Dinosaurus!

A group of Americans come to a remote island to find minerals only to uncover dinosaurs from the bed of the ocean with underwater explosives. Not only do they find two frozen and incredibly intact dinosaurs millions of years old, but they also find a million year old caveman. The premise is by itself somewhat plausible, but when you add trite and inept dialogue, some of the worst acting imaginable, cheap dinosaur effects, and one ridiculous caveman you have one funny picture. Dinosaurus will leave you in stitches if you appreciate badly made films. The dinosaurs themselves really are not that bad, but the acting....the acting...is on par with something found in an H. G. Lewis picture. Almost no one has any acting savvy whatsoever. The best actor in the film is a young teenage boy who befriends the caveman and the brontosaurus. Once again the T-Rex is the bad one, chasing anything that moves across the island.

I have an emotional attachment to this movie, as it was the first movie I ever went to a theater to see. As a six year old living in Fairbanks, Alaska, I begged my mother to take me to see this move about my childhood passion, dinosaurs. Thirty years later, I stumbled across a copy of this film at a video store and purchased it. I was surprised to find that, despite the rather unrealistic dinosaur animation, the movie holds up pretty well. Although much criticism has been directed against the leads in this film, Wayne Treadway as Dumpy ("Dinosaurus!"), Jack Younger as Jasper (Jasper: "Well, we're looking for a caveman, right? So, I think we ought to look in a cave!" Hacker: "Very good, Jasper, I had no idea you were an anthropologist." Jasper: "Not a very good one, boss. I haven't been to church in years.") and Gregg Martell as the Neanderthal Man turn in excellent performances in supporting roles. Martell, especially, combines comedy and pathos in his portrayal of a man caught out of his time but still very much a human being. The scene where Julio (Alan Roberts) rides the back of his pet brontosaurus thrilled me and the final battle between the T-Rex and the steam shovel gave me nightmares for years. How many good movies can you say that about?

I admit it, I am a fan of stop motion animation. It can be excellent or hideous but if it's stop motion I am so there! I was first attracted to this movie when I was very young because it had dinosaurs in it (yes it had a caveman too but he was secondary to me).

Anyway, so why is this particular movie forever tied to my birthday? Therein lies a tale. 20 July 1969 will be forever remembered as the day Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. That day was also my 5th birthday and I was watching DINOSAURUS in my room on my 12 inch b/w TV. Just at the scene where the mortally wounded Brontosaurus lumbers into the quicksand the movie faded out for a commercial break. Then it cut to the TV newsroom where they were talking about the landing on the Moon. My uncle came into my room to ask if I was watching the news and I said "No, I'm waiting for the movie to come back on."

This made him start talking about how history was being made and I should be proud I could see this moment live and so on. Okay so to-0day I am aware of how important it was but back then I was 5 years old and this was a movie that had DINOSAURS in it for cryin' out loud! Let's just say my priorities were a lot different back then.

When the movie finally came back on I was as happy as could be and it had my undivided attention all the way to the end.

Now I make it a point to watch this movie every year on my birthday and at the scene where the Brontosaurus dies I cannot help but think about the first Moon landing. Curious how completely unrelated memories somehow get joined together isn't it?

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean this is a bad film....quite the contrary, in my humble opinion. Sure, the story has some huge holes, but don't you watch a film to be entertained and just to let yourself relax without the need to think every minute? This film is definitely right up your alley, if you enjoy dinosaurs and stop-motion animation.

Basically, this is the story of a construction crew that finds the bodies of a T-Rex, Brontosaurus and caveman frozen in the waters off a tropical island. With the help of lightning, the beasties and the caveman are brought back among the living and the remainder of the story is all the action that takes place when you place three pre-historics out of their element. Good clean fun, some decent stop-animation effects and a great way to spend an afternoon.

I must confess that I, a middle-aged "adult," learned a valuable life lesson from the juvenile film "Dinosaurus." That lesson is, if you're ever building a harbor on a Caribbean island, and dredge up a perfectly preserved T. Rex and brontosaurus from below the ocean floor, do NOT leave them lying on the beach during a thunderstorm, as a freak bolt of lightning may revive them and lead to all sorts of trouble. Yes, that's just what happens in this cute little film, with the added attraction of a grunting, Alley Oop-like caveman getting revived as well. This Neanderthal is basically used for comedic effect, especially when he invades a modern house on the island and runs afoul of waxed fruit, mirrors and up-to-date plumbing. Gregg Martell, I must say, is perfectly cast as this confused misfit. Less impressive, however, are the two dinosaurs. This is no "Jurassic Park" or Ray Harryhausen movie, and the creature FX are unconvincing; a serious suspension of disbelief will be required for adult viewers. The kiddies should just eat this one up, though. There's a cute little boy character for them to sympathize with (he befriends the bronto, and even rides atop him!); one, fortunately, who's not overly annoying for older viewers. The bottom line is that "Dinosaurus" is good, goofy fun; put your brain on hold and enjoy it, preferably with your kids or your young nephew. Oh...as for that title, it's what one of the characters, Dumpy(!), yells when the T. Rex approaches. Don't ask me why.