History Film / TRexBackToTheCretaceous

A few weeks later, Donald has returned to the museum. Ally is eager to see him and have him review her own science project. She has been working on a model for the egg laying, nest building, and parental behavior of the TyrannosaurusRex. She bases her work on the behavioral study of modern birds and even has it illustrated. Donald barely glances at her work and then rejects it, feeling it is based too much on scientific theory and too little on "hard evidence".

* PteroSoarer: The ''Pteranodon'' is fairly accurate. The main problems are its lack of fur (although the perception made it hard to tell), living alongside ''TyrannosaurusRex'' and flying inland when it would actually be typically seen near the ocean.

* TyrannosaurusRex: Once again, the star of the show in the Cretaceous. With constant references to how fascinating Donald, Ally and Elizabeth find this species.

* StockDinosaurs: Besides the ''Tyrannosaurus'', there are four animal species of the Cretaceous seen: ''Ornithomimus'', ''Parasaurolophus'', and ''Pteranodon''. All are among the "dinosaurs" frequently depicted in fiction. However, the film also averts this with obscure tyrannosaur ''Dryptosaurus'' in a reference to Charles R. Knight's famous "Leaping ''Laelaps''" painting.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: More or less averted. No major anachronisms here as all depicted species were native to the Cretaceous and North America. Though they might belong to different sub-periods of the era. However, a plot point of the film contains a discussion on whether dinosaur eggs even existed. There have been many found since 1859. Since they were reptiles, this should hardly be a matter of debate. Not to mention ''Dryptosaurus'' is portrayed as a dromaeosaur, when it's been already been established since the 1960s it was a tyrannosaur.
* BittersweetEnding: Ally helps rescue the Tyrannosaurus's egg from the Ornithomimus and gains its trust, but unfortunately the meteor strikes nearby and kills the T. Rex and her eggs.

* PteroSoarer: The ''Pteranodon'' is fairly accurate. The main problems are its lack of fur, living alongside ''TyrannosaurusRex'' and flying inland when it would actually be typically seen near the ocean.

'''T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous''' is a 1998 [[ThreeDMovie 3D IMAX Movie]], directed by BrettLeonard. Like previous Leonard films (''Film/TheLawnmowerMan'', ''Film/{{Virtuosity}}'') it makes use of then-pioneering CGI effects. The film is mostly a documentary with a FramingDevice, only 45 minutes in length. The main stars were LizStauber, PeterHorton, and KariColeman. It was the first starring film role for Stauber, who previously only had theatrical credits and a cameo in ''Can't Hardly Wait''.

* WindFromBeneathMyWings: The ''Pteranodon'' manages to make some fairly impressive winds as it hovers over Ally.

* DawsonCasