of it so we watched it and loved it. We showed my brother and he is going to show it to his school class and kids. 4./10
1 person found this helpful.
manderburg
manderburg Parent of 7-year-old
June 2, 2021
age 7+

Almost tragically disappointing given how much potential this project had

Beautifully animated and a wonderful attempt at telling the story of a dinosaur we don't usually get to learn about. However, the writers decided to take a MST3K approach to the main characters and as a result there are nothing but wisecracks and goofiness in place of a compelling story. Worse, this approach led to such great moments as them happily declaring "I guess we're following Major now" seconds after their father tragically dies defending the main characters. We are literally given no time to process this major character's death. And the only female character with dialogue is literally reduced to a helpless damsel and a prize to be fought over and won at the end. In a movie that gave human personalities to the speaking characters they nonetheless decided that the female would have no agency of her own and that her story was totally subordinate to the male. There is no place for this kind of sexism in kids movies these days unless you don't want your children to grow up thinking women are equal to men.
1 person found this helpful.
See all 11 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the live-action beginning of the movie, a teenage boy and his kid sister visit their paleontologist father (Karl Urban) in Alaska and find a dinosaur tooth in his SUV. When the boy refuses to accompany his uncle on a research dig, a bird (John Leguizamo) starts talking and announces that "every fossil has a story." He transforms into a prehistoric bird the Alexornis (named Alex and speaking with a Spanish accent, of course) and recounts the fossil's tale from the Late Cretaceous period -- about a Pachyrhinosaurus named Patchi (Justin Long). Patchi is the runt of his herd, and he's nearly killed by a predator that leaves a hole in his frill. Saved by his mother, Patchi grows into a young adult and meets a female, Juniper (Tiya Sircar), from a different herd. When climate changes spark a Great Migration, circumstances force Patchi to transition into a more responsible role -- for his herd, Juniper, and himself.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (11 ):
Kids say (6 ):

Audiences expecting a big-budget dinosaur documentary with extra realistic visuals will be somewhat disappointed. This isn't a narrated documentary like most BBC Earth productions or the original Walking with Dinosaurs, which featured the voice of Kenneth Branagh. This is basically Ice Age meets The Lion King via The Land Before Time -- but with amazing, digitally created landscapes and creatures (instead of animation) to recreate the the fauna and flora of 75 million years ago. The scatological humor (lots of jokes about dinosaur poop), the animal "instalove," the underdog who saves the day -- it's all there, including a romantic subplot so strong the accompanying music was Barry White's "I'm Gonna Love You A Little Bit More, Baby"!

Speaking of White, the eclectic soundtrack is really quite memorable, including Fleetwood Mac ("Tusk"), Matisyahu ("Live Like a Warrior"), and Lord Huron ("Ends of the Earth") playing during key scenes. It's all a bit unexpected and confusing, even for kids, who are probably hoping for the 3D dinosaur to stop mooning over the girl from the other herd. Still, viewers will revel in the immersive experience the 3D visuals offer and appreciate honing their skills at naming various dinosaurs. Plus, there's Karl Urban in two scenes. Budding paleontologists may want more, so check out the movie's site which offers even more details about the dinosaurs of that period.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the enduring fascination with dinosaurs. What kinds of research did the filmmakers have to do to make this film?

  • Would you prefer a more traditional documentary, or do you like this fictionalized talking-dinosaur account? Is there anything lost by the humanization of the animals? Gained?

Movie Details

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