We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (film)
Encyclopedia
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (Also known as: Dinosaur's March in Japan
) is a 1993 American
animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg
's Amblimation
animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures
, and originally released to theaters on November 24, 1993 for the United States
. It was rated G by the MPAA
. Starring the voice talents of John Goodman
, Jay Leno
, Walter Cronkite
, Julia Child
, and Martin Short
.
It was based on the 1987 Hudson Talbott
children's book We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
, which was narrated from the perspective of the main character, a Tyrannosaurus rex
named Rex.
harassing their youngest sibling Buster (Blaze Berdahl
). As Buster leaves his family, he meets an intelligent golf-playing orange
Tyrannosaurus Rex named Rex (John Goodman
). Rex explains to Buster that he was once a "violent and stupid" dinosaur, and proceeds to tell the story of how he came to become what he is today.
Millions of years in the past, Rex was a savage and frightening creature who terrorized smaller dinosaurs—he is seen giving chase to a deinonychosaur. His rampage is interrupted when a futuristic aircraft arrives, and he is then greeted by a small green alien-like creature named Vorb (Jay Leno
) who feeds him "Brain Grain", a cereal that increases a dinosaur's intelligence. Rex is given his name and introduced to other dinosaurs that have been fed Brain Grain: Dweeb the green
Parasaurolophus
(Charles Fleischer
), Woog the blue
Triceratops
(Rene LeVant) and Elsa the lavender Pteranodon
(Felicity Kendal
) and later they meet Captain Neweyes (Walter Cronkite
), the inventor of the cereal and pilot of the aircraft. Neweyes then reveals his goal of allowing the children of the present time to see real dinosaurs, fulfilling their biggest wishes. He informs them that there are two people to watch for: Doctor Juliet Bleeb (Julia Child
), a scientist from the Museum of Natural History
who will aid the dinosaurs, and Professor Screweyes (Kenneth Mars
), Neweyes' insane twin brother. He instructs them to find Doctor Bleeb and avoid Professor Screweyes.
Neweyes drops the dinosaurs off at the Hudson River
where they meet a young raft-sailing boy named Louie (Joey Shea), who plans on literally running away to join the circus. Upon reaching New York City, Louie realizes that the citizens would panic if they saw live dinosaurs and, with the help of Elsa, flies over the city in search of a good hiding place. During the flight, Louie comes across a girl named Cecilia Nuthatch (Yeardley Smith
). Cecilia explains that her parents are hardly around (saying that her father is into business, and her mother is interested in sociality). Louie convinces Cecilia to abandon her home and introduces her to the dinosaurs (Louie and Cecilia then quickly develop an infatuation on each other).
When the dinosaurs explain their goal of getting to the Museum of Natural History, Louie decides to disguise them as floats
in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
. During the parade, Rex hears all the children wishing to see real dinosaurs, so he starts to sing "Roll Back the Rock (To the Dawn of Time)" (the movie's theme song). When the audience realizes that live dinosaurs are among them, they fly into a panic. The local authorities are called in to stop the dinosaurs, resulting in a slapstick-filled chase scene. As the dinosaurs lose the police, Louie and Cecilia venture to Central Park
, where Professor Screweyes is running his "Eccentric Circus
". Louie and Cecilia meet Professor Screweyes and cite their desire to join his circus. As they literally sign a contract in blood, the dinosaurs arrive and try to save them. Screweyes, upon meeting the dinosaurs, explains that he delights in scaring people and believes that the dinosaurs would make a great addition to his circus. He then reveals his very own "Brain Drain", the polar opposite of his brother's Brain Grain. He demonstrates the Brain Drain on Louie and Cecilia, devolving them into chimpanzees
as he makes the dinosaurs a deal: if the dinosaurs consume the Brain Drain and join his circus, he'd destroy the contract and release Louie and Cecilia; the dinosaurs reluctantly and sadly accept the offer. Believing that his friendship with Louie would be lost, Rex tells him and Cecilia to remember him.
