History Film / Prehysteria

* SeldomSeenSpecies: Hammer is a ''Chasmosaurus'', a species that rarely appears in fiction. Madonna arguably counts too-- while officially a ''Pteranodon'', she's based on a species that has now been renamed ''Geosternbergia''.
* ShoutOut:
** ''Prehysteria 3'' contains a hearty reference to ''Film/{{JFK}}'' as Ella's father reexamines the bird call and resulting failed putt that ended his golfing career and realizes that [[spoiler:Hal sabotaged his putt by making a fake bird call]].
--->"Frame 260 – the fatal chirp rings out. My head flinches toward the noise. But look at this; I don't look towards the tree where the only birds could possibly be, but back and to the left – towards the grassy knoll [where [[spoiler:Hal is standing]]]. See? Back and to the left! Back and to the left! Back and to the left! My putt was pronounced dead on arrival, and so was my PGA career, but this proves that it was not a lone bird chirp! [[spoiler:It was ''a conspiracy!'']]"
** Also in ''3'', when a Japanese businessman sees Needlemeyer be set upon by a man in a dinosaur costume, he cries, "It's… ''[[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Gojira]]!''"

* StockDinosaurs: ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', ''Stegosaurus'', and ''Brachiosaurus'' all appear as leads. They were all no doubt chosen specifically to appeal to young people. On the other hand, the token ceratopsian is ''Chasmosaurus'' rather than ''Triceratops''. They also have a stock pterosaur, who also subverts this trope by being what was formerly an obscure genus of ''Pteranodon'' known as ''Pteranodon Sternbergi'' (now known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosternbergia Geosternbegia]]'')

* ThemeNaming: The five dinos are all named after famous musicians.

''Prehysteria!'' involves a young boy named Jerry and his family embark on a series of adventures when Jerry finds some mysterious eggs which hatch to reveal a brood of baby dinosaurs. The five baby dinos are named after famous pop musicians. Including [[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]], a male Tyrannosaurus Rex, [[Music/PaulaAbdul Paula]], a female Brachiosaurus, [[Music/TheRollingStones Jagger]], a male Stegosaurus, [[Music/McHammer Hammer]], a male Chasmosaurus, and Music/{{Madonna}}, a female Pteranodon.

''Prehysteria!'' involves a young boy named Jerry and his family embark on a series of adventures when Jerry finds some mysterious eggs which hatch to reveal a brood of baby dinosaurs. The five baby dinos are named after famous pop musicians. Including [[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]], a male Tyrannosaurus Rex, Paula, a female Brachiosaurus, [[Music/TheRollingStones Jagger]], a male Stegosaurus, Hammer, a male Chasmosaurus, and Music/{{Madonna}}, a female Pteranodon.

** In the third film, Hal and Needlemeyer get paranoid that Heath overheard their plan, so Hal asks Needlemeyer to make sure he doesn't squeal, so Needlemeyer forcibly cuts his hair. Guess who [[spoiler:pulls a MistreatmentInducedBetrayal followed by a BigDamnHeroes moment when Needlemeyer tries to sabotage Ella's putt at the ''Triceratops'' hole]]?

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: In the first film, Rico and his goons kidnap all the dinosaurs except Madonna, who escapes by flying through a hole in the greenhouse roof. How did the hole get there? One of Rico's goons tried to shoot Madonna.

* ShoutOut: ''Prehysteria 3'' contains a hearty reference to ''Film/{{JFK}}'' as Ella's father reexamines the bird call and resulting failed putt that ended his golfing career and realizes that [[spoiler:Hal sabotaged his putt by making a fake bird call]].
-->"Frame 260 – the fatal chirp rings out. My head flinches toward the noise. But look at this; I don't look towards the tree where the only birds could possibly be, but back and to the left – towards the grassy knoll [where [[spoiler:Hal is standing]]]. See? Back and to the left! Back and to the left! Back and to the left! My putt was pronounced dead on arrival, and so was my PGA career, but this proves that it was not a lone bird chirp! [[spoiler:It was ''a conspiracy!'']]"

-->"Frame 260 – the fatal chirp rings out. My head flinches toward the noise. But look at this; I don't look towards the tree where the only birds could possibly be, but back and to the left – towards the grassy knoll [where [[spoiler:Hal is standing]]] See? Back and to the left! Back and to the left! Back and to the left! My putt was pronounced dead on arrival, and so was my PGA career, but this proves that it was not a lone bird chirp! [[spoiler:It was ''a conspiracy!'']]"

* ThemeNaming: The three dinos are all named after famous musicians.

* CarnivoreConfusion: Despite being a TyrannosaurusRex, Elvis is mostly vegetarian, with one his favorite snacks being, rasins. He enjoys eating dog food, though.

