What the critics are saying: ‘Walking With Dinosaurs’

TORONTO — Stomping into cinemas in time for the holidays is Walking With Dinosaurs 3D, a family-friendly flick that combines live action with computer-generated images to tell the story of a dino named Patchi (Justin Long) who goes on a journey with his herd.

Based on the British TV docu-series of the same name, Walking With Dinosaurs also features the voice of John Leguizamo, Skyler Stone and Tiya Sircar.

Will Walking With Dinosaurs be a big hit at the box office or will it go the way of…well, the dinosaurs? Here’s a look at what some of the critics are saying about it:

Stephanie Merry of The Washington Post wondered “how something so stunning could end up being so bland.”

Merry wrote: “The plot feels haphazard and repetitive, with frequent scenes depicting the dangers as the herd travels north and south depending on the season. And curiously, as new characters appear, the action pauses while a child’s voice states the type of dinosaur, the meaning of its name and whether it’s a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore. The information could have been conveyed within the plot.”

At the National Post, reviewer Chris Knight warned fans of the 1999 BBC documentary are in for “an Apatosaurus-sized level of disappointment.”

Knight said he spent time checking his watch, “waiting for that giant asteroid to come and put these creatures out of my misery.”

He took issue with the dialogue in the movie.

“If you could turn off the soundtrack you’d have a fascinating silent film featuring photo-realistic prehistoric beasts,” wrote Knight. “But just you try ignoring what sounds like Smurfs 2 meets Alvin and the Chipmunks.”

Lou Lumenick of New York Post was also not a fan of the script.

He said Patchi has “a lot of groan-worthy lines straight out of a Jurassic-era jokebook” and described Leguizamo’s “stereotypical Latino bird” narration as “nonsensical.”

At Variety, Peter Debruge complained about the “constant stream of jokey banter, which thwarts the pic’s educational potential and caps its target age awfully low.”

He added: “Viewers must be young enough to appreciate prehistoric poop jokes before the experience starts to grate.”

Added The Independent: “Given the breathtaking and often terrifying 3D imagery of the dinosaurs in their habitat, it’s hugely disappointing that the film-makers have dumped so much saccharin on to their own movie.”

“The film-makers are clearly aiming for a family audience. However, this isn’t a Lion King-like piece of Disney animation. Its visual style is altogether more realistic and frightening. The faces of the dinosaurs aren’t expressive. This leads to a horrible mismatch between sound and image.”

Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times compared the movie to the original television documentary.

“In making the move from small screen to big, the apple fell too far from the tree — or not far enough,” she opined. The movie can’t decide whether to inform or entertain, she said.

“It’s not a disastrous film by any stretch. It’s more that Walking With Dinosaurs feels like an idea that is evolving — not quite ready to stand on its own.”

Daniel M. Kimmel of North Shore Movies said the movie fails at trying to engage adults.

“Most of the attempts at humor don’t work, relying too much on modern-day references,” he wrote.

The kids, though, will love it.

“For parents wondering if this is safe for their youngsters, the answer is yes, although there are some scary parts,” cautioned Kimmel.

Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com was not impressed.

“Walking With Dinosaurs is a film that is not so much bad—although it is quite bad—as it is utterly inexplicable,” he wrote.

“Having spent such a considerable amount of time and effort to bring the period to life in as convincing a manner as possible, the filmmakers proceed to squander all that goodwill on a story that features lots of poop-related jokes and ill-advised wisecracks, all of which have been dubbed in such a lackadaisical manner that they don’t even come close to matching the facial movements of the creatures delivering them.”

New York Times critic Neil Genzlinger was quite positive about Walking With Dinosaurs.

“The movie looks great, the writing is peppered with moments of wit, and there’s even an educational component built in as dinosaur facts are displayed on the screen,” he wrote.

BELOW: Watch the trailer for Walking With Dinosaurs 3D.