As Louie and Cecilia return to their human forms and awake the next morning, they are greeted by a circus clown
named Stubbs (Martin Short
). Upon seeing the dinosaurs returned to their natural vicious states, Louie and Cecilia, with the help of Stubbs, plan to sneak into that night's show and save the dinosaurs. Everyone watching the show gets frightened during the performance, and Rex breaks loose after a crow lands on a highlight,causing the hypnotic effect to end, and tries to attack the evil fear lord, making the audience even more scared that they run away. However, Louie steps in and desperately tells the devolved Rex that it wouldn't be right to kill Screweyes. These impassioned pleas serve to return the dinosaurs to their friendly natures. Just then, Captain Neweyes arrives in his aircraft and congratulates Louie and Cecilia, who proceed to kiss in front of a whole crowd of people; simultaneously, Elsa tells Rex her true feelings towards him. After Stubbs arrives to resign from Professor Screweyes's employ, Captain Neweyes, Louie, Cecilia and the dinosaurs board the aircraft, leaving Screweyes to be devoured by the crows
that have been present throughout the movie. The dinosaurs spend the rest of their days in the Museum of Natural History, allowing children to see live dinosaurs. Meanwhile, Louie and Cecilia reconcile with their respective parents, and the two become a couple. Rex returns Buster to his family before returning to the Museum of National History.
Additional Voices by Nigel Pegram, Jessica Angelson, Zachary Ball, Barbara Barnes, Bendar Bashir, Catherine Battistone
, Michael Benz, Jamie Bolio, Cory Bonder, Dan Borek, Bill Capizzi
, Jim Carter, David Clark, Gillian Chat, Dixie Crespi, J. D. Daniels
, Sandra Dickinson
, Peter Elliott
, Lou Hirsch
, David Holt, Justin Isfeld, Marilyn Leubner, Jonathan McCracken, Jennifer Regan, Rick Richards, Liza Ross, Lindsay Schmidt, Jana Shelden, Aaron Teich, Matthew Teich, Shelley Thompson
, Dick Vosburgh
, Jessica Waite, James Watt, Jessica Wray, Eliza Yoder, Sarah Zilinski, Desiree Zondag, and Shannon Zondag.
in New York. Unfortunately, as the parade moved through Columbus Circle, high winds caught the Rex balloon and caused it to lift over the nearby sidewalk. The head of the Rex balloon struck a protruding street light and popped, but the rest of the dinosaur's body remained inflated until the end of the parade. There is also a time in which during the parade the dinosaurs passed a movie theater where the famous science fiction film Jurassic Park is displayed on a sign above the theater.
There was also a video game adaptation of the movie released for the SNES
, Sega Genesis and Game Boy
.
release was presented in its original widescreen
aspect ratio
. When the film was released on DVD
in some international countries, it was presented in the pan and scan
format. However, the widescreen version of the film was once available at Hulu
, but was removed. When the film was finally released for the first time ever on DVD on May 26, 2009, it was presented in anamorphic widescreen
, being Universal/Amblin's first (and so far, only) animated film to be presented in widescreen on a Region 1 DVD (although international DVD releases of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
and Balto
were presented in widescreen and some international DVD releases of An American Tail
were presented in widescreen), and also Universal's second animated film from the 1990s to be presented in widescreen on a Region 1 DVD (the first being Jetsons: The Movie
).
included the song "Roll Back the Rock (to the Dawn of Time)" by James Horner
and Thomas Dolby
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) is a 1993 American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Amblimation
Amblimation
Amblimation was the animation production arm of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and was active from 1989 until about 1997.The feature animation studio was located in London, England, UK...
animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, and originally released to theaters on November 24, 1993 for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was rated G by the MPAA
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
. Starring the voice talents of John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
, Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
, Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
, and Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
.
It was based on the 1987 Hudson Talbott
Hudson Talbott
Hudson Talbott is an American author and cartoonist, best known for his collection of children's books. He has written and illustrated over a dozen books, including O'Sullivan Stew, Tales of King Arthur and Forging Freedom, based on the story of Jaap Penraat...
children's book We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a 1987 children's book drawn and written by Hudson Talbott, and published by Dragonfly Books. A Tyrannosaurus rex named Rex is the main character and narrator...
, which was narrated from the perspective of the main character, a Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
named Rex.
Plot
The film opens with a trio of arrogant young bluebirdsEastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York....
harassing their youngest sibling Buster (Blaze Berdahl
Blaze Berdahl
Blaze Autumn Berdahl is an American Actress, Singer, Voice-over actor, Announcer, and Narrator. She is best known for her roles as Lenni Frazier in the children's television series Ghostwriter and Ellie Creed in the film Pet Sematary .-Early life:Berdahl was born in New York City, the youngest...
