User Reviews

We bought the DVD of "Walking with Dinosaurs" and have been nearly ecstatic over the things that are done so very well on it.

Many DVDs today offer the bare minimum ... the feature itself, and maybe one other language (which doesn't help the viewer at all, but makes it easier for the company to see the DVD in multiple markets).

Not so in the case of WWD. There are so many wonderful extras and well-thought-out vignettes that watching even the *navigation menu* is interesting. The intros to each chapter in "The Making Of" DVD are laugh-out-loud funny. The quality of the sound and video is terrific. And of course the story and content ... what more could a dinosaur lover ask for?

I did watch most of the version broadcast on TDC (narrated by Avery Brooks) then watched about half of the DVD (narrated by Kenneth Branaugh). As near as I can tell, the broadcast version slipped in a number of mostly American slang terms in the narration (i.e. in a section about T. Rex mating, Branugh says "the female is tiring of the male's attention" and Brooks says, "The honeymoon is over")and cut out some of the closer-in puppet work. I prefer the Branugh version simply because it is more complete.

Overall, a great value and wonderful production. many kudos to the BBC and the crew that made this gem.

If you haven't seen this yet, you really should, on DVD. I can't believe how much I enjoyed it! It is amazingly realistic and believable. True, much of it is speculated, and I would have liked to have known more about what was speculative and what were proven facts (there aren't many of them), but it handles everything quite well with a "Cruel Mother Nature" theme. It will remind you of the nature programs that you've seen on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel, only the animals here are Dinosaurs. They act natural; they eat, kill, mate, play, and fight for survival. You will actually find yourself rooting for some of them and against others.

For the most part, the effects are excellent. At times they will look a little too much like CGI's, but then you will see them in a different angle that makes them look more realistic. In some cases, you will actually be convinced that you've seen a dinosaur. My favorites were the Coelophysis, the raptors, the diplodocus, the iguanadons, the allosaurus and the arctic bipeds. I was most disappointed with the T-Rex, however, which looked a little too computer generated at times.

In any case, you should definitely see this production. It is educational, well made, and very entertaining. For what it is, its an A!

It's funny. It's fair to say that Walking With Dinosaurs has not aged too well and a lot has changed, yet back in the day there was no doubt this was a groundbreaking series that really helped to portray dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals as simply that...animals, not monsters like Jurassic Park did. It featured a wide variety of animals, many of which I'd never even heard of at the time and the mixture of CGI and animatronics set against real world backgrounds really made it stand out. There have been numerous other dinosaur documentaries since Walking With Dinosaurs and somehow, even when the dinosaurs look up to date, it just doesn't feel the same.

If you like dinosaurs, and can look past any glaring inaccuracies (namely some creatures are a lot bigger than we know they are now), give it a watch. You will enjoy it. If you're someone like Krellamp, who can't accept that creatures like Archaeopteryx and Tiktallik are things, then you need to sort out your priorities and learn how to be funny.

You can't watch this documentary as aired on the Discovery channel (narrated wonderfully, though, by Avery Brooks). Apparently, they thought us American audiences couldn't handle, say, the cynodonts devouring their own young, or a mother T-rex regurgitating freshly killed meat for its young. How presumptive of Discovery.

On the other hand, the documentary is flawlessly done. You really get the impression of "being there", and you don't just get dinosaurs. You get the cynodontia (mammal-like reptiles), the dung beetles, the postosuchus, the terrifying liplurodon (which makes the T-rex look like an iguana by comparison), the sneaking didelphodon, and early birds.

The UK 6 episode version puts everything into perspective. Ending with a shot of the African jungle, and now we can see how similiar the world then was to the world today.

There are no iguanadons or sauropods in herds, but elephants and zebras. There are no tyrannosaurs or utahraptors, but lions and tigers.

Notably, the documentary wisely stays aware from the question of, say, whether the sauropods were warm- or coldblooded, or the new concept of gigantotherms (the sheer size of the body creates its own heat).

Congratulation, BBC.

This is as good as it gets.

This is six episodes tracing (briefly) what life may have been like when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Done in the style of a nature documentary this show does away with talking heads instead just gives us the good stuff with the dinosaurs attempting to survive.

Certainly this isn't a true documentary since none of what we see on screen can be attested to with any certainty, but its a best guess, and an entertaining one at that. Here is a show that brings dinosaurs to life in a realistic way that doesn't involve them eating people. This is a show that should be shown to any kid who loves dinosaurs since it will instill them with the OH WOW factor to go out and find out more. It will also entertain the hell out of them, and you.

See this. If you love animal shows or nature or science or Disney True Life Adventures (except no one really gets killed) or just a really good trip to somewhere else run out and get yourself a copy. Your brain will thank you.

This documentary is absolutely fantastic. I was really astonished that you can make with so less money such amazing fx. Especially the scenes of the birth of the Diplodocus babies or the sad story of the big flying dinosaur were wonderful and breathtaking. Well the only flaw was: It was to short!!

