There was a time when being big had a completely different meaning than it has today. It was a time when you could be as big as a house and still not be big enough. The time period that we are speaking of is the Cretaceous period and for young Patchi, it was a pretty scary time.
Being a giant Pachyrhinosaurus would be a relief for most dinosaurs but for Patchi, knowing that there is a bigger, and scarier, Gorgosaurus around is reason enough to remain concerned. It isn’t so much their size as it is their razor sharp teeth, and their need to eat meat, that scares Patchi the most. This is what keeps him on his toes through much of his existence on this earth.
You see, young Patchi was forced to go through a very traumatic experience when he witnessed his father’s death while defending himself against the attach of a Gorgosaurus one day. At the time, his father was the biggest, and toughest, Pachyrhinosaurus alive but that didn’t seem to help him one bit. Luckily for Patchi and his brother Scowler, they were able of find another herd to join in no time at all. This was extremely important if they were to have a place to safely grow up into full sized Pachyrhinosaurus’ over time.
As time passes, it is Scowler who ends up growing into the biggest in the herd and he fights for the role of leader of the pack, and wins. Patchi, on the other hand, is completely satisfied with simply blending in with the rest of the pack and staying alive. He has no problem with following orders if that is what it takes to make it from one day to the next unharmed.
What Scowler doesn’t realize is that it takes much more than being the biggest in the pack to be the leader of the pack. A leader needs to be able to think on his toes while being able to plan ahead when necessary. A leader needs to be able to remain calm, cool and collected even when under serious pressure. And a leader must be the bravest, and the smartest, in the pack at all times. Unfortunately for Scowler, it is Patchi who seems to have the ability to be all of these when a situation calls for it.
Positive Elements
Sacrifice seems to be an ongoing theme throughout much of this movie. It begins with Patchi’s mother, who gives her life while fighting for her children and continues on to his father, who ends up going right through a tree that has fallen, and is on fire, just to defend his children against a dangerous enemy.
Another ongoing theme throughout the movie is one of the important features of a leader. This theme connects directly to that of the theme of sacrifice simply because a true leader should be willing to sacrifice himself for the rest of the pack. Patchi seems to exhibit all of the features required of a true leader. He even stays behind to help, and guide, an injured Juniper to safety.
Much of what Patchi is becoming as he grows up is a result of a combination of a couple of things. The first is that his father was a very good example of what it means to be a strong leader and the second is that he was encouraged by a friend, (and bird) named Alex, to follow his father’s very positive lead. Patchi ends up following both the advice, and the leadership, turning into the splitting image of his amazing father and risking death to save his brother one day.
Sexual Elements
Patchi has a crush on Juniper and they share a moment where a song by Barry White is playing in the background. The words say something to the fact that I’m going to love you just a little bit more.
Violent Elements
Despite the fact that this is a really cute movie, it is a movie right out of a land filled with dinosaurs. This is why you can expect to see quite a bit of head-to-head intense moments. Even the scene that leads to Patchi and Scowler losing their parents is one that could be a bit much for the much younger audience. It involves a forest fire, an attack that leads to death, and two young dinosaurs becoming instant orphans as a result.
Patchi has a bad experience as a baby. His head frill is punctured when he is picked up by another dinosaur. Several dinosaurs drown when Scowler accidentally leads the entire herd onto a lake that has not frozen completely, and they fall through the weak ice. Tiny crabs are eaten alive. Patchi is thumped on the head with a tree, by his brother, during a brotherly fight one day. Patchi and Scowler are attacked by a vicious carnivore who has a tendency to munch on its victims.
Conclusion
Walking With Dinosaurs puts a very creative twist on just how we introduce our children to the land of dinosaurs. It is definitely much more than your typical documentary about nature but it isn’t quite your typical dinosaur cartoon either. It comfortably sits somewhere right between the two and keeps you comfortably interested throughout the film.
Even with all of the headbutting intensity, there is much to be learned from this simply goofy film. It is interesting how new dinosaurs are introduced into the movie in a way that teaches those watching the movie just a little about that particular type of dinosaur. This is where the educational element comes into play. The goofy element will become very evident, very quick.
Walking With Dinosaurs is an all around nice way to introduce children to the amazing world of dinosaurs, in a way that will hopefully keep them interested enough to stick around until the very end. However, the numerous scenes involving attacks and fights between dinosaurs will leave parents to decide for themselves whether or not their children should view this movie at all.
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Southern Outdoor Cinema
About Paul B. Murray
Paul is founder of Southern Outdoor Cinema, an outdoor cinema event production company based in Atlanta and a dad to 2 pre-teen girls. When he is is not traveling to create outdoor movie nights for communities, he is spending time playing board games, reading books and of course watching movies with his girls.