* StockDinosaurs: ''TyrannosaurusRex'', ''Stegosaurus'', and ''Brachiosaurus'' all appear as leads. They were all no doubt chosen specifically to appeal to young people. On the other hand, the token ceratopsian is ''Chasmosaurus'' rather than ''Triceratops''. They also have a stock pterosaur, who also subverts this trope by being what was formerly an obscure genus of ''Pteranodon'' known as ''Pteranodon Sternbergi'' (now known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosternbergia Geosternbegia]]'')

* TyrannosaurusRex: Elvis, the unofficial leader of the babies.

''Prehysteria!'' involves a young boy named Jerry and his family embark on a series of adventures when Jerry finds some mysterious eggs which hatch to reveal a brood of baby dinosaurs. The five baby dinos are named after famous pop musicians. Including [[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]], a male Tyrannosaurus Rex, Paula, a female Brachiosaurus, [[Music/TheRollingStones Jagger]], a male Stegosaurus, Hammer, a male Chasmosaurus, and Music/{{Madonna}}, the female Pteranodon.

''Prehysteria!'' involves a young boy named Jerry and his family embark on a series of adventures when Jerry finds some mysterious eggs which hatch to reveal a brood of baby dinosaurs. The five baby dinosaurs are named after famous pop musicians. Including [[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]], a male Tyrannosaurus Rex, Paula, a female Brachiosaurus, [[Music/TheRollingStones Jagger]], a male Stegosaurus, Hammer, a male Chasmosaurus, and Music/{{Madonna}}, the female Pteranodon.

The first movie in the series, ''Prehysteria!'' is about [[OnlyInItForTheMoney Rico Sarno]], a museum curator, who enters a ancient temple in a South American jungle, and discovers a nest of five eggs. He steals them and brings them back to his museum. Frank Taylor, a farmer, sells fossils to Rico and in a mix up, the Taylor's dog takes a cooler, which has the eggs. The kids, Monica and Jerry discover the dinosaurs when they hatch and try to keep it a secret, until their father finds out. Vicki, a woman who works for Rico, sees the dinosaurs, she tells the Taylors not to give them back to Rico because he will expose them. Rico finds out the Taylors have them and hires two robbers to help him get the dinosaurs back.

Continuing in ''Prehysteria! 2'' Mr. Cranston is a friend of the Taylors and he watches the mini dinosaurs while they are on vacation. The five miniature dinosaurs break out of the Taylors' farm and accidentally get shipped into a crate of raisins. The crate is found in a box car by Naomi, a girl whose father works at the train station and a rich kid named Brendan Wellington who she helped hide in the box car while being chased by [[KidsAreCruel bullies]]. When the two discover the baby dinosaurs, desperate for attention because his father Brendan tries to keep them. Needless to say, things don't go exactly as planned.

This follows straight into ''Prehysteria! 3''. This time, the five dinosaurs fall out of the back of Mr. Cranston's truck, and they make their way to another family's home. The dinosaurs help the [=MacGregor=] family, who is struggling with their mini-putt golf course. Ella [=MacGregor=], is in love with her Scottish ancestry, but is dispondant that the mini golf course is going under. She finds the dinosaurs, and with her family's help, they re-build the golf course with a dinosaur theme, which helps them a lot. But Ella's evil uncle Hal [=MacGregor=] is determined to take over the course by all means, and Ella and her parents must hide the mini dinosaurs.

* AllAnimalsAreDogs: The baby dinosaurs are as playful and friendly as puppies.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: All of the baby dinosaurs in the films were juveniles. Turns out the puppets used for them are minture models of adult sized dinosaurs. Although given later revelations about pterosaurs, Madonna's design is now a case of AccidentallyCorrectWriting.
* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Avoided design-wise, as almost all of the dinosaurs are accurate models for their time. Played straight behavior-wise, as all of the animals act like common house pets.

** Rico Sarno in the first film, who wants to take the baby dinosaurs and get rich off of them.

* DirtyCoward: Rico Sarno

* FatSlob: Good ole Rico.
* FunSize: The dinosaurs. Vicki deducts that the dinosaurs were dormant in their eggs for so long that they'll never get any bigger than they are now (or, [[LaymansTerms as Mr. Taylor puts it]], "[they] got the runts of the litter").

* ForScience: Rico Sarno's excuse for everything he does, [[spoiler:he's really just [[OnlyInItForTheMoney in it for the money]].]]

* PteroSoarer: Madonna
** Also kind of zig zagged; she's a fairly accurate model, appearance-wise (with the sole exception of lacking the short crest that a female ''Pteranodon''/''[[ScienceMarchesOn Geosternbergia]]'' would have), but in behavior she's more like a parrot than a Pterosaur.

