Saw the new animated movie Walking with Dinosaurs – based, initially, on the faux-documentary series from a fear years ago that played, I think, on Discovery Channel. And it’s terrible. Just awful.

It looks fantastic and it has interesting moments where it pauses and gives little info tidbits about the name, meaning, and type of dinosaurs which continues the educational feel of the original documentary. I’m ok with that. The movie though decided it needed the most god-awful voice over dialogue between the dinosaurs (and birds) who were never originally animated as if they were talking. It’s obvious they glued on the narration late in the game or after the movie was done. So, yeah, they just kind of laid down a voice over track using the most out-of-place modern jokes, references, and poop and butt jokes available. It’s insultingly stupid and pandering to the youngest children… who might like it… but older kids? I’d like to think they would find it childish and maybe even offensive.

Without this voice over, the movie might have worked by pure visual storytelling (or even with a resonant and educational voice over from Morgan Freeman or Patrick Stewart)… that might have worked and been interesting… but the voice over is so gd annoying and childish and riddled with anachronistic pop-culture jokes that it ruins whatever drama and excitement that might have worked. The people who made this movie apparently didn’t think awesome-looking dinosaurs would be interesting to children so they tacked on the voices… but what kind of idiot thinks kids wouldn’t love growling, roaring, snarling, bad-ass dinosaurs that act like dinosaurs? Weirdly, the out-of-place pop songs are actually pretty good.

Skip this. Good god, skip this.

Score: 55