Dinosaur theme animated films and television shows have always been beloved by audiences around the world. These dinosaur-themed animated films and television shows have become part of the worldview of generations of people, and have instilled positive values such as “daring to face difficulties,” “overcoming difficulties,” “kindness,” and “courage” in younger viewers.
Here we specifically recommend 12 dinosaur-themed animated films and television shows with positive values. These works are especially suitable for children.
Information Board:
#1. Extreme Dinosaurs
#2. The Flintstones
#3. Denver, the Last Dinosaur
#4. The Good Dinosaur
#5. Dinosaur
#6. Dinopaws
#7. Dinotrux
#8. The Land Before Time
#9. Gigantosaurus
#10. Gertie the Dinosaur
#11. Dinosaur Train
#12. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
1. Extreme Dinosaurs
Extreme Dinosaurs
Extreme Dinosaurs is an American animated series produced by DIC Productions, L.P. and Bohbot Entertainment in 1997 based on a 1996 toy line from Mattel. This show is a spin-off of Street Sharks (where they first appeared as the Dino Vengers).
The show is in the same vein as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jurassic Park. Extreme Dinosaurs was broadcast in syndication as part of Bohbot Entertainment’s Bohbot Kids Network block where it aired for one season in 1997. The show was cancelled after 52 episodes
Plot:
The series starred a Tyrannosaurus, a Triceratops, a Stegosaurus, and a Pteranodon that were transformed into super warriors by an inter-dimensional criminal named Argor Zardok. They rebelled against the alien criminal and battle with Argor’s second group of warriors known as the evil Raptors. Eventually, the Raptors’ objective is to cause global warming by increasing the Earth’s temperature to suit themselves, not caring the humans shall suffer from global warming.
2. The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It was originally broadcast on ABC from September 30, 1960, to April 1, 1966 as the first animated series with a prime-time slot on television, as well as the first animated sitcom. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the lives of the titular Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their pet dinosaur, Dino, along with the saber-toothed cat Baby Puss, and Fred and Wilma’s eventual baby girl Pebbles. It also focuses on the Flintstones’ neighbors and best friends Barney and Betty Rubble, and later their adopted baby boy Bamm-Bamm and pet hopparoo (kangaroo) Hoppy.
Plot:
The show is set in a comical, romanticized version of the Stone Age, with features and technologies that resemble mid-20th-century suburbia in the United States. The plots deliberately resemble the sitcoms of the era, with the caveman Flintstone and Rubble families getting into minor conflicts characteristic of modern life. The show is set in the Stone Age town of Bedrock (pop. 2,500), where dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures are portrayed as co-existing with cavepeople, saber-toothed cats, woolly rhinoceroses, and woolly mammoths.
Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman considers that the series partly draws its humor from anachronism, mainly the placing of a “modern” 20th-century society in prehistory which takes inspiration from the suburban sprawl developed in the first two decades of the postwar period. This society has modern home appliances which work by employing animals. It also has automobiles, but they mostly do not resemble the cars of the 20th century, as they are large wooden and rock structures powered by people who run while inside them. This depiction varies according to the needs of the story; on some occasions, the cars appear to have engines, requiring ignition keys and some representation of gasoline. Fred might pull into a gas station and say, “Fill ‘er up with Ethel”, which is pumped through the trunk of a woolly mammoth marked “ETHEL”. As well, the stone houses of this society are cookie-cutter homes positioned into neighborhoods typical of mid-20th-century American suburbs.
3. Denver, the Last Dinosaur
Denver, the Last Dinosaur
Denver, the Last Dinosaur is an American-French animated series produced by World Events Productions and Groupe IDDH. It was nationally syndicated throughout the United States in 1988 with reruns airing until 1990. In the show, a dinosaur hatches from a petrified egg in the modern era, and is befriended by a group of teenagers. Episodes often focused on issues of conservation, ecology, and greed.
Plot:
The show revolves around Denver, the eponymous last dinosaur, who was released from his egg by a group of California teens: Jeremy, Mario, Shades, and Wally. The kids taught Denver the finer points of skateboarding and other pastimes while protecting him from rock concert promoter Morton Fizzback who wanted to use the dinosaur to make money.
