Review by Darrin

Quick summary: Walking With Dinosaurs is fine for pre-teens in general. Teens and adult dinosaur enthusiasts should opt for the version without the voiceovers. Non-dinogeeks can probably pass altogether, or maybe put the dialogue-free version in their Netflix queue.

Despite my misgivings that Fox Home Entertainment’s Walking With Dinosaurs would be essentially a reboot of Disney's Dinosaur (albeit, with a much cooler species in the lead role), I was at least looking forward to seeing how much farther the CGI had come in recent years. It turns out, not that much farther. While much of the motion of the dinosaurs seemed flawless and completely natural, and very well blended with the live-action shots, there were still plenty of instances when the computers showed their weakness, enough to distract from the viewing. The slightly unrealistic motion in some scenes was unsettling in the way a slightly out-of-sync vocal track can be — it's not obvious, but you find yourself bothered by it.

On the plus side, the animals in this film were absolutely beautiful in their detail, right down to the individual scales or feathers. Even their vocalizations (the natural kind) were impressive. In fact, I found myself craving the option to mute the actors' voiceovers and just listen to the animals' sounds as they reacted to their environment.

Speaking of the dialogue, I feel the studio's choice to include it just served to narrow the audience for this movie to children under 10. It says a little something about a movie when it includes not one, not two, but three poop jokes. Or maybe it says something about the choice to add voiceovers, considering two of the jokes would not appear without them. Dipping into the same well so often should have been a clear indication that the dialogue was unnecessary and even forced, pandering to the less imaginative viewers in an attempt to boost sales. I think that cynical approach was a mistake, as the movie does a wonderful job of introducing various dinosaur species and presenting an interesting world without the cartoonish yaddering. The studio announced a version without the voices, and I suspect this will raise the appeal of the movie and widen the audience significantly. I'd recommend opting for this “Cretaceous Cut” for a more realistic and, frankly, interesting take on the concept.

My final take (Buy It vs Rent It vs Skip It) — Rent It (but only if you’re into dinosaurs).

Walking With Dinosaurs is out on DVD and Blu-ray and can be purchased on Amazon.