). As Buster leaves his family, he meets an intelligent golf-playing orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
Tyrannosaurus Rex named Rex (John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
). Rex explains to Buster that he was once a "violent and stupid" dinosaur, and proceeds to tell the story of how he came to become what he is today.
Millions of years in the past, Rex was a savage and frightening creature who terrorized smaller dinosaurs—he is seen giving chase to a deinonychosaur. His rampage is interrupted when a futuristic aircraft arrives, and he is then greeted by a small green alien-like creature named Vorb (Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
) who feeds him "Brain Grain", a cereal that increases a dinosaur's intelligence. Rex is given his name and introduced to other dinosaurs that have been fed Brain Grain: Dweeb the green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
Parasaurolophus
Parasaurolophus
Parasaurolophus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 76.5–73 million years ago. It was an herbivore that walked both as a biped and a quadruped. Three species are recognized: P. walkeri , P. tubicen, and the...
(Charles Fleischer
Charles Fleischer
Charles Fleischer is an American actor, stand-up comedian and voice artist.-Life and career:Fleischer was born in Washington, D.C. As a child, he is reported to have spent several summers at Kamp Kewanee in La Plume, Pennsylvania, where he started practicing his stand-up routine at age nine...
), Woog the blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
(Rene LeVant) and Elsa the lavender Pteranodon
Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
(Felicity Kendal
Felicity Kendal
Felicity Ann Kendal, CBE is an English actor known for her television and stage work.Born in 1946, Kendal spent much of her childhood in India, where her father managed a touring repertory company. First appearing on stage at the age of nine months, Kendal appeared in her first film, Shakespeare...
) and later they meet Captain Neweyes (Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
), the inventor of the cereal and pilot of the aircraft. Neweyes then reveals his goal of allowing the children of the present time to see real dinosaurs, fulfilling their biggest wishes. He informs them that there are two people to watch for: Doctor Juliet Bleeb (Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
), a scientist from the Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
who will aid the dinosaurs, and Professor Screweyes (Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars was an American television, movie, and voice actor. He may be best-remembered for his roles in several Mel Brooks films: the insane Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in 1968's The Producers, and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp in 1974's Young Frankenstein...
), Neweyes' insane twin brother. He instructs them to find Doctor Bleeb and avoid Professor Screweyes.
Neweyes drops the dinosaurs off at the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
where they meet a young raft-sailing boy named Louie (Joey Shea), who plans on literally running away to join the circus. Upon reaching New York City, Louie realizes that the citizens would panic if they saw live dinosaurs and, with the help of Elsa, flies over the city in search of a good hiding place. During the flight, Louie comes across a girl named Cecilia Nuthatch (Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
). Cecilia explains that her parents are hardly around (saying that her father is into business, and her mother is interested in sociality). Louie convinces Cecilia to abandon her home and introduces her to the dinosaurs (Louie and Cecilia then quickly develop an infatuation on each other).
When the dinosaurs explain their goal of getting to the Museum of Natural History, Louie decides to disguise them as floats
Float (parade)
A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Maltese Carnival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Key West Fantasy Fest parade, the...
in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
. During the parade, Rex hears all the children wishing to see real dinosaurs, so he starts to sing "Roll Back the Rock (To the Dawn of Time)" (the movie's theme song). When the audience realizes that live dinosaurs are among them, they fly into a panic. The local authorities are called in to stop the dinosaurs, resulting in a slapstick-filled chase scene. As the dinosaurs lose the police, Louie and Cecilia venture to Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, where Professor Screweyes is running his "Eccentric Circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
". Louie and Cecilia meet Professor Screweyes and cite their desire to join his circus. As they literally sign a contract in blood, the dinosaurs arrive and try to save them. Screweyes, upon meeting the dinosaurs, explains that he delights in scaring people and believes that the dinosaurs would make a great addition to his circus. He then reveals his very own "Brain Drain", the polar opposite of his brother's Brain Grain. He demonstrates the Brain Drain on Louie and Cecilia, devolving them into chimpanzees
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
as he makes the dinosaurs a deal: if the dinosaurs consume the Brain Drain and join his circus, he'd destroy the contract and release Louie and Cecilia; the dinosaurs reluctantly and sadly accept the offer. Believing that his friendship with Louie would be lost, Rex tells him and Cecilia to remember him.
