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Walking with Dinosaurs

Walking with Dinosaurs

List Price: $29.98
Your Price: $23.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome series...
Review: I'm a big fan of dinosaurs since I was little, so I found this series to be really cool. I liked the graphics it made me say "Woah! " a few times. The DVD version is sold in two disks and the second disk is the making of "Walking With the Dinosaurs". It is really neat to see how they made this, and they put some additional dino animation which I thought was clever and funny. The first disk has a cute menu screen and it presents the dinosaurs and other animals in the land, sea, and air during three different time periods. Although I have a problem with the theory that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, I do dismiss this because it is the popular view point and the series is based on the 'popular theory'. Anyway, I do have to admit that the "Jurassic Park" dinosaurs seemed more real to me than the dinosaurs in this presentation, but I still liked it and would recommend it to anyone interested in walking with the dinosaurs.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Reality Of Prehistoric Life
Review: This video is fascinating, informative, capturing the imagination. Putting you back with the beasts of early life on Earth, going back to before the real Dinosaurs to the ancient reptilian life, this video is one of my favorites. This has an
educated touch. Buy it and enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: We love it!
Review: My 7 year old son has checked this video out from the library more than once and really loves the action and information. It keeps his attention each time he watches it. We are ordering the DVD for him for Christmas - he has it on his list!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Best 'Dinomentry' Ever
Review: With 230 minutes and bonus features this two disc set is a must if you enjoyed any of the other "Walking With..." series. From the very first dinosaur to to the very last, the show explores the changes to the world and evolution of the dinosaurs to keep up. Frankly, two of the shows don't even FOCUS on dinosaurs, but on the sea reptiles and the flying reptiles. It could of used more dinosaurs.
There is a 50 minute "Making Of" documentary in the second disc and about 29 minutes of behind-the-scenes picture-in-picture footage spread through-out the first disc. The behind-the-scenes footage tells you how they did the effects, why they picked certain locations and why they made the dinosaurs do what they did. Some of the behind-the-scenes footage is also shown in the "Making Of", so there is some overlap.
Interesting, but much of the information was already well known and covered by older shows or children's books. And, yes, lots of babies seem to die. A lot. THAT is nature, but maybe not something younger viewers should be exposed to in so many scenes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just phenomenal; as real as any animal documentary ever made
Review: We bought this for my (almost) 5 year-old son who has already forgotten more about dinosaurs than I'll ever know. I have worked in the elearning world with programmers who make 3-D animations of industrial equipment, and I have to say I am just amazed at the quality of the work in this series. The dinosaurs just plain look like they are alive today. It looks as real as if they were shooting elephants in Africa.

PROS
* Presented in story style of real animal documentaries: Each of the six episodes follows a small number of dinosaurs for a period of time; we learn about their relationships with each other and their environmental struggles

* "Making of" bonus DVD is a treat for older viewers interested in seeing how the episodes were made. THERE WAS A LOT OF INTERACTION WITH PALEONTOLOGISTS DURING THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS THAT ADDS TONS OF CREDIBILITY AND REALISM TO THE END PRODUCT.

* Animations as real (or better) than Jurassic Park

* Comprehensive focus on different periods (Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous) of the dinosaurs and wonderful background on the different climates and geology of these periods

PURCHASING RECOMMENDATION
Anyone, young or old, with an interest in dinosaurs should get this. There may be some parts that frighten young viewers, so parents should screen it first and be with kids during the kids' first viewing. BUT THIS IS PHENOMENALLY ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL FOR EVERYONE.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superb but quite graphic
Review: We bought this DVD for our 3 1/2 year old boy who is in the advanced stages of dinosaur obsession. He is very interested in all the particulars of each dinosaur -- names, diet, chronology, habits, etc. He was beside himself with delight when we first started watching the DVDs, literally jumping up and down yelling "Coelophysis! I love this! Diplodocus! Look, Allosaurus!"

As almost all others have mentioned, the overall production design is beyond impressive, and beggars the word "clever." Witty, thoughtful, convincing, and highly entertaining.

Unfortunately (for us), there is one dramatic trope that appears in literally every episode of this and the later "Walking With Prehistoric Beasts" series: eating babies. Sometimes creatures eat their own young for murky defensive reasons; sometimes predators pick off defenseless baby prey; sometimes territorial males eat their competitors' babies; sometimes giant ants eat cute hatchlings.

I can't fault the dramatic effect of these passages, and the continuing theme that competition is the engine of evolution is accurate and effectively presented. But it takes the air out of my little boy's enthusiasm when he constantly expects the cute baby dinosaurs to be messily devoured, and it makes me grimace to watch him watching it. Those scenes are not especially suspenseful, and don't seem to agitate him (he got a lot more anxious at "Finding Nemo"). But when his reaction to two Allosaurus eating a baby Diplodocus is "look, they're sharing!", I decided the infanticide just wasn't age-appropriate.

We put the series aside for now, and maybe we'll take it up again in a year.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Raises the Bar for All Documentaries to Come
Review: I saw this program when it aired on the Discovery Channel, and I loved it. Now my kids love it, too. They love it so much, I'm buying the DVD to replace my poor worn-out tape of the Discovery airing. The only thing that makes me sad, is the narrator. Avery Brooks gave the narration a certain flair that, no offense to the man, I do not think Kenneth Branagh can.
I've seen some really bad reviews of this program here, and i have to say, they are dead wrong. Is "Rancor" high? Hey, buddy, unless you lived there, you don't know anymore about the dinosaurs then anyone else. Also, what the heck is this "anit-reptile/bird, pro-mammal bias" he's talking about? The last time I checked, we were mammals and the dominant species. Survival of the fittest, sir. Besides, it was proven years ago that dinosaurs and birds were in no way related. Put down the crack pipe and pick up a book.
Anyway, this documentary is a must-have for anyone who has school-aged children or who just loves dinosaurs. Take it from someone who falls into both catagories.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Diplodocus DID NOT leave their eggs?... I'M AGHAST!!!!"
Review: After reading alot of these reviews it becomes quite clear that this series is both education AND entertainment. People have a right to there opinions. If they want to criticise the use of puppets, disputed claims, minor inaccuracies(disputed), excluded details... (you get the point), I believe they have every right to do so. All I can say is THANK GOD FOR THE BBC!!! If the "Experts" had made this series we'd get to watch them argue over how the Diplodocus REALLY performed bodily functions!! Let's face it, if they made this series showing the "real" day-in-the-life of a dinosaur, we'd all turn the channel (and certainly not buy the DVD) after watching them eat grass and leaves for 2 hours. This series was designed to do 2 things:

1. ENTERTAIN YOU.
2. EDUCATE YOU (no, not you "Vertibrate Paleontologist", the average person).

Without 1, 2 does not happen. That's the reallity of it. I learned more from this series (or ever needed to learn)about Dinosaurs than I'd ever imagined. The details about Dinosaurs will always be disputed, but the fact that this series (DVD) is great educational entertainment can not. I highly advise anyone who is not a Vertibrate Paleontologist to add this DVD to your collection. YOU will not be disappointed.

DISCLAIMER:
(Vertibrate Paleontologist have been known to enjoy this series from time to time. They just get a little picky about Dinosaurs like it was there JOB!!)


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