'Dinosaur' Is Big Feat Despite Stumbles

Anybody even remotely familiar with the Disney-Pixar studio projects "Toy Story," its sequel and "A Bug's Life" knows that Disney's legendary animation studio isn't afraid of taking giant steps into the new direction of having computer imagery tell the story in feature films.

While its latest offering, the non-Pixar-affiliated "Dinosaur," takes even bigger steps (sometimes quite literally) in its dedication to the art form, its narrative feet, unfortunately, manage to get tangled up in each other's paths.

When you're "Walking With Dinosaurs" (both in the movie and, of course, measuring up against the BBC-Discovery Channel's mega-successful cable production of that name), the stumbles are that much bigger and, ultimately, harder to cover up.

Starting off with a spectacular swooping shot that defines the breathtaking vistas of the Earth and the different species that roamed the land before time, "Dinosaur" quickly establishes the origins of Aladar (voiced by D.B. Sweeney), an iguanodon orphaned by the vicious jaws of a deadly carnotaur.

When breaking out of his shell, Aladar is greeted with great apprehension by a primate family of lemurs. Convinced that their differences mean trouble, the family's patriarch Yar (Ossie Davis) looks to rid the tribe of the infant. But thanks to the persistence of his daughter Plio (Alfre Woodard), the lemurs reject the laws of nature and nurture Aladar instead.

Raised in a passive environment, Aladar's large backbone eventually becomes a huge asset to the lemurs. With their habitat devastated by an earth-shattering meteor shower, the surviving members of the family climb atop the massive iguanodon's back to find a new nesting ground.

But in a dinosaur-eat-dinosaur world, even that is a challenge of survival: Joining a pilgrimage to a new nesting ground, Aladar, the lemurs and their newfound dinosaur friends Neera (Julianna Margulies), Earna (Della Reese) and Baylene (Joan Plowright), not only find themselves threatened by carnotaurs but the group's ruthless Bobby Knight-type leader, Kron (Samuel E. Wright).

While the concept of survival is no doubt heavy-duty, there is little else, scriptwise, that gives "Dinosaur" the ability to rise above its previous animated counterparts. That's unfortunate, because the film thankfully departs from the formulaic rut in which Disney summer-event movies have found themselves in the past few years leading up to "Tarzan."

Sure, the characters talk (which, because it's done in a convincing manner, is relatively easy to accept), but gone are the main character's wisecracking buddies, the musical numbers and the out-and-out goofiness to which we've grown accustomed in years past. In fact, the film feels more dramatic, if not daunting, than it does comic.

And while its circle-of-life moments of brutality aren't exactly bloodbaths, there are many moments that are certain to frighten younger children. Some scenes, in fact, rival those in "The Lost World." Sure, it's true to the plight of the real-life dinosaurs, but for a kid-friendly studio, the move is especially perplexing. Think about the intended audience on this one, which pretty much includes every moviegoing kid on the planet.

While it's not warm and fuzzy, "Dinosaur's" leathery feel isn't cold either.

The voice articulation is perfect, especially when delivered by Davis, Reese and Woodard. The combination of the jaw-dropping computer generation and their veteran charisma easily brings the characters to life, and ultimately makes them easier to connect with. That connection is an incredible accomplishment when you consider that we are watching computer-generated images, and especially important where the film strives to teach its general, yet tried-and-true, lessons of loyalty, compassion and standing together in the face of adversity.

If the computer-generating gurus of "Dinosaur" can deliver in the area of character subtlety (not only in motion and delivery, but in the intricate physical details of each character), you know that they are going to nail the action -- which is done in epic fashion. Apart from the grandiose opening and conclusion, there are several memorable moments in "Dinosaur," most notably the hauntingly prophetic scene of Armageddon.

Oddly enough, that sight of doom is good news for the makers of "Dinosaur." During six years of making the film, co-directors Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton combined live-action digital photography with 1,300 special-effects shots (Disney teamed up with visual effects wizards DreamQuest for the film, forming a new company called The Secret Lab). Sure, its actions are louder than its words, but as a cinematic experience, "Dinosaur" is a pretty big feat.

More Movies:

• "Dinosaur," official Web site
• Our Now Showing pages
• To write your own review, click here