As Louie and Cecilia return to their human forms and awake the next morning, they are greeted by a circus clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
named Stubbs (Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
). Upon seeing the dinosaurs returned to their natural vicious states, Louie and Cecilia, with the help of Stubbs, plan to sneak into that night's show and save the dinosaurs. Everyone watching the show gets frightened during the performance, and Rex breaks loose after a crow lands on a highlight,causing the hypnotic effect to end, and tries to attack the evil fear lord, making the audience even more scared that they run away. However, Louie steps in and desperately tells the devolved Rex that it wouldn't be right to kill Screweyes. These impassioned pleas serve to return the dinosaurs to their friendly natures. Just then, Captain Neweyes arrives in his aircraft and congratulates Louie and Cecilia, who proceed to kiss in front of a whole crowd of people; simultaneously, Elsa tells Rex her true feelings towards him. After Stubbs arrives to resign from Professor Screweyes's employ, Captain Neweyes, Louie, Cecilia and the dinosaurs board the aircraft, leaving Screweyes to be devoured by the crows
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
that have been present throughout the movie. The dinosaurs spend the rest of their days in the Museum of Natural History, allowing children to see live dinosaurs. Meanwhile, Louie and Cecilia reconcile with their respective parents, and the two become a couple. Rex returns Buster to his family before returning to the Museum of National History.
Voice cast
- John GoodmanJohn GoodmanJohn Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
as Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex - Blaze BerdahlBlaze BerdahlBlaze Autumn Berdahl is an American Actress, Singer, Voice-over actor, Announcer, and Narrator. She is best known for her roles as Lenni Frazier in the children's television series Ghostwriter and Ellie Creed in the film Pet Sematary .-Early life:Berdahl was born in New York City, the youngest...
as Buster - Rhea Perlman as Buster's mother
- Jay LenoJay LenoJames Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
as Vorb - Rene LeVant as Woog, TriceratopsTriceratopsTriceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
- Felicity KendalFelicity KendalFelicity Ann Kendal, CBE is an English actor known for her television and stage work.Born in 1946, Kendal spent much of her childhood in India, where her father managed a touring repertory company. First appearing on stage at the age of nine months, Kendal appeared in her first film, Shakespeare...
as Elsa, PteranodonPteranodonPteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over... - Charles FleischerCharles FleischerCharles Fleischer is an American actor, stand-up comedian and voice artist.-Life and career:Fleischer was born in Washington, D.C. As a child, he is reported to have spent several summers at Kamp Kewanee in La Plume, Pennsylvania, where he started practicing his stand-up routine at age nine...
as Dweeb, ParasaurolophusParasaurolophusParasaurolophus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 76.5–73 million years ago. It was an herbivore that walked both as a biped and a quadruped. Three species are recognized: P. walkeri , P. tubicen, and the... - Walter CronkiteWalter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
as Captain Neweyes - Joey Shea as Louie
- Julia ChildJulia ChildJulia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
as Doctor Juliet Bleeb - Kenneth MarsKenneth MarsKenneth Mars was an American television, movie, and voice actor. He may be best-remembered for his roles in several Mel Brooks films: the insane Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in 1968's The Producers, and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp in 1974's Young Frankenstein...
as Professor Screweyes - Yeardley SmithYeardley SmithYeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
as Cecilia Nuthatch - Martin ShortMartin ShortMartin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
as Stubbs the Clown - Larry KingLarry KingLawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
as Himself - Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as Deinonychosaur (Uncredited)
Additional Voices by Nigel Pegram, Jessica Angelson, Zachary Ball, Barbara Barnes, Bendar Bashir, Catherine Battistone
Catherine Battistone
Catherine Battistone is a voice actress who has provided voices for several anime titles and video games. She is also well-known for having done the voice of Alpha 6 in the 1997 Power Rangers series, Power Rangers: Turbo....
, Michael Benz, Jamie Bolio, Cory Bonder, Dan Borek, Bill Capizzi
Bill Capizzi
Bill Capizzi was a voice actor who is also known as Bill Capeze and Bill Kapezi. He was born in North Hollywood, California.-Anime:* Digimon Adventure - Frigimon* G-Force: Guardians of Space - Galactor...
, Jim Carter, David Clark, Gillian Chat, Dixie Crespi, J. D. Daniels
J. D. Daniels
J.D. Daniels is an American actor best known for playing Peter Mark in The Mighty Ducks and Ben in CB4. He is now attending Columbia University in New York City.-Biography:...