Great "documentary" of how scientist's believed dinosaurs behaved, captured with some of the most spectacular CGI since "Jurassic Park". Done completely seriously, like a prehistoric episode of "Nation Geographic". Grabs your attention from the first frame and never lets go. My favorite part was when the Diplodocus fights off the Allosauros.

10 stars. This is what science is all about.

Walking With Dinoasaurs is a new and exciting programme that uses amazing visual graphics to display the living dinosaurs. The information presented here is stunning. The moods in the series alter to get your attention, things such as dramatic music when fights break out. There is clear evidence here for one cracking documentary! My greatest thanx to the writers, directors and producers, and not forgetting the other people involved. If you stumble accross this video in shops I suggest you buy it not just for the graphics, but for the extreme efforts and productive work the series has to offer. 10/10

This is undoubtedly the most amazing CGI documentary film I have ever watched during my childhood when I was only 8, at that time I didn't know that the dinosaur can be so realistically presented on the TV and it is so charming to my hungry mind that wants to know more about the prehistoric creatures such as Sabertooh and Dinosaurus. Thanks to the BBC, who dedicated to make this film, I deeply appreciate their tireless efforts and the passion to reveal to the people around the world about the science and the interpretation of the fossils, This is from the bottom of my heart that my childhood was so much beautiful with the film like this.

This BBC series is excellent. I am no Paleontologist, but this series gives the best historical representation of dinosaurs I have ever seen. The 3D animation and animatronics are very good and make you believe you have travelled back in time. The BBC deserves a pat on the back for such a fine series as well as Tim Haines who must have spent a great deal of time getting this series to air.

This documentary is great for all ages. Its only drawbacks are the visuals or better said the outdated CGI which works wonders but is simply too old and at some places really noticeable. Another issue is that it isn't perfectly accurate (yeah, dinos had feathers) but those 2 combined shouldn't be a problem for anyone who has a brain and can look past that a little. Educational, amusing, and even emotional. A real prehistoric gem.

I can't recall how often I watched this as a child. On rewatch last year (over a decade later) I still remembered about 90 percent of it - even the narration!

Childhood memories aside, this "documentary" still looks amazing thanks to the practical effects and models in closer shots.

This documentary on dinosaurs was undoubtedly fascinating and very well made. However, I found myself watching many of the bits with unease. The film generally took a rather confident stand on anything it said and showed, but inevitably much of the behaviour of the beasts, their interaction with each other, what they looked like, how they moved, what they ate etc. much of that is surely guessing - sometimes guessing with reasonable confidence, sometimes just wild guessing. But the viewer is never made aware of that, the film pretends to actually observe real dinosaurs and their real behaviour etc. That makes probably better viewing than confronting the audience with mountains of disclaimers, but it makes it just a bit too populist in my estimation.

I viewed "Walking with Dinosaurs" in my Geology class last week. I can honestly say this is the first movie I've ever seen at school that I would buy to watch over and over again at home. The graphics and the stories are simply amazing. Since scientists have only fossils to go by, they of course do not know as much about dinosaurs as they would have us believe. However, the graphics and story lines in this film give you a feel for how the Dinosaurs "probably" were. Many of the scenes resemble wildlife shows in which they follow a lion on the hunt, or an antelope escaping danger. I found myself actually pulling for a turtle to get to the sea, before a gigantic mammal weighing over a ton ate him. The graphics are better than Jurassic Park, however, unlike Jurassic Park, the information is insightful, giving the audience a visual feel for how scientist believe ancient creatures acted. If you're interested in Science, History, or Dinosaurs then you will love this film. If you are a science teacher, show your kids this film! They will love it.

Walking with Dinosaurs is one of the most known and loved documentary series of all time and not without good reason for that. To start, even almost two decades after its first release ,its cgi and special effects still hold up really good and the science in the show, apart from same minor inaccuracies, has been proved correct. Also these series made the dinosaurs from the monsters that Hollywood usually show us to real creatures ,that hunt, raise their chicks and try to stay alive in these brutal world ,which earth was back then and still is. All in all ,this documentary is a must see and if you ever loved dinosaurs ,like me, then take about 3 hours and watch it, even with the whole family ,in case you wish to introduce ,these amazing creators to your kinds.

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen, this BBC series uses a combination of Computer Generated Images (CGIs), animatronics, realistic sound effects, an intelligent script, and effective narrative transitions to tell the story of the rise and fall of the majestic creatures that lived during the Mesozoic Era. The program is educational, entertaining, and breathtakingly realistic.

Though the focus is on the dinosaurs, the program puts them into their natural habitat, and thus we learn also about the vegetation, the climate, changes in the continental land masses, and smaller life forms of that era. Background music, combined with ominous images, conveys a hauntingly terminus message, accompanied by poignancy and sadness.

Maybe some of the technical detail about the dinosaurs is a bit speculative or not quite in line with more recent information. Our knowledge about them continues to ... evolve. But these minor imperfections are overwhelmed by the program's terrific presentation of such a grand sense of historical perspective.

