We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

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We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

G

Released Nov 24, 1993

1h 12m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

38%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

50%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Four fun-loving dinosaurs take a trip to New York City, courtesy of Capt. Neweyes (Walter Cronkite). The time-traveling alien is intent on bringing some joy to the lives of the children of the Big Apple. After eating a potion to boost their smarts and cuddliness, Tyrannosaurus Rex (John Goodman), Triceratops Woog (René Le Vant), Pterodactyl Elsa (Felicity Kendal) and Hadrosaur Dweeb (Charles Fleischer) hit the town! But trouble soon arrives when Neweyes' evil brother hatches a devious plot.

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Daniel M. Kimmel

Variety

In spite of narrative problems... the film's chief appeal is its central conceit -- that giant monsters... can be transformed into [ceatures] who like to play with children.

May 8, 2005

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Janet Maslin

New York Times

Parents seeking innocent kiddie entertainment should know that the dinosaurs are drugged, the children are briefly transformed into monkeys and the Professor is eventually devoured by crows.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 30, 2004

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Desson Thomson

Washington Post

It's vividly animated, it's friendly -- and it's not too long.

Jan 1, 2000

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Renee Schonfeld

Common Sense Media

'90s dino time-travel tale has scares, peril.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 24, 2015

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Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Cute, strictly for kids and featuring Walter Cronkite!

Rated: 3/5

Jun 15, 2005

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Eric Lurio

Greenwich Village Gazette

Rated: 1/5

Jun 6, 2005

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Matt W

38% at the time of writing this review, are you kidding? This movie is a masterful crystallization of the 90's vibes that people fondly remember—hopeful, dreamlike, unapologetically ridiculous, and dark in a way that trusts your emotional intelligence. It is pure self-insert fantasy for children who love dinosaurs, and who instinctively understand that the appeal of the friendly monster trope is not just that the monster isn't scary, but that it CHOOSES not to be. It also has one hell of a cast. My only justifiable gripe as an adult is that some of the humor is noticeably dated.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/04/25

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Audience Member

This movie is one of the many movies that got me to like Dinosaurs this is a masterpiece for a kids movie from the 90s

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/12/25

Full Review

Stephen C

Failure in 1 hour and 12 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/14/25

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Liam D

Such an bizarre animated movie that wants to be childlike but then have incredibly dark and disturbing moments

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/25

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Alex S

We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story is a cute and musically delightful family film from the 90s, boasted with memorable voice acting from John Goodman and others. However, despite its unique charm, it seems there’s a reason why the film didn’t starstruck enough gold that would have ensured its enduring popularity. Needless to say, I’m happy to keep this classic as close to my heart, as a lover of animation. Grading: B-

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/25

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Audience Member

A weak story and bizarre character designs distract from the high quality animation, soundtrack and voice talent. Its a great throwback to the excellent cinematic cartoons of the 80's and 90's. Somehow the script just felt overcooked with far too many strange ideas crammed into the runtime like the producers got a little bit carried away with themselves. An entertaining if messy film.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/24/24

Full Review

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Phil Nibbelink

Director

Simon Wells

Director

Ralph Zondag

Director

Dick Zondag

Director

John Goodman

Rex

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Synopsis

Four fun-loving dinosaurs take a trip to New York City, courtesy of Capt. Neweyes (Walter Cronkite). The time-traveling alien is intent on bringing some joy to the lives of the children of the Big Apple. After eating a potion to boost their smarts and cuddliness, Tyrannosaurus Rex (John Goodman), Triceratops Woog (René Le Vant), Pterodactyl Elsa (Felicity Kendal) and Hadrosaur Dweeb (Charles Fleischer) hit the town! But trouble soon arrives when Neweyes' evil brother hatches a devious plot.

Director: Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells, Ralph Zondag, Dick Zondag
Producer: Steve Hickner
Screenwriter: John Patrick Shanley, Hudson Talbott
Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co: Amblin Entertainment
Rating: G
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 24, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 12, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.6M
Runtime: 1h 12m
Sound Mix: Surround

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