During the Late Cretaceous period 70 million years ago, the Alexornis bird Alex narrates about three Pachyrhinosaurus named Patchi, Scowler, and Juniper who grow from infants into adulthood. Alex has a symbiotic relationship with Pachyrhinosaurus. Patchi leads the herd in migrating, and they also encounter the predator Gorgon the Gorgosaurus.
Walking with Dinosaurs is based on the 1999 BBC miniseries of the same name. It is directed by Neil Nightingale and Barry Cook. The film is produced by BBC Earth, an arm of BBC Worldwide that was launched in 2009. BBC Earth’s managing director Amanda Hill and creative director Neil Nightingale sought to produce film adaptations to extend the arm’s brand of nature programming. They were inspired by returns for Deep Blue (2003) and Earth (2007), both theatrical versions cut from their respective nature documentary series.
In June 2010, BBC Earth entered a deal with Evergreen Films, based in the United States, to produce a film featuring dinosaurs. By the following November, BBC Earth entered a deal with Reliance Big Entertainment to finance the production of three films, including Walking with Dinosaurs. Production of the film was anticipated to cost $65 million, and the deal initially attached Pierre de Lespinois of Evergreen Films and Neil Nightingale of BBC Earth to co-direct the film. Variety reported, “Nightingale describes the project as ‘mainstream entertainment’ rather than natural history… but draws accurately on the latest discoveries in paleontology.”
The film features computer-animated creatures in live-action settings. Production began in 2011 in the U.S. state of Alaska, where Evergreen Films is headquartered. The film’s dinosaurs lived in Alaska during the Late Cretaceous period approximately 70 million years ago, though they lived more in the northern part of the state due to the climate at the time. Filmmakers considered Southeast Alaska’s rainforests below the Arctic Circle close to the climate that the dinosaurs experienced, so they filmed there and in Southcentral Alaska. Specific locations included Crow Creek Mine near Girdwood, Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula. In 2012, the state government of Alaska awarded the production companies a subsidy of $1.7 million. Additional filming took place on an island off New Zealand.
The production incorporated animation work from the company Animal Logic, who is collaborating with animation producer Jinko Gotoh. The 3D effects were achieved with the use of the Fusion 3D system, which was used for Avatar (2009), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and live 3D sports broadcasts. In January 2013, Variety reported that Charlie Rowe was cast “in the lead role” for the film.
Walking with Dinosaurs (2013)
Directed by: Neil Nightingale, Barry Cook
Starring: Charlie Rowe, Angourie Rice
Screenplay by: John Collee, Theodore Thomas
Cinematography by: John Brooks
Film Editing by: John Carnochan
Art Direction by: Ken Turner, Simon Whiteley
MPAA Rating: PG for creature action and peril, and mild rude humor.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: December 20, 2013
Visits: 54
