Can Disney's most ambitious computer animated movie ever survive the onslaught of the summer?

Dinosaur tells the tale of an ambitious dinosaur named Aladar (voiced by D.B. Sweeney) who is plucked out of his mother's nest and carried off to some unsuspecting primates. As he grows he accepts the frisky primates as his family. Just as the yearly mating ritual begins, Aladar's surroundings are engulfed in a cosmic event forcing Aladar to scoop up his adopted family and flee the safety of their island. Returning to the real world proves a challenge for Aladar and his adopted primate family as they try so hard to fit in with a huge migrating herd.

Dinosaur's amazing visuals and breath-taking scenery shots hold you breathless as you escape into a world completely fixated on the instinct of survival. What seems to be the fault associated with Dinosaur is the story and emotion associated with its characters. Sure when Disney creates animated characters our human emotions and actions are often placed into the hearts of the depicted characters but here it seems almost strange. Here we have photo realistic surroundings and characters trying to be lifted from dinosaur history books. A couple years back a breakthrough film called "The Land Before Time" embraced the idea of telling a dinosaur story using Disney-style animation. It was a marvelous accomplishment but here it's very weird. That very thing addresses some issues concerning what exactly is cartoon-violence and what is real to you and your child. Some scenes are vicious and profound as we watch Aladar's constant struggle for survival in an untamed world. Through these scenes we do have to wonder which particular audience was the film being aimed. I know for younger viewers the realism and the intensity in the art of survival may be too much to handle. It's hard to judge which exact child may cringe while another might be excited. Dinosaur has pushed the envelope in regards to how real we really want to get with animation.

The plot elements that baffled me were during Aladar's communication with the huge titanic Brachiosaurus, Baylene (voiced by Joan Plowright). In the introduction scene to Baylene, she is a giant and Aladar is worried about being stepped on. But as he gets to know her she seems to shrink and not be that large at all. And to top it all off Aladar is able to fit Baylene, himself and three other dinosaurs in a cave. That must be some cave and how come the herd never could see a cave that huge? Sure I am being analytical on a family film but the film is trying for as much realism as necessary.

Dinosaur is more convincing and real than the "Land Before Time" but no where near as family or sincere as that film. I think it tries to be family at one moment and too realistic the next.

(3 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

The story of Disney's Dinosaur follows the adventures of Aladar, a dinosaur stolen from his nest and raised by a group of prehistoric lemurs. Aladar has the great misfortune of being around when the often theorized meteor slams into the planet and wipes out the dinosaur species. Aladar and his few surviving monkey friends leave their now decimated home looking for a new place to live. On their way they run into a herd of herbivores trekking towards "the nesting grounds" and decide to join their group and thus starts the adventure.

Plot: What surprised me the most about this film was how strongly its story resembled that of 1988's animated film The Land Before Time. That movie follows the adventures of Littlefoot, a dinosaur who became lost after his mother died. Littlefoot has the great misfortune of being around when the often theorized tearing of the continents by tectonic plates destroys the dinosaur species. Littlefoot and his ragtag group of other "lost" dinosaurs are heading for the paradise known as "the green valley". See the resemblance? The biggest difference between the two films is The Land Before Time had an entertaining and original screenplay whereas Dinosaur had a recycled script without any lovable characters. To put it bluntly Dinosaur's script isn't up to the likes of other Disney classics such as Toy Story 2 or The Lion King. **(out of five)

Acting: Voice acting is not an easy job, especially for a Disney film. But this film just doesn't live up to the acting of the past. The acting isn't so bad that it distracts from the story, but it doesn't augment it either. D.B. Sweeney, voice of Aladar, comes off as annoying at times, but mostly boring and uninteresting. Julianna Margulies, voice of the love interest Neera, is uncharismatic and seemingly bored with the events going on around her. Not the worst acting in a Disney film, but definitely not the best. **1/2(out of five)

Directing: Directors Eric Leighton and Ralph Zondag worked with nothing, literally. Every scene in this film was filmed without the benefit of actors, who would be added in later via computer. The complete vision for Dinosaur had to be completely visualized and shot four years ago AND still stand up today...it worked. One of Dinosaur's best traits is how the movie flows and how the action moves through the screen. Leighton and Zondag move the camera with such appropriate grace its hard to put words to it. The opening scene to this picture is a moving piece of art, truly astonishing. ****1/2(out of five)

Music: You won't be humming the tune to this movie on your way out of the theater. James Newton Howard has done 80 film compositions and received five academy award nominations. So in general Howard is an excellent composer, but when it comes to animated film scores his only other work is 1996's Space Jam. I dare you to try and remember the tune of that movie. To put it more simply, Disney animated films have long been known for their memorability and Dinosaur isn't memorable. BUT, that does not mean the music is bad, this is still James Newton Howard we are talking about here. The music fits the scenes and is, at times, emotion-inducing. For a standard film the score is quite enjoyable, but for a Disney film... ***1/2(out of five)

Special effects: The entire film is a special effect. Disney spent five years and millions of dollars developing a digital animation studio for this project alone and it looks like it paid off. The dinosaurs in Dinosaur are well animated, but don't match the realism of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park: The Lost World or the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs. The creatures that really shine in Dinosaur are the Lemurs, some of the best fur simulation I've seen to date. Needless to say the entire movie is a joyful piece of eye candy. *****(out of five)

Bottom Line: I liked this film much better when it was called The Land Before Time. If you have kids or are desperate for some truly beautiful eye candy then go see this film, but if you are looking for a deep and entertaining story...go somewhere else. ***1/2(out of five)