The series begins when Jeremy, while preparing for his Natural History test, and his friends visit the La Brea Tar Pits – a place in Los Angeles which contains a large collection of extinct animal and plant fossils – and go to the Museum there. At the museum, the friends encounter a gang of bullies led by Nick. The friends escape the bullies by hiding behind a fence near the tar pits. Behind the fence they find a pit that contains a large prehistoric egg. As the friends are playing with the egg, it suddenly cracks and a green friendly dinosaur emerges who understands English. The kids name him Denver after they spot an advertisement for the city of Denver on a passing bus.
The teens decide to keep Denver and to keep his existence a secret. Denver is first hidden in a pool house at Wally’s home. After Wally’s sister Heather discovers Denver, they move Denver to the old school gym with help from Casey. After a while, Denver gets kidnapped by the manager Morton Fizzback, who puts Denver on a stage in front of an audience to become rich.
4. The Good Dinosaur
The Good Dinosaur
The Good Dinosaur is a 2015 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn and written by Meg LeFauve, who also wrote the film’s story with Sohn, Bob Peterson, Kelsey Mann, and Erik Benson. It stars the voices of Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Steve Zahn, Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, A. J. Buckley, Jeffrey Wright, and Frances McDormand. The film explores an alternate history where non-avian dinosaurs never became extinct, following a young, timid Apatosaurus named Arlo (Ochoa) living on a farm with his family, who meets an unlikely human friend named Spot (Bright) while traveling through a dangerous and mysterious landscape in order to return home, after being washed downriver.
Plot:
In an alternate history, the asteroid that would have caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event passes harmlessly by the Earth, resulting in many animals surviving, including Dinosaurs. Millions of years later, Apatosaurus farmers Henry and Ida have three children: Libby, Buck, and Arlo. While his siblings successfully complete hard tasks and are allowed to “make their mark” (a mud-print) on the family’s corn silo, Arlo struggles due to his weaker physique and timid nature. Hoping to boost Arlo’s confidence, Henry tasks Arlo with guarding the silo from thieving creatures, and watching the “critter trap” set nearby. The trap captures a feral caveboy, but Arlo cannot bring himself to kill him and sets him free. Frustrated, Henry orders Arlo to follow him into a ravine to track the caveboy down, but they turn back home when a severe thunderstorm begins. Henry saves Arlo’s life from a flash flood, but is killed by debris.
Without his father, Arlo shoulders more of the workload. He spots the same caveboy robbing the silo; blaming the caveboy for Henry’s death, Arlo chases him into the river, and both of them are washed miles downstream. Arlo is knocked unconscious, and awakens to find himself far from home with the caveboy, who ignores Arlo’s initial annoyance and tries to bring him food. Arlo warms up to the caveboy after he saves him from a vicious snake-like creature; this feat impresses Forrest Woodbush, an eccentric Styracosaurus who decides he wants the caveboy for a pet. He forces Arlo to compete with him to give the boy a name he will respond to, and Arlo wins the game when he calls the boy “Spot”. Arlo and Spot bond as they follow the riverbank back towards the farm. One night, Arlo laments his lost family, and Spot reveals that his own parents are both dead.
5. Dinosaur
Dinosaur Iguanodon
Dinosaur is a 2000 American live-action animated adventure film directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton and written by John Harrison, Robert Nelson Jacobs, and Walon Green. Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and The Secret Lab, it stars the voices of D. B. Sweeney, Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Max Casella, Hayden Panettiere, Samuel E. Wright, Julianna Margulies, Peter Siragusa, Joan Plowright, and Della Reese. The film follows a young Iguanodon (Sweeney) who was adopted and raised by a family of lemurs on a tropical island. They are forced to the mainland by a catastrophic meteorite impact; setting out to find a new home, they join a herd of dinosaurs heading for the “Nesting Grounds”, but must contend with the group’s harsh leader, as well as external dangers such as predatory Carnotaurus.
