Steve D
Nowhere enough here to enjoy.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
12/27/23
Full Review
r 9
Lacklustre.
'One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing' has a couple of mildly positive things about it, but it is largely a disappointment. I personally failed to get into the premise, I don't mind silly plots but I just don't feel like it connects at all.
Alongside that, you have some very lazy casting which certainly hasn't aged well whatsoever. You have a number of major characters who are Chinese, yet not a single Chinese actor can be seen - yellowface aplenty. Even taking away the obvious negatives, it's not like it even works in the film's favour either.
Peter Ustinov is completely wasted as Hnup Wan, by making him appear Chinese you lose all of Ustinov's expressions and body language. The guys who play his sidekicks add nothing, so why not just add suitable actors to the roles - Disney had done it before, in fact in the same year with characters in 'The Apple Dumpling Gang'. It's lazy, at best.
As mentioned at the top, there are some pleasant things in there. The score is very good, while the chase scene looks nice - as does the Natural History Museum. Even then, the cat and mouse stuff drags out.
Many issues, even away from the cast. Not one I'd recommend.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Has some charm, but slow-paced, and the outdated racial stereotyping is uncomfortable and embarrassing.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
andy f
Knockabout Disney comedy that I first saw almost 40 years ago. A who's who of British comedy talent the likes of which we'll never see again. A bit like a Carry On movie without the rude jokes. Great fun.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Cracking old style kids film with plenty for parents to laugh at, impossible to make these days as it's totally non-pc
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
From Walt Disney, directed by Robert Stevenson (Mary Poppins (1964), The Love Bug (1968) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)), this is an adaptation of the 1970 novel The Great Dinosaur Robbery by David Forrest, only the books setting was relocated from New York to London, something uncommon in films both then and now, but by doing this, they got a brilliant British cast to work in the film. Set shortly after World War 1, Queen's Messenger Lord Southmere (Derek Nimmo) has just come back from China with the microfilm to the secret formula to Lotus X, back in London, Southmere is chased into the Natural History Museum by Chinese spies led by Hnup Wan (Peter Ustinov), where he hides the microfilm in the leg of a large dinosaur skeleton. It's here Southmere meets his old nanny Hettie (Helen Hayes), who tells her what's happening before Southmere is captured, so Hettie, along with fellow nannies Emily (Joan Sims) and Susan (Natasha Pyne) to try and retrieve the microfilm, and rescue Southmere from the Chinese Spies, but it gets out of hand. There are a few stereotypes here that you'd never get away with now, but that doesn't seem to matter, as it's still entertaining to watch, and has appearances from the likes of Deryck Guyler, Joss Ackland, Max Wall, Bernard Bresslaw, John Laurie, Amanda Barrie, Joan Hickson and Roy Kinnear!!
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
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