* StrawHypocrite: In the first film, Rico claims to be trying to revolutionize the scientific community but is really just in it for the money. In the second, Mrs. Winters claims that she wants to ship Brendan to a boarding school for his own good when in reality all she wants is to get rid of him.

* StockDinosaurs: ''TyrannosaurusRex'', ''Stegosaurus'', and ''Brachiosaurus'' all appear as leads. They were all no doubt chosen specifically to appeal to young people.
** Subverted with Hammer, the ''Chasmosaurus''.
** They also have a stock pterosaur, who also subverts this trope by being what was formerly an obscure genus of ''Pteranodon'' known as ''Pteranodon Sternbergi'' (now known as ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosternbergia Geosternbegia]]'')

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: All of the baby dinosaurs in the films were juveniles. Turns out the puppets used for them are minture models of adult sized dinosaurs. Although given later revelations about pterosaurs, Madonna's design is now a case of AccidentallyAccurate.

* EggMacGuffin: The eggs the baby dinos hatched from were treated like this, until they hatched of course.

* ForScience: Rico Sarno's excuse for everything he does, [[spoiler:he's really just in need of cash.]]
* GoofyPrintUnderwear: Mr. Taylor wears boxers with raisins on them

* HarmlessVillain: Rico Sarno and ole uncle Hal [=MacGregor=] in the third. As well as Rico's two helpers in the first film.

* NonIndicativeName: In-universe example:

This follows straight into P''rehysteria! 3''. This time, the five dinosaurs fall out of the back of Mr. Cranston's truck, and they make their way to another family's home. The dinosaurs help the [=MacGregor=] family, who is struggling with their mini-putt golf course. Ella [=MacGregor=], is in love with her Scottish ancestry, but is dispondant that the mini golf course is going under. She finds the dinosaurs, and with her family's help, they re-build the golf course with a dinosaur theme, which helps them a lot. But Ella's evil uncle Hal [=MacGregor=] is determined to take over the course by all means, and Ella and her parents must hide the mini dinosaurs.

The first movie in the series, Prehysteria! is about [[OnlyInItForTheMoney Rico Sarno]], a museum curator, who enters a ancient temple in a South American jungle, and discovers a nest of five eggs. He steals them and brings them back to his museum. Frank Taylor, a farmer, sells fossils to Rico and in a mix up, the Taylor's dog takes a cooler, which has the eggs. The kids, Monica and Jerry discover the dinosaurs when they hatch and try to keep it a secret, until their father finds out. Vicki, a woman who works for Rico, sees the dinosaurs, she tells the Taylors not to give them back to Rico because he will expose them. Rico finds out the Taylors have them and hires two robbers to help him get the dinosaurs back.

Continuing in Prehysteria! 2 Mr. Cranston is a friend of the Taylors and he watches the mini dinosaurs while they are on vacation. The five miniature dinosaurs break out of the Taylors' farm and accidentally get shipped into a crate of raisins. The crate is found in a box car by Naomi, a girl whose father works at the train station and a rich kid named Brendan Wellington who she helped hide in the box car while being chased by [[KidsAreCruel bullies]]. When the two discover the baby dinosaurs, desperate for attention because his father Brendan tries to keep them. Needless to say, things don't go exactly as planned.

This follows straight into Prehysteria! 3. This time, the five dinosaurs fall out of the back of Mr. Cranston's truck, and they make their way to another family's home. The dinosaurs help the [=MacGregor=] family, who is struggling with their mini-putt golf course. Ella [=MacGregor=], is in love with her Scottish ancestry, but is dispondant that the mini golf course is going under. She finds the dinosaurs, and with her family's help, they re-build the golf course with a dinosaur theme, which helps them a lot. But Ella's evil uncle Hal [=MacGregor=] is determined to take over the course by all means, and Ella and her parents must hide the mini dinosaurs.

* BigBad]:

* HerbivoresAreFriendly: All the babies are heroic herbivores (except for Elvis and Madonna — Madonna being a pterosaurs, and fish eater. And Elvis, for obvious reasons...though he seems to like dog food).

* BigBad[=/=]DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Mrs. Winters in ''Prehysteria 2'', who is much more competent, threatening and ''cruel'' than the other villains in the series.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: All of the baby dinosaurs in the films were juveniles. Turns out the puppets used for them are minture models of adult sized dinosaurs.

* ScienceMarchesOn: In the years that passed since these films were made we've learned that Elvis would likely have had feathers and Madonna's species should be named Geosternbergia instead of Pteranodon.

* SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying: Justified.

** Also kind of zig zagged; she's a fairly accurate model, appearance-wise, but in behavior she's more like a parrot than a Pterosaur.