Plot:
A Carnotaurus ambushes a herd of dinosaurs and tramples an Iguanodon nest. One surviving Iguanodon egg journeys to a tropical island inhabited by prehistoric lemurs by the flight of a Pterosaur. Plio, the daughter of lemur patriarch Yar, names the newly-hatched baby Aladar and raises him alongside her daughter Suri, despite Yar’s initial objections.
Years later, an adult Aladar watches the lemurs take part in a mating ritual, where Plio’s teenage brother Zini fails to attract a mate. Moments after the ritual ends, a colossal asteroid crashes into the sea, releasing explosive shockwaves and fire clouds that destroy the island. Aladar and Yar’s family flee and swim to the mainland, mourning for the loss of all lemurs before moving inland.
6. Dinopaws
Dinopaws
Three very inquisitive dinosaurs are on a mighty mission to go everywhere that can be gone, see everything that can be seen, feel everything that can be felt, and do everything that can be done! Join bold, brave and resourceful Gwen, Bob and Tony on their epic journey of discovery as they begin to understand the special planet they live on.
7. Dinotrux
Dinotrux
Dinotrux is an American animated television series based on Chris Gall’s series of books by the same name. It features a fictional prehistoric world inhabited by hybrid characters that are part animal and part machine. Originally DreamWorks Animation had the intention to develop a film, but later decided to create a television series. From season six and onwards, it was known as Dinotrux Supercharged. The show was later removed from Netflix, and a birthday celebration spinoff short was also removed months later.
Plot:
In the world of Dinotrux, the creatures usually stay in herds within their species, or by themselves. They do not build structures either. However, the Dinotrux, which are machines modeled after dinosaurus, Ty-Rux, Dozer, Skya, and Ton–Ton work together with reptools, reptiles modeled after mechanical tools, Revvit, Click–Clack, Waldo, and Ace, to encourage cooperation and construction. To build, or repair, their projects they need various materials. This results in the crew going to different fictional locations. While journeying, they meet new trux and trux species. Some of these are friendly, while others are hostile towards the protagonists. D-Structs, the show’s main antagonist, tries to destroy their cooperation and their buildings. This results in them using the help of other characters, outside of the main cast, to defeat him. Although he had initially despised teamwork, D-Structs reluctantly works with other trux in the later seasons, in an attempt to use the other trux to defeat the main protagonists.
8. The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a franchise consisting of American animated adventure family films centered around dinosaurs, including a theatrical movie, various straight-to-home video sequels, and a spin-off TV series. Based on an original story by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and distributed by Universal Pictures, the franchise began in 1988 with the eponymous film, directed and produced by Don Bluth and executive produced by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
Plot:
The films follow the friendship of a group of young reptiles (four dinosaurs and a pterosaur) named Littlefoot (a male Apatosaurus), Cera (a female Triceratops), Ducky (a female Saurolophus), Petrie (a male Pteranodon), and Spike (a male Stegosaurus). After finding the Great Valley, they raise a carnivorous baby (a male Tyrannosaurus whom they name Chomper), survive a drought, a cold snap, and witness a solar eclipse. Throughout the films they embark on adventures, learning lessons about life, teamwork, and friendship along the way.
9. Gigantosaurus
Gigantosaurus
Gigantosaurus is an animated preschool series created by Franck Salomé, Nicolas Sedel, Fernando Worcel and directed by Olivier Lelardoux based on the book by Jonny Duddle. The series is a co-production between the French animation studio Cyber Group Studios and Kaibou, with animation done by Canadian studio Blue Spirit Studio, with participation from Disney Channel and France Télévisions, and support from other Canadian companies.
Plot:
Based on the bestselling book by Jonny Duddle and publisher Templar, the series follows four curious young dinosaur friends named Rocky, Bill, Tiny, and Mazu as they go on adventures and learn about the titular dinosaur from the book the series is based on, the biggest, fiercest dinosaur of all: Gigantosaurus.
10. Gertie the Dinosaur
Gertie The Dinosaur
Gertie the Dinosaur is an animated short film released in 1914 by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It is the first animated film to feature a dinosaur. McCay initially presented the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act; the frisky, childlike Gertie performed tricks at her master’s command. McCay’s employer William Randolph Hearst curtailed his vaudeville activities, prompting McCay to add a live-action introductory sequence to the film for its theatrical release, which was renamed Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist, and Gertie. McCay abandoned a sequel, Gertie on Tour (c. 1921), after producing about a minute of footage.
