We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story |
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Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
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| Directed by | Dick Zondag Ralph Zondag Phil Nibbelink Simon Wells |
| Produced by | Steve Hickner |
| Screenplay by | John Patrick Shanley |
| Starring |
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| Music by | James Horner |
| Editing by | Nick Fletcher Sim Evan-Jones |
| Studio | Universal Pictures Amblimation Amblin Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 24, 1993 |
| Running time | 71 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Money made | $9.3 million (US) |
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a fun animated musical comedy film from 1993. It was made by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation studio and released by Universal Pictures. The movie is based on a children's book by Hudson Talbott with the same name.
The film was directed by Dick Zondag, Ralph Zondag, Phil Nibbelink, and Simon Wells. The story was written by John Patrick Shanley. Many famous actors lent their voices to the characters, including John Goodman, Rhea Perlman, Jay Leno, and Walter Cronkite. The movie came out in theaters in the United States on November 24, 1993.
Story of the Dinosaurs
The movie begins in New York City. A small blue bird named Buster runs away from his family. He meets a smart Tyrannosaurus named Rex who is playing golf! Rex tells Buster that he used to be a scary dinosaur. Then, he shares his amazing story.
Long ago, in a prehistoric jungle, Rex was a wild dinosaur. Suddenly, a spaceship lands. An alien named Vorb captures Rex. Vorb gives Rex "Brain Grain," a special cereal that makes him super smart and act like a human. Rex then meets other dinosaurs who also ate the Brain Grain. There's Woog, a blue Triceratops; Elsa, a purple Pteranodon; and Dweeb, a green Parasaurolophus.
They soon meet Captain Neweyes, the inventor of Brain Grain. He wants children today to see real dinosaurs. He plans to take them to the American Museum of Natural History. Captain Neweyes warns them to stay away from his evil brother, Professor Screweyes.
Neweyes drops the dinosaurs off in the Hudson River in 1993. They can't find Dr. Julia Bleeb, who was supposed to help them. Instead, they meet a boy named Louie. Louie is running away to join the circus. He agrees to help the dinosaurs get to the museum.
Louie and the dinosaurs meet a girl named Cecilia. She is unhappy because her parents don't pay attention to her. Cecilia decides to run away with Louie and help the dinosaurs. To avoid panic, Louie decides the dinosaurs need to hide. He disguises them as floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
But Rex sees a giant Apatosaurus balloon. He thinks it's a real, smart dinosaur like him! Rex tries to shake its hand, but he accidentally pops the balloon. The audience realizes there are real dinosaurs among them and they panic! The dinosaurs run to Central Park, with the police and army chasing them.
Meanwhile, Louie and Cecilia meet Professor Screweyes, who runs a scary circus. They don't know how evil he is and sign a contract to perform. When the dinosaurs arrive, Screweyes explains he loves to scare people. He thinks the dinosaurs would be perfect for his show.
Screweyes uses his "Brain Drain" pills, which are the opposite of Brain Grain. These pills turn Louie and Cecilia into chimpanzees! He offers the dinosaurs a deal: take the pills and join his circus, and he will free the children. The dinosaurs sadly agree. Screweyes turns Louie and Cecilia back into humans and tears up their contract. Rex tells the children to remember him before he changes back.
The next morning, Louie and Cecilia meet Stubbs the Clown, who works for Screweyes. Stubbs explains everything. The kids realize the dinosaurs are now wild again. They plan to sneak into the show that night to save them, with Stubbs' help.
That night, Professor Screweyes opens his circus with scary creatures. He shows off the wild dinosaurs to the terrified audience. Screweyes claims he can control Rex and hypnotizes him. He brags that he is never afraid. But a crow accidentally turns on some bright lights, breaking Rex's trance.
Rex realizes he was tricked and gets very angry. He tries to eat Screweyes, making the Professor truly afraid. Louie steps in and talks Rex out of hurting Screweyes. Louie and Cecilia's loving words and touches bring Rex and the other dinosaurs back to their kind selves.
Just then, Captain Neweyes arrives in his ship. He congratulates Louie and Cecilia. Stubbs the Clown quits his job with Screweyes, making the audience laugh. Neweyes, Louie, Cecilia, and the dinosaurs all get on the ship. Screweyes is left alone and is swarmed by the crows and disappears.
The dinosaurs live happily ever after at the museum. Children can now see real, friendly dinosaurs, just as Captain Neweyes wished. Rex tells Buster that he and his friends are still at the museum. He also shares that Louie and Cecilia made up with their parents and became a couple. Rex takes Buster back to his family, reminding him to remember his story.
Voice Actors
Many talented people gave their voices to the characters in the movie:
- John Goodman as Rex, the kind Tyrannosaurus rex.
- Rene LeVant as Woog, a Triceratops who loves to eat.
- Felicity Kendal as Elsa, an elegant Pterodactyl.
- Charles Fleischer as Dweeb, a not-so-smart Parasaurolophus.
- Walter Cronkite as Captain Neweyes, the inventor who brings the dinosaurs to the present.
- Jay Leno as Vorb, an alien who works for Captain Neweyes.
- Joey Shea as Louie, a brave young boy.
- Julia Child as Dr. Juliet Bleeb, a worker at the Museum of Natural History.
- Kenneth Mars as Professor Screweyes, Captain Neweyes' evil brother.
- Yeardley Smith as Cecilia Nuthatch, a young girl from a rich family.
- Martin Short as Stubbs the Clown, who works for Professor Screweyes.
- Blaze Berdahl as Buster the Bird.
- Rhea Perlman as Buster's Mother.
- Larry King as Himself.
Movie Promotion
To help promote the movie when it came out, a huge helium balloon of Rex the T. Rex was part of the real 1993 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Unfortunately, strong winds caused the Rex balloon to hit a street light and pop. But the rest of the balloon stayed inflated until the end of the parade!
Pizza Hut also offered a series of toys related to the movie. Other companies like Dakin and Just Toys made stuffed animals and bendable toys.
Movie Music
The movie's soundtrack features songs like "Roll Back the Rock (to the Dawn of Time)." These songs were performed by James Horner, Little Richard, and Thomas Dolby.
Here are the songs and music pieces from the film:
- Main Title / Primeval Times – 4:14
- Flying Forward in Time – 5:48
- Welcome to New York – 2:26
- First Wish, First Flight – 3:48
- A Hint of Trouble / The 'Contract' – 1:49
- Roll Back the Rock (to the Dawn of Time): performed by John Goodman – 2:55
- Grand Slam Demons – 2:05
- Hot Pursuit – 3:18
- Central Park – 1:21
- Screweyes' Circus / Opening Act – 1:12
- Circus – 2:29
- Fright Radio / Rex's Sacrifice – 6:19
- Grand Demon Parade – 7:39
- The Kids Wake Up / A New Day – 2:57
- The Transformation – 5:30
- Special Visitors to the Museum of Natural History – 2:12
- Roll Back the Rock (to the Dawn of Time): performed by Little Richard – 2:56
Video Games
Several video games based on the film were released in 1993. These games were made by Hi-Tech Expressions for different systems. You could play them on the SNES, Sega Genesis, PC, and Game Boy.
The SNES and PC versions were made by Visual Concepts. The Genesis version was developed by Funcom. The Game Boy game was created by Beam Software. It was actually a changed version of another game called Baby T-Rex.
See also
In Spanish: We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story para niños
