Disney unleashes Dino magic

Dinosaur uses landmark computer graphics

History is in the making at the UK box office this weekend as Walt Disney's technically groundbreaking new movie Dinosaur goes on general release.

The prehistoric feature pushes the boundaries of computer-generated animation to tell the story of the dinosaurs' quest for survival when a comet crash lands on Earth.

Taking six years to make and reportedly costing $200m (£136m), the PG-rated movie is the most expensive film ever made.

Disney, however, say the money is already proving well spent. The pioneering new technology developed for Dinosaur has already been put to good use on new film projects.

Young children may find some scenes very frightening

The film seamlessly blends digitally enhanced live-action photography, special-effects wizardry, and computer-generated characters to bring the prehistoric past to life.

It is made up of 1,300 special effects shots and took 3.2 million computer processing hours.

Talking dinosaurs

Unlike the BBC's hit series Walking with Dinosaurs, Disney has talking characters, voiced by a host of respected actors including Dame Joan Plowright and ER's Julianna Margulies.

The central character is Aladar, an Iguanodon dinosaur, separated from his own species as a hatchling, and adopted by a troupe of lemurs.

As the dinosaurs struggle for survival, Aladar is pitted against Kron, as they argue over whether to stick together or depend on survival of the fittest.

Critical reactions to the film have been mixed, with some reviewers saying spectacular effects cannot make up for the poor script.

The dialogue is cute 'n' crude, coarse 'n' crass

Alexander Walker

"The dialogue is so cute 'n' crude, so coarse 'n' crass, that there's an overall loss of visual awe," said Alexander Walker, film critic of the Evening Standard.

Another concern raised is the film's violence given its young target audience.

The Cretaceous period - in which Dinosaur is set - may be a dangerous world in which predators are constantly in search of prey.

But some critics believe very young children will be upset by gruesome scenes of dinosaurs attacking and eating each other alive.