65 million years ago, fearsome creatures called dinosaurs ruled the planet until a fatal cataclysm caused their extinction. Either carnivores or herbivores, I’m pretty sure you’d never want to encounter them… or would you?
Today, Hollywood has capitalized on these reptiles, creating countless films in which they are the protagonists.
While the trend of dinosaurs in film originated with Gertie the Dinosaur (1914), an animated short directed by the genius Winsor McCay, it was in the 1990s that the genre took hold thanks to a certain Mr. Spielberg.
With all the technological advances of the 90s, dinosaur movies were the main test subject for special effects, from stop-motion to the most sophisticated CGI, but they have also made sure to add excitement, danger, and a sense of wonder to a lot of proposals. These are the
Best Dinosaur Movies Of The 90s
The Lost World (1992)
Dir: Timothy Bond
We start strong with an adaptation of the popular novel “The Lost World” by Arthur Conan Doyle. On this occasion, John Rhys-Davies played the role of Professor George Challenger, accompanied by David Warner and Eric McCormack in the cast.
This adventure begins when Challenger claims to have found the lost world thanks to a photograph of a pterodactyl-like beast, starting an expedition with some allies and some suspicious ones to the mythical place where time stopped.
Sadly this movie (from Amazon) also got a little lost in time, I have to say that it is quite faithful to the original story by Conan Doyle, even though it has some changes in location and time.
What doesn’t quite work are the action scenes and the most important ones, the dinosaurs, whose design is not the best and the way they were filmed didn’t help either.
Overall, it’s a family movie with a somewhat worn-out formula but it works to entertain the kids. Despite all the wasted potential, John Rhys-Davies delivers one of the best performances of Challenger to date. For him alone, it’s worth seeing.
We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993)
Dir: Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells, Dick Zondag, Ralph Zondag
Based on the 1987 children’s book of the same name, this film introduces us to Captain Neweyes, an inventor who travels with his time machine to the era when dinosaurs populated the Earth.
There, he feeds them with a special cereal that makes them intelligent and agrees to take them to the future to fulfill the children’s wishes. When they arrive in New York they become the most admired animals, but the captain’s evil brother, Professor Screweyes has other plans for them: to turn them into a circus show.
With this premise, the film didn’t end up hooking audiences at the time, but the kids who did give it a chance at the time see it as a hidden gem that may not make a lot of sense in its script, but it doesn’t fail to entertain.
John Goodman, Charles Fleischer, René Le Vant, and Felicity Kendal voice the dinosaurs, and indeed, they give them a lot of charisma and make you forget that they could eat you at any moment.
Despite its childlike nature, the film has a dark edge to it, especially with the villain, who is so well-constructed that you can empathize with his point of view.
In the end, you could say that We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story is an cartoon version of Jurassic Park that it plays with the morality of whether those creatures should stay in their time or give them a chance in the present, as dangerous as that may be. Oh, and Spielberg certifies this argument as the producer of this film.
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Dir: Takao Okawara
And when I talk about dinosaurs, I don’t just mean the ones from millions of years ago, but the one that has been dominating Hollywood for decades, the incomparable Godzilla.
There is a mountain of movies about this character, but the one that stands out the most in the ’90s (Sorry, Roland Emmerich but I don’t understand your 1998 adaptation) is Godzilla 2000 (from Amazon), a Japanese film that goes back to the roots of kaiju cinema to portray how the fights used to be. And also to repair the damage done by Emmerich’s film…
The story focuses on a special group commanded by Professor Shinoda who is dedicated to following the traces of Godzilla’s destruction throughout Japan trying to recover samples of the radioactive giant. In this search, he encounters the bureaucracy of Katagiri, head of the CCI (Crisis Control Intelligence), whose main purpose is to destroy the colossus.
Despite countless efforts to stop him, a UFO appears on the scene that could turn the tide against the monster… or not.
In this adventure, Godzilla gets a makeover with a more aggressive and terrifying look than in previous eras, adding somewhat regular but functional special effects.
On the one hand, as the character’s first Japanese CGI film, the scenes with that technology leave much to be desired, but the practical effects make up for those flaws, with all the vibe of Godzilla’s first appearances.
With a dynamic pace thanks to Godzilla and the interventions of the UFO, which is later revealed to be the monster Orga, Millennium is a film that tried to revitalize the franchise with good footing and a plot that brings back the classic fights. This is accompanied by a good director, a group of pretty decent actors, and a great villain.
The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994)
Dir: Roy Allen Smith
When the first film of The Land Before Time hit theaters in 1988 and is an iconic Don Bluth movie, that took the world by surprise, becoming not only one of the best dinosaur movies but also one of the favorite animated films of millions of children.
Indeed, its sequels do not have the same quality, as they changed director, production team, and countless other modifications that altered the original quality, in addition to extending the saga too much.
However, the one that stands out the most among the sequels is the second part, The Great Valley Adventure.
