Movie Review: Walking With Dinosaurs 3D (2013)

Hey guys, just got back from Nuffnang's Premiere Screening of Walking with Dinosaurs thanks to Ben (who can't make it due to work) and here I am posting up a review! :p

Synopsis: The story is set 70 million years ago in Alaska, high in the Arctic. Each year, the long dark winters – three months of perpetual darkness and violent snow storms – drive the dinosaurs southwards in their thousands on a great annual migration. Amongst the spectacle, we travel with Patchi, a strange but endearing Pachyrhinosaurus with a large frill and horns.
 
From the moment he is born as the smallest hatchling, Patchi must survive competitive brothers and sisters, a wild and unpredictable world and fierce predators like the wily Troodon and monstrous Gorgosaurus. Witness to the devastating death of his father at the teeth of a Gorgosaurus, Patchi teams up with his brother Scowler and female friend Juniper. They muddle along with the great migration in a series of hair-raising but humorous adventures until finally they reach the wintering grounds and are reunited with their families. But Patchi is separated from his sweetheart Juniper, who he does not meet again till adulthood. By now she has paired up with Patchi’s older brother Scowler, who becomes his greatest rival.

Patchi, even as an adult, remains the smallest; the underdog, alone on the fringes of the herd. But on the migration back to the nesting grounds he proves himself through courage and a collaborative nature and the females begin to follow him, which only intensifies the rivalry with his bigger brother. In a climactic finale, he rescues his reckless rival from a Gorgosaurus pack and wins recognition as the most deserving leader of the herd and admiration from Juniper. He was never the largest or toughest dinosaur but he’s shown that survival of the fittest can mean far more than just being the biggest or strongest.

From the first time I saw the trailer, it didn't really interest me as it looked more like a documentary and not something that I would want to sit through for 1.5 hours. But when the second trailer came out and it showed that it had a semblance of a story and plot, my curiosity was piqued. I mean, talking dinosaurs? lol definitely count me in!

Verdict: 6/10. The 3D effect was great, and the cinematics and animation was awesome. BUT.......the storyline was super weak. I felt that they could do more with the story, and introduce more characters than just the few that were in the movie. I mean, where were all the more well known dinosaurs like the T-Rex, of Bronchiosaurus? I really felt that you could develop more of the character, and it's a little silly how Patchi's pompous brother suddenly becomes repentant almost in the course of one day.

Oh and I couldn't understand why they needed a Latino narrator..probably because they felt it would be humourous (which is, at some parts, but after a while it felt forced).

BUT all these aside, I think you should go watch this movie in 3D for the effects. The 3D effects are definitely good, so if you like 3D animations, do go for it :)

Til the next time, stay beautiful!

xoxo,

yin