Plot:
Gertie the Dinosaur is the earliest animated film to feature a dinosaur. Its star, Gertie, performs tricks much like a trained elephant. She is animated in a naturalistic style unprecedented for the time: she breathes rhythmically, shifts her weight as she moves, and her abdominal muscles undulate as she draws water. McCay imbued her with a personality—while friendly, she could be capricious, ignoring or rebelling against her master’s commands.
11. Dinosaur Train
Dinosaur Train
Dinosaur Train is an animated children’s television series aimed at children ages 3 to 6 and created by Craig Bartlett, who also created Nickelodeon’s Hey Arnold!. The series is centered on a young anthropomorphic orange Tyrannosaurus rex named Buddy who, together with a family of Pteranodons, takes the Dinosaur Train to explore the Mesozoic, and has adventures with a variety of dinosaurs. It is produced by The Jim Henson Company, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (formerly the Media Development Authority), Sparky Animation, FableVision, Snee-Oosh, Inc., and Tail Waggin’ Productions in association with Reel FX and Sea to Sky Entertainment. A film based on the series for Universal Pictures and Universal 1440 Entertainment titled, Dinosaur Train: Adventure Island premiered on April 12, 2021.
Plot:
The show is set in a whimsical prehistoric world of jungles, swamps, active volcanoes, and oceans, all filled with dinosaur and other prehistoric animal life, connected by a railroad served by an eponymous passenger train, the Dinosaur Train. Its passenger cars can accommodate dinosaurs of all kinds: windows accommodate long-necked sauropods, there is headroom in the Observation Car for the larger theropods, and the AquaCar is an aquarium for sea-going passengers. The train itself is run by Troodons, being one of the smartest dinosaurs in this fictional universe. The Dinosaur Train circles the whole world, crossing oceans and inland seas, with stops to visit undersea prehistoric animals. It can travel through the entire Mesozoic Era, the “Age of Dinosaurs”, passing through magical Time Tunnels to the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous time periods.
12. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a 2009 American animated adventure comedy film and the third installment in the Ice Age film series following Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006). Produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios, it was directed by Carlos Saldanha, and written by Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman, Mike Reiss, and Yoni Brenner. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Josh Peck, Seann William Scott and Queen Latifah reprise their roles from the previous two films, with Simon Pegg joining the cast. In the film, while Manny and Ellie are preparing for their baby, Sid the Sloth is kidnapped by a female Tyrannosaurus after stealing her eggs, leading the rest of the herd to rescue him in a tropical lost world inhabited by dinosaurs underneath the ice.
Plot:
Twenty-two months after the events of the second film, Ellie is pregnant, making Manny desperate to make life safe for both her and their upcoming child, not wanting them to meet the same fate as his previous wife and child. However, Manny’s desperation alienates Diego, who contemplates leaving the herd, feeling like he’s losing his hunter instincts. On the other hand, Sid becomes anxious about being abandoned, leading him to discover three apparently abandoned eggs underground that he decides to adopt. Manny tells Sid to return the eggs, but Sid ignores him and looks after them, hatching into baby Tyrannosaurs the following day.
Although Sid tries his best to raise the dinosaurs, their rambunctious behavior scares away the younger animals and destroys the playground Manny built for his child, angering Manny. The mother Tyrannosaurus, whose eggs Sid took, arrives. When Sid refuses to return her children, she carries both Sid and her children underground. The two mammoths and possums follow them, discovering that the icy cave leads to a vast subterranean lost world populated by dinosaurs. After escaping a territorial Ankylosaurus and reuniting with Diego, they are surrounded by more dinosaurs, but are saved by a one-eyed weasel named Buck.
Summarize
The 12 internationally acclaimed dinosaur-themed animated series mentioned above are excellent choices for children and help instill positive values. The characters, dinosaurs, landscapes, and structures featured in these shows can all be recreated in the real world.
