Baby, el secreto de una leyenda perdida

This early Touchstone release from 1985 would probably serve as minor script source material for the later unbelievably bad film "Jurassic Park." This mostly obscure film is only mildly better. Still, it's not something that I would recommend and even though Touchstone is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Pictures, don't think that this is a perfectly appropriate family oriented film (despite its childish plot) as there are some scenes of violence and animal peril.

As a kid, dinosaurs were one of my favorite things and they still are. Back then, I used to watch this 1985 film all the time with the folks called "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend". In retrospect, I'm surprised I was even able to watch it given that, despite being PG, there is a lot of mature content. Then again, the public's view of PG was different compared to today and the rating PG-13 was just invented a year before. Still, I have a soft spot for this film and decided to revisit it.

Plot: Married couple Susan and George Loomis (Sean Young and William Katt) are in the African jungle on the trail of an old legend locals call Mokele-Mbembe, "he whose body stops the flow of rivers" (which is an actual cryptid). It is here that they discover a mated pair of Brontosaurus and their infant. The Baby befriends the humans, who must now protect her and save her family from the greedy Dr. Eric Kiviat (Patrick McGoohan), backed by his hired army, who is out to catch them all.

Los Angeles Daily News referred to the movie as "A cross between RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and E.T." and that is an apt description. The tone and presentation are very much in line with those films with a mix of light-hearted moments and the action and edge of a classic adventure. Susan and George work fine as a couple with decent acting behind it, though the latter's sports career and initial conflict involving it are quickly forgotten about once the pair begin their journey. Dr. Kiviat is a good if standard villain; he'll do anything to catch the animals alive and will resort to every dirty tactic needed to do so. While many greed-driven baddies tend to be over-the-top, he's at least played straight. Baby is an endearing little troublemaker. Her cute interactions with the couple make me smile, and one scene involving her almost makes me cry. The dinosaurs are brought to life using a mix of men-in-suits and animatronics and, while not always convincing, they're look and move pretty good for the time with the adult Brontosaurs feeling like huge lumbering beasts and the African setting adds to their mystery and allure. There are decent action set pieces ranging from chases, fights, guns and explosions, and one of the dinosaurs smashing its way through a village. Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture) did the music, which sets the right mood for an adventure and setting like this.

I should note that the film does feature nudity. Many the African tribal woman are topless, which definitely conflicts with the PG rating. Again, the meaning of PG was quite different back then and to the film's credit these woman aren't sexualized in any way. From what I know, there are tribes in the real world that are like that. I've also heard a few people here complain about the blood, but while several people do die there's barely any bloodshed shown.

Honestly, "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend" is an underrated flick. Sure, its content is a bit at odds with its rating and it's not on the same level as "Jurassic Park" or some of the older films like "One Million Years B.C.", but it has its merits. Watching it today, it still holds up fairly in both narrative and presentation. Plus, I find Mokele-Mbembe to be one of the most interesting cryptids out there and would like to see more movies with it.

Underrated Kids' Classic Everyone here on IMDb seems to be beating this film to death just because it has poor acting, special effects, and a cheesy story! SO WHAT? It's a kids' movie!!! I saw this film when it first came out and loved it. You have to be a total SOB to let below average film making get in the way of enjoying this flick about lovable young scientists trying to save a cute baby dinosaur from poachers.

Don't take this film too seriously. Just relax and enjoy this movie with your kids! The plot: Newly wed scientists find dinosaurs alive and well in Africa. But of course there's an evil scientist Patrick McGoohan (Number 6) whom want to kill the dinosaurs and everyone who knows about them.

The scientific couple must save a baby dinosaur and join with a primitive African tribe to rescue the mother dino from captivity.

Like I said, don't take this film too seriously and keep in mind it's geared towards kids.

The folks at Disney must have realized somewhere down the road that the title "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend" was dumb, because when the movie aired on TV, the title was changed to "Dinosaur: Secret of the Lost Legend". However, a change in the title is not enough to save the movie. It's a pretty slow-moving movie, with significant padding here and there. While the movie was shot in Africa, a lot of the movie still looks like it was filmed on a Hollywood back lot. And while the dinosaurs look passable when seen at a distance, they look very phony when photographed close to the camera. (In fairness to director Bill L. Norton, he didn't think the special effects were ready, but Disney threatened to pull the plug on the project if filming didn't star promptly.) It's possible kids (YOUNG kids) might find this okay, but anyone older should be wary.

Some people are so obsessed with breasts. GET OVER IT! African women don't wear shirts, so why should movies that represent that culture shield anyone from it? Why is this country to sensitive to ethnic nudity? If you think it's too much for your children to see, then don't let them watch it, and most certainly keep them away from the Discovery™ channel, or any other channel that may deal with cultures in which nudity is seen as a sign of beauty and is perfectly natural. People need to stop being so sensitive. Get over it. As far as the movie goes, it's a wonderful story, and it will teach children about good and bad. Kids need to learn that the hero doesn't always rescue the damsel in distress and live happily ever after. It's easier to show them that through movies, that way when something in real life happens that they're not used to, they will be better equipped to handle it.