Customer Reviews

Prehistoric Planet: Dino Dynasty 1 [VHS]

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Ignore the reviews bashing this program for recycling footage from the BBC Walking With series. Of course it's recycled, that is EXACTLY what the package says! It was reworked into a Saturday morning show for a younger audience. And it succeeds wonderfully at reaching that target audience. This show is great for young kids, about 3-8 years old. Hopefully, they will be able to eventually also enjoy the more academic original series of programs. But these are more accessible and I am thrilled to have them be preferred viewing over many of the other programming available on TV. Definitely, if you have a young paleontologist on your shopping list, this is a must!

I received it as a gift and I like it. I like dinosaurs what else can I ask for. But if you already have the original Walking with Dinosaurs you can forget about this one. It's almost the same episode found in WWD. The only difference is that each episode in Prehistoric Planet are shorther (20 mins each instead of 30 mins). That means a lot of film has been cut out. What's worse is that the image quality is so bad compare to the original DVD released 3 years ago. This one is not 1.78:1 widescreen anamorphic like the original one. I have both DVD i can see the difference. The only thing good about this DVD is the narration by Ben Stiller. The kids will love it since he is so funny.

Yes, this series is an edited version of the the original BBC series called Walking with Dinosaurs. However, in the original grown-up BBC series the dinos spend a lot of time eating their own young and dying tragic deaths (if you ask me the original dwells exceedingly on made-up tragic storylines). Prehistoric Planet very wisely edits out some of the more disturbing chaos and destruction of the original while still leaving plenty of chomping and meat eating to satisfy and inform the children. If your child is old enough to handle the nastier realities of pre-historic life in full color then by all means buy the original Walking with Dinos and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts--they are wonderful. If you have a younger child who just wants to see the magic of dinos coming "alive" without nightmares and anxiety then the Prehistoric Planet version is a great thing.

this version of the popular dinosaur dvd's is great for children and adults alike. ben stiller does a very good job narrating for the school age sect. unlike some of the other dvd's in the series this one will not frighten younger children.

Well I think its alright.See its the same thing as walking with dinasours but with shorter time and a different narrater.Its for kids of course.I got this when I was 9 or 10.Im glad they made it for kids.The episodes are in the same order but with different names.(I cant remember what they are)But its a 3 star program because the jokes stink and ben stiller isnt the best narrater.Thats why its 3 stars.But I reccomend it for little kids.But I dont reccoment it for adults or teenagers or kids ages 8 to 12 either.Well thats all I have to say.Ta ta for now.

We first bought and repeatedly watched the BBC/Kenneth Branagh version. The kids (ages 4.5 and 2.5) stumbled across the Prehistoric Planet/Ben Stiller version on Discovery Kids Channel. THEY love it. It's not for adults really, in my opinion. It is a lite version of the BBC series and I think it's a good marketing move that they refashioned the footage into a whole new series for a different demographic.

The fun parts are the slangy language, the playing card graphics introducing the different creatures, and the new stories about the action on screen. Sometimes the creatures get nicknames from Stiller (and later Christian Slater) and I think my kids watch it in a different way than the BBC version, which by the way they also still watch.

I rate this good for kids.

I bought this for the birthday of a six year old girl. She loved it ..... until. A scene comes on where a predetory dinosaur kills, and eats a little baby dinosaur. Complete with flesh dangling from it's jaws. That was it. She freaked out! And that was the end of the movie. My $$$ (and present) into the garbage. AND what should have been an enjoyable and educational experience was lost. If you are making things for kids, leave out baby animal killing and the blood and guts!!!

Prehistoric Planet is really just BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs but for kids. Now the question is which version is the best? Well, obviously it's Walking with Dinosaurs and I have always loved this program, but I did enjoy Prehistoric Planet when I was younger. The facts are simpler and easier for kids to understand and there's like a hundred lame wise-cracks by Ben Stiller. But hey, it's for kids and they'll probably like it but when they get older it's going to be on the shelf more often. Prehistoric Planet was aired on the Discovery Kids network and around ten minutes are edited out of each episode for syndication, and this DVD includes six twenty minute episodes. They are;

"Dawn of the Dinosaurs" which is set in the late Triassic period, "Jurassic Giants" and "Jurassic Beach" are both set in the late Jurassic period, and the last three "King of the Skies", "Dinosaurs of the Ice Forest" and "Death of the Dinosaurs" are set throughout the Cretaceous period. Also included with this set are a few extras and a few DVD-ROM dinosaur games for the kids.

It's a safe bet that kids will like Prehistoric Planet, but if they want to learn more about dinosaurs Walking with Dinosaurs is for you.

I bought this for my Daughters 5th Birthday. She loves Dinosaurs, and watches it all the time. This movie has taught her so much. She understands a lot of what is going on, it's great for her age.

Before purchasing any items here on Amazon, I always read reviews (I love this feature). I appreciate informative, insightful reviews of the item. That said, ratings based on "slow shipping", "bad sellers" or "poor service" do not help me. I like to know about the actual product. Ultimately I DID order this DVD based on the many [helpful] reviews - both positive and negative - especially the ones from other toddler parents. One particular review that finally sold me was by "Alexis N.": "ignore bashing", "reworked for younger audience", "great for young kids". Just what I was looking for!

My 3-year-old son is enamored with dinosaurs, sharks and reptiles. We recently took a loooong road trip and I wanted something to keep him entertained during possible boring stretches. Boy, did this keep him more than occupied! I cannot say enough good things about this DVD. Unexpectedly, not only was he entertained, but he learned SO much! In fact, he has taught both Mom & Dad more than we ever knew about them. :0) My son appreciates the fact that it isn't "cartoony" (he says he likes "real ones Mommy, not pretend") and Mom likes that it is not gory or scary.

If you are looking for a realistic dinosaur series without the blood & guts, this is it. For the older, elementary school-aged child, it does not use overly child-like terms but at the same time, it is still narrated in a way that a much younger [pre-K] child could follow along. I was very impressed when my 3-year-old told me all about the Liopleurodon and how it lived in the "Jurassic". So he thinks "Jurassic" is a city in "Dino World", heh, he's only 3! :0) Admittedly, I had never heard of the Liopleurodon and honestly had chalked it up to a toddler's active imagination or at least, a problem pronouncing the actual species. Come to find out, he had pronounced it correctly and it existed! I am delighted that he has learned so much from a DVD. And bottom-line: he absolutely LOVES the series and enjoys it immensely, as evidenced in his watching it over and over and over and over. It was the ONLY DVD he continually asked for the entire 2-day drive! And he still watches/asks for it, unlike the many other toys/games/DVDs we've shelved, *sigh*. I highly recommend this series for any budding Paleontologist and/or Dino-enthusiast in the toddler/elementary school age range (or an amateur, Dino-clueless adult like myself, haha). Kudos BBC!