Dinosaur Planet - Real Big Stories [DVD]

The latest entry in the post-"Walking with Dinosaurs" craze, "Dinosaur Planet" follows "When Dinosaurs Roamed America". Composed of four hour-long episodes - White Tip's Journey, Pod's Travels, Alpha's Egg, and Little Das' Hunt - this series is better in both animation and story telling than its predecessor, though it is still no "Walking with..."What most people might find interesting about this series is that all of the episodes feature dinosaurs that most people probably never hear of. Most everyone is familiar with Velociraptor, Iguanodon and Maiasaurus, but how many passing dino fans have heard of Shuvia, Daspletosaurus, Saltasaurus, or Pyroraptor? This series opens up the world of dinosaurs that most people have never heard of.The Episodes are:White Tip's Journey - a young female Velociraptor travels the Gobi desert searching for a new pack. Along the way she must dodge rival Oviraptors and angry Protoceratops.Pod's Travels - a male Pyroraptor looses his two sisters in a tsumami and ends up on and island populated by smaller versions of the animals he's used to.Alpha's Egg - a Saltasaur's life is followed from birth to her first egg clutch. It's a bumpy ride to adulthood, especially with all the predators about. Alpha's chief rival, though, is Dragonfly, a hungry carnosaur that's got her in his crosshairs.Little Das' Hunt - Little Das, a juvenile Daspletosaurus, tries his hardest to help his older sisters and mother in the hunt, but he always seems to mess things up! But just as he's on the verge of proving himself, a volcanic eruption changes the balance of power.Despite the animation quaility and good narration, there is a glaring flaw in this series. The producers appear to have been less selective in where they put their dinosaurs than the "Walking with Dinosaurs" team. The dinosaurs in "Planet" are shown wandering about in grass filled landscapes, a plant that did not exist in that age. The "Walking with..." creators were more careful, and this laziness on the part of the "Planet" producers prevents this series from getting five stars.Overall, a good series, but with flaws that could have been easily avoided.

Although we enjoyed this DVD (1 DVD, 2 episode set) when we checked it out for the library, we were looking for the 2 DVD set which includes the other two episodes (4 total). Even if the picture showed the 2 disc set, when the DVD was received, we got the 1 DVD set instead and promptly returned it. If you are looking for all 4 episodes of Dinosaur Planet, you should get the  Discovery Essential Dinosaur Pack  set. All 4 Dinosaur Planet episodes are on the 2nd disc of that set.

Great series when I was a kid but I wish they would specify what episodes are on the disc I have to find the other episodes

purchased these videos for my three year old granddaughter. They are entertaining for her at this age. She is even learning a few things about dinosaurs that I would not have anticipated, for example, the fact that some dinosaurs are carnivores and some are herbivores. She will likely continue to benefit from these videos as she matures. She enjoys these four videos more than the "Walking with Dinosaurs" DVD which I also recommend.

Buyers should be cautious. I received only half of the four episodes: two on a single DVD. Be cautious ordering!

I think Dinosaur Planet is a great DVD. I don't agree with some of the criticisms that other viewers have written. I like Slater as the narrator and I like the animation.Probably the strongest aspect of these stories is the study of the animals as intelligent creatures that have feelings and personalities. You get the feeling that you know these animals in the same way that you might know the neighbor's dog.I would say the stories are consistent with current theories about how dinosaurs behaved. This is enforced with segments that show a real paleontologist talking about fossils and other things. Jeff Marzano

I'm a sucker for dinosaur documentaries-lots of CGI and lots of fun. Some of the sections are probably dated at this point.

This is my absolute favorite documentary type story and I wish I could find the entire series!

The documentary is perfect for any dinosaur fan, using great CGI that has withstood the test of time (especially compared with other documentaries on the subject), accurate scientific depictions and interesting storytelling techniques. The only issue is that not all is as described. The purchase only has one disc, which features 2 of the stories mentioned, instead of the described two discs, featuring all 4 stories. If it were not for this fact (plus how much it cost me at the time of purchase only to discover I would only receive part of what I thought I was paying for) I would have given this item a far greater rating, probably even 5 stars, but alas due to these issues, I feel it was not worth the price and is advertised inaccurately in the description.

Highly recommend for dinosaur lovers both young and old!!!

YES.. I would recommend for any dino fan as the stories are BRILLIANT!! Christian Slater narrates the whole series. It took me two years to get this set as it was sold out constantly.. It was worth the wait. My son loves it and is now over the moon to have his own copy of it finally.. It's region free too so suitable for all.. Delivery was very quick. Great value for money.

These DVDs contain four documentaries about dinosaurs very beautiful. Unfortunately there are in Italian (I know very little English), but I can follow them equally well. These documentaries also very much like to my 5 year old son.

Very pleased to find this, as my son had wanted it for ages. Arrived quickly too.