Patchi is a a Pachyrhinosaurus (one of the group of 4-footed dinosaurs with giant bony frills), the youngest of his litter. As he grows, he learns to deal with the problems of dinosaur life: migration, predation, pecking order, mating etc.
The above synopsis understates things, because there is a story running through this movie (Patchi falls in love, Patchi has to contend with his bullying big brother etc., underdog makes good), which is a little simplistic for grown-ups but will please young dinosaur-mad boys well enough (and perhaps girls too, it is a bit soppy in places). Much of the story is narrated by John Leguizamo as some sort of prehistoric toothed bird in a truly irritating latino accent, but Justin Long provides a well-grounded voice as Patchi (the dinosaurs are not lip-synched to the dialogue, by the way). There are some logical annoyances - how come Patchi and brother Scowler can converse but father communicates solely by roaring, for instance? And there is a completely superfluous topping and tailing with a modern-day bit of nonsense about kids being sent to spend time with their palaeontologist uncle (Kark Urban).
On the other hand, the modelling and animation of the dinosaurs is flawless, as is their integration with real-life background plates (but am I alone in still having something of a yen for the Harryhausen era when the obviousness of the artifice made the effects perhaps a little bit more special than they are these days?)
The 3D should have been excellent, judging by the trailers. But I think my local multiscreen must have been having a bad day technically, because there were some exceptionally dark scenes, and some scenes where left and right images didn't seem properly aligned.
The above synopsis understates things, because there is a story running through this movie (Patchi falls in love, Patchi has to contend with his bullying big brother etc., underdog makes good), which is a little simplistic for grown-ups but will please young dinosaur-mad boys well enough (and perhaps girls too, it is a bit soppy in places). Much of the story is narrated by John Leguizamo as some sort of prehistoric toothed bird in a truly irritating latino accent, but Justin Long provides a well-grounded voice as Patchi (the dinosaurs are not lip-synched to the dialogue, by the way). There are some logical annoyances - how come Patchi and brother Scowler can converse but father communicates solely by roaring, for instance? And there is a completely superfluous topping and tailing with a modern-day bit of nonsense about kids being sent to spend time with their palaeontologist uncle (Kark Urban).
On the other hand, the modelling and animation of the dinosaurs is flawless, as is their integration with real-life background plates (but am I alone in still having something of a yen for the Harryhausen era when the obviousness of the artifice made the effects perhaps a little bit more special than they are these days?)
The 3D should have been excellent, judging by the trailers. But I think my local multiscreen must have been having a bad day technically, because there were some exceptionally dark scenes, and some scenes where left and right images didn't seem properly aligned.