Common Sense Media Review
By Ashley Moulton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
A few scary bits in dino education reboot.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Walking with Dinosaurs
What's the Story?
In WALKING WITH DINOSAURS, dinosaur fossils are brought to life with realistic animation. Each episode features real-life paleontologists on fossil digs talking about their discoveries. Between the documentary footage, animated dramatizations tell the story of one particular fossil. In one episode, the story of a three-year-old stegosaurus fossil nicknamed "Clover" comes to life. Clover is an orphaned baby stegosaurus who both escapes predators and finds time to play with another young dinosaur. Narrated by Bertie Carvel, each dinosaur's story expresses their struggle and inner emotional life like a nature documentary.
Is It Any Good?
This reboot is a dinosaur-fanatic's holy grail. In Walking with Dinosaurs, kids can see real paleontologists living the dream on fossil digs, and then can see those fossils come to life in exciting documentary-style "footage." Adults may note that the animation falls a bit short of being realistic, but kids will be so thrilled to see dinosaurs that they won't mind. The dinosaur scenes have storylines suggested by the fossil record, but the show is taking a lot of creative license to make compelling narratives. This means the line between fiction and science is sometimes unclear, though there's still a lot of great learning potential throughout. Kids who aren't into dinosaurs may find the BBC nature documentary style and pacing a bit slow. But for anyone who wants help imagining what Earth was like in the time of dinosaurs, Walking with Dinosaurs fits the bill.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the paleontologists' curiosity. What techniques do they use to find answers to their scientific questions?
Families can talk about the paleontologists' perseverance. Do you think you'd be able to keep digging for fossils over and over again, without a guarantee that you'd find what you're looking for?
What parts of Walking with Dinosaurs do you think are based on science? What parts came from the TV show writers', artists', and animators' imaginations?
TV Details
- Premiere date : June 16, 2025
- Cast : Bertie Carvel , Eric Lund
- Networks : BBC , PBS
- Genre : Educational
- Topics : STEM , Animals ( Dinosaurs )
- Character Strengths : Curiosity , Perseverance
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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