Dinosaurs lived for over a hundred million years. Their extinction was not their fault; they did nothing wrong. By comparison, humans, thus far, rate barely a one sentence footnote in a multiple volume encyclopedia of Earth's history. And I doubt that we will be so fortunate as to be around for even one million years.

My only disappointment is that the dino's demise only covers a few minutes of the final episode. I would like to have seen more information presented, and more time spent, on the likely causes of the K-T extinction event, specifically from the Chixculub crater impact and the volcanic eruptions from the Deccan Traps.

Breathtaking in historical coverage and brilliantly produced, "Walking With Dinosaurs" is a program that everyone needs to see. I hope viewers will watch all of the episodes and thus can appreciate the diversity and grandeur of such magnificent creatures. If nothing else this program's geologic time-scale puts our little egocentric lives and petty political squabbles into proper perspective, showing how irrelevant we are in the grand scheme of things.

I saw this series in 1999 in London TV and was blown away. Like another user commented - This is what i would have liked to see when i first watched "Jurassic Park" - Life and death of Dinosaurs in their natural habitat as a documentary. The CG are very lifelike, and the diversity of dinosaurs and habitats shown makes it also very educational.

The series takes everything factually known about dinosaurs, adds a lot of good ideas on "what it could have been" to make up what then looks like a documentary series. What i missed was some small bar-graph constantly in one corner of the screen, moving between "fiction" and "fact" along with the narration and the pictures, because you often wonder how much is educated guessing, and how much is pure fantasy.

To some clues on facts & fiction, you have to see the 50 minute "Making Of", which is not only very educational about the CG process and collecting and including the paleontologists knowledge into the series, but which also is very funny (Dinosaurs smoking cigarettes and complaining about CG animators).

I highly recommend to watch this series before going into the upcoming Disney Dinosaur movie or watching any Jurassic Park (like) movie again. It will surely make you much more critical towards those movies. The Disney Trailers looked especially bad.

and quite frankly that just sums it up.

It is a small computer animated series that is filmed just like an animal documentory....

The animation is almost flawless (I thought the long necked swimming dinosaurs eyes looked fake).

However some of the model shots didn't look quite that realistic...

and I thought that Jurrassic park made a better T Rex..

If this is the type of thing we see on a normal British TV series then I cannot wait to see what they can accomplish in the movies..

I give this 10/10 stars...

(and the "making of" video was also great.....the dinosaur on the skate board was halarious)

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Bbc did a fantastic using animation of the dinosaurs and filming locations where they roamed . Kenneth was absolutely a brilliant narrator for dinosaurs and prehistoric ice age beats and before the dinosaurs.

I'll always remember watching walking with dinosaurs for the rest of my life.

I have seen other documentaries on dinosaurs, but none of them can hold a candle to this one. And I always cry when I watch the last episode that features their demise. Such amazing creatures. I appreciate the fact that their ending isn't presented too graphically. Thank you, BBC, for paying such respect to those majestic giants by creating this fantastic work.

This BBC produced series (6 Hrs worth) won many emmy awards and is an absolute must for any dinosaur aficionado. The series is approached as if it were a modern day nature film. The dinosaur effects put most movies to shame. I cannot recommend it enough.

"Walking with Dinosaurs" is absolutely brilliant in every regard. Kenneth Branagh narrates in a way that really makes you want to listen. The script for the documentary really sounds as though the researchers and writers had done their homework, it is so insightful and it does get you hooked and never lets go. The music is also brilliant, very dramatic when it needs to be. But the visual effects and scenery are what makes this documentary work so well. The scenery is breathtaking, and the dinosaurs look so real, thanks to the simply astounding effects. This is so informative with such a good concept and attracts not only adults but kids too.

In conclusion, this is a must watch. Not only did I love this, but this is quite possibly the best documentary I have ever seen. If anything, it could have done with being longer, other than that this is perfect. 10/10 Bethany Cox

When i was small, i just loved dinosaurs (who didn't?). When this series aired in Finland, we recorded every episode on VHS. Then i watched them over and over again.

Now, more than 11 years later, i found those old recordings. After watching a few episodes I was surprised about two things: firstly, i'm still very fascinated about those creatures, and secondly the computer animation still looks amazing, the dinosaurs look real and very much alive (and i might add: thirdly, rewinding a VHS still isn't much fun...)

So if you have even the slightest interest in dinosaurs (or computer animation?), "walking with dinosaurs" is a must-see.

(r#88) Brilliant, very entertaining show with spectacular effects. Any fan of these prehistoric reptiles has to see this. The CGI blends in extremely well with the environment and it's just plain fun to watch these giants walk about their daily business as casually as on Discovery Channel. This show was a stroke of genius and it blows its followers "Walking with beasts" and "The future is wild" out of the water.

The greatest episode was definitely the last, where we got to watch the final days of the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the meteor strike that became their doom. This stuff is almost too awesome for television. How about a theatrical release? I would pay anything to see these dinos in the cinema.

If you're in the mood for a show that manages to be spectacular, engaging and educational at the same time, this is for you. Dinosaurs have never been cooler.