, Sandra Dickinson
Sandra Dickinson
Sandra Dickinson is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice in the UK – notably commencing in the St...
, Peter Elliott
Peter Elliott (actor)
Peter Elliott is a leading New Zealand actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows including Shortland Street, Gloss and Homeward Bound. He has also appeared in several movies including Heavenly Creatures.-Shortland Street:...
, Lou Hirsch
Lou Hirsch
Lou Hirsch is an actor, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, United States, and currently based in the United Kingdom. He studied at the University of Miami and The Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, UK, with future Star Trek actress Marina Sirtis...
, David Holt, Justin Isfeld, Marilyn Leubner, Jonathan McCracken, Jennifer Regan, Rick Richards, Liza Ross, Lindsay Schmidt, Jana Shelden, Aaron Teich, Matthew Teich, Shelley Thompson
Shelley Thompson
Shelley Thompson is a Canadian actress best known for her character Barbara Lahey on the hit Canadian mockumentary program Trailer Park Boys....
, Dick Vosburgh
Dick Vosburgh
Richard Kennedy "Dick" Vosburgh was an American-born comedy writer and lyricist working chiefly in Britain....
, Jessica Waite, James Watt, Jessica Wray, Eliza Yoder, Sarah Zilinski, Desiree Zondag, and Shannon Zondag.
Promotion
To promote the film's release, a giant helium balloon of Rex the T. Rex was included in the real-life 1993 Macy's Thanksgiving Day ParadeMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
in New York. Unfortunately, as the parade moved through Columbus Circle, high winds caught the Rex balloon and caused it to lift over the nearby sidewalk. The head of the Rex balloon struck a protruding street light and popped, but the rest of the dinosaur's body remained inflated until the end of the parade. There is also a time in which during the parade the dinosaurs passed a movie theater where the famous science fiction film Jurassic Park is displayed on a sign above the theater.
There was also a video game adaptation of the movie released for the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Sega Genesis and Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
.
Reception
The movie got mixed to negative reviews. It scored a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, and currently a 5.4/10 on IMDb.Home video release history
- March 16, 1994 (VHS and laserdisc)
- August 11, 1998 (VHS and laserdisc - Universal Family Features)
- May 26, 2009 (DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
)
Aspect ratio
The laserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
release was presented in its original widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
. When the film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in some international countries, it was presented in the pan and scan
Pan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...
format. However, the widescreen version of the film was once available at Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
, but was removed. When the film was finally released for the first time ever on DVD on May 26, 2009, it was presented in anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen...
, being Universal/Amblin's first (and so far, only) animated film to be presented in widescreen on a Region 1 DVD (although international DVD releases of An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An American Tail, and the fourth installment in terms of the series' fictional chronology...
and Balto
Balto
Balto was a Siberian Husky sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nenana, Alaska, by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. The run is commemorated by the...
were presented in widescreen and some international DVD releases of An American Tail
An American Tail
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
were presented in widescreen), and also Universal's second animated film from the 1990s to be presented in widescreen on a Region 1 DVD (the first being Jetsons: The Movie
Jetsons: The Movie
Jetsons: The Movie is a 1990 animated science fiction film produced by Hanna-Barbera and released on July 6, 1990, by Universal Pictures based on the hit cartoon series, The Jetsons . The movie features the final voice roles of George O'Hanlon and Mel Blanc who both died during production of the film...
).
Soundtrack
This soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
included the song "Roll Back the Rock (to the Dawn of Time)" by James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
and Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
.
Soundtrack album track listing
- Main Title (Primeval Times) – 4:14
- Flying Forward in Time (AKA Vorb Met Rex) – 5:48
- Welcome to New York – 2:26
- First Wish, First Flight – 3:48
- A Hint of Trouble (The Contact) – 1:49
- Roll Back the Rock (to the Dawn of Time): performed by John GoodmanJohn GoodmanJohn Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
– 2:55 - Grand Slam Demons – 2:05
- Hot Pursuit – 3:18
- Central Park – 1:21
- Screweyes' Circus (Opening Act) – 1:12
- Circus – 2:29
- Fright Radio (Rex's Sacrifice) – 6:19
- Grandparent Demon Parade – 7:39
- The Kids Wake Up (A New Day) – 2:57
- The Transformation – 5:30
- Special Visitors to the Museum of Natural History – 2:12
- Roll Back the Rock (to the Dawn of Time): performed by Little RichardLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
– 2:56