Walking with Dinosaurs (2013)

My younger son wanted to see this, and he was counting the days to see this film, so we went and saw the film.  I wasn't expecting anything great, but I did want to see my youngest happy so off we went.  The thing is that I had read all the reviews saying that the film was weak and predictable.  I have two boys one older and one younger who also attended, and both enjoyed the film , but not as much as my youngest.  I like to see things through my boys eyes.  It gives me a different perspective, and I enjoyed the movie a bit more seeing it as my boys see it.

Now that being said is this a good film?  It depends on who is the audience.  I feel the film is better suited to younger audience's then older ones, and that's not it's problem.  Some of the visuals in this film are really stunning.  The story is predictable, but the film has a moral, and for its younger audience its okay.  The moral is that we win by sticking together.  It also educates its audience with the names of the dinosaurs.  I've heard the criticism that it's a juvenile film, and all  I have to say is that's is it's target audience.  The animals don't talk or mouth their dialogue.  It is heard as narration, and I didn't have a problem with it.  This where I have to say that without the skills of the narrators this film would be a lot less entertaining.   John Leguizamo narrates most of the film and provides a lot of the humor in it.  The kids got the humor, and it was pretty funny for the adults too.  That is in big part of Leguizamo's skill as a story teller.  I have been a big fan of his for a long.time.  He really makes the film entertaining.  My boys laughed, and so did my wife and I.

It's a special film.  A film you and your family can sit down and laugh with while at the same time maybe learning a few things about prehistoric days.   The animation is stellar, and what the film does is combine live action with animation.  The film does this seamlessly, and as I said the visuals are stunning.

I enjoyed the film.  I'm sure it will have a long life on DVD, because their are always younger children interested in big dinosaurs, and it's audience will always grow, but I do say that I'd wait for the home release of the film and watch it there.  But if you have a little one who really wants to see this and really loves dinosaurs I'd think you would enjoy seeing it with them.  There is some hard scenes where a parent is lost, but like I said the film is not gratuitous, so no parent should have a problem with any offensive scenes because their are none.

I enjoyed going to the movies and seeing and hearing my children laughing, and being captivated by a story. I do have to mention John Leguizamo again for his performance.  I do believe he contributed a lot to the film, and it is his mastery of telling a story that made us laugh and cry.

What I didn't like was how much it was to get into the theater.  That is what is wrong with movies today.  Back in the day ten bucks got you in, and you had money for a drink and some popcorn.  Now I need a loan to just walk into the theater, and that's not sustainable in today's world.  A word to the studio heads.  Make affordable films affordable to the public, or risk loosing that revenue to other venues.  Just my two cents.

Otherwise the film is a good ids film.  If you can wait for the home release then I suggest you do so, but if you have an insistent little one who wants to see dinosaurs go see it.  I think you'll enjoy seeing it with them.