After their incredible but dangerous trip to the Great Valley, Littlefoot and his friends decide to embark on a new adventure to the Mysterious Beyond, where they find an abandoned dinosaur egg, and to their surprise, it is a hatchling of a sharptooth, the fearsome carnivore that almost made them their dinner before. The little dinosaurs take a liking to the baby and decide to raise it, although it is only a matter of time before its true nature will take over.
With this premise, the film holds a nice message about the difference in races and about learning to accept those differences, no matter how extreme they may be. Beyond that, the film has certain musical touches and a correct storyline, which by no means matches the quality of its predecessor, but it fulfills its mission to entertain.
The Flinstones (1994)
Dir: Brian Levant
This movie brings some controversy, because if we are objective, it is far from being a good one, but it is one of those that can be considered guilty pleasures, although I feel no shame in admitting that I saw this Flintstones movie a thousand times when I was a kid and I remember it with great affection.
Fred Flintstone, tired of being a mediocre employee, decides to participate in an internal contest at his company, in which he is finally selected as the winner and appointed vice president of production.
What Fred doesn’t know is that it’s all because his friend, Barney Rubble, changed their names on the exam so that Fred could win and thus repay a big favor his friend had done for him. Although behind the contest, there’s a swindle plan prepared by the second president of the company…
With John Goodman as Fred Flintstone and Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble, we can at least give a big plus for being such a perfect casting. The rest of the cast is made up of names like Elizabeth Perkins, Halle Berry, and the iconic Elizabeth Taylor (even though she ends up being Fred’s bitter mother-in-law).
Another point in favor is that the film is fun to watch in terms of the visuals, despite a saturation of plastic and paper-mâché.
The live-action may have fallen short in other aspects such as the script and that its humor was sometimes too silly, but it undoubtedly encapsulates part of the essence of the Hannah-Barbera animated series.
If you are a dinosaur lover, this is one of the best movies that portray what it would be like for humanity to live with these creatures in their time… and a touch of humor.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Before mentioning the more than obvious first place on this list of best dinosaur movies from the 90s, we must cover its sequel that took us again to a remote island full of prehistoric creatures, but this time there is much more at stake.
Four years after the disaster at Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar, John Hammond reveals to Ian Malcolm that there is another island where paleontologists bred the dinosaurs before being transported to Isla Nublar. Abandoned after the disaster, the dinosaurs have evolved, and Hammond is eager to see them in their natural environment before commercial exploitation begins.
With the return of Jeff Goldblum and the additions of Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, and Pete Postlethwaite, the film delivers as a sequel, with great action scenes in which both herbivores and carnivores shine.
The best moments of The Lost World are undoubtedly those set at night, where the beasts look more terrifying than ever (yes, I’m talking about the caravan scene).
Exploring the darker side of genetic engineering and human over-ambition, the film takes you on a fascinating journey, and although its characters are not as charismatic as those in the first film, they are more than convincing.
Ultimately, The Lost World is about just that, presenting a new world in the same universe as its predecessor, as well as opening the door to new Jurassic stories. While it remains in the shadow of the first film, it is a more than worthy sequel, and sequences like the T-Rex spreading panic in the city are cinema history.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Dir: Steven Spielberg
And if we talk about cinema history, it’s impossible not to mention the original Jurassic Park by the genius Spielberg, one of the best films in history without a doubt.
The story introduces us to the charismatic but risky John Hammond, a multimillionaire who makes his dream come true: to create a dinosaur theme park. Before opening it to the public, he decides to invite a couple of scientists and a mathematician to visit the island and test the park’s viability. But the security measures will not be able to contain the threat posed by the existence of these creatures.
What is there to say about Jurassic Park that hasn’t already been said? It is one of my all-time favorites because absolutely everything works in this movie. From the cast composed of Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, and Samuel L. Jackson to the incredible soundtrack by John Williams, which to this day still moves me to tears and makes me feel an impressive nostalgia.
The dinosaurs in this film look like real animals that move and breathe instead of mere cinematic monsters, making the Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptors some of the best villains in the history of cinema. With an outstanding use of paleontology and special effects innovations in the film industry, this classic presented an image of dinosaurs that people had never seen before dynamic, intelligent, and thriving animals.
And sure enough, at the time it was a mega-blockbuster that is still making waves with its second series, Jurassic World, which recently reunited all the stars of the first film.
I must force myself to stop here because I could do it for thousands of words more. I know I’m not saying anything new either, but it’s a 10/10 and one of the best cinematic gems ever made.
Millions of years may pass and a new species may conquer the planet, but Jurassic Park will still be at the top of the best dinosaur movies.
Wow, did the ’90s mark a major turning point in dinosaur cinema, or what?
While not all of the films here are on the list of greatest movies of all time, they were a starting point for the dinosaur genre to gain a foothold in cinema. Aside from showing how amazing and terrifying these creatures can be, these films also focused on more human aspects and how we can do a lot more damage than they can…
Last update on 2024-04-28 at 12:06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
