A South Korean/US animated tale, this mixes time travel with dinosaurs. Sounds great, huh? Unfortunately, it’s not the exciting prehistoric sci-fi adventure it could have been, thanks to some slow pacing, slim plot and a really annoying central character.
The little brat in question is Ernie, whom we first meet living in a dinosaur-themed town where he ignores his mother’s rules, argues with his sister Julie and seems to think breaking and entering is an acceptable pastime. It’s on one of his almost-illegal adventures that he, Julie and Ernie’s friend Max find themselves inside an egg-shaped machine that transports them back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. When the egg opens, the first face they see is of a kindly Tyrannosaurus Rex (Griffith) who thinks they are her just-hatched babies, but while she wants to care for them, the three kids are intent on getting back to their own time without being eaten first.
While there are some slick chase scenes, and the nicely creepy threat from two lurking lizards (voiced by Baldwin brothers Stephen and William), this never quite gets going, partly due to the annoying moments when Ernie talks to the camera, breaking any tension, and also because much of the film is laugh-free. One for dinosaur-obsessed kids only.
Is Dino Time suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
The children are occasionally in danger but there should be nothing scary here for the over-5s.
If you like this, why not try: The Land Before Time, Ice Age, Dinosaur, Alpha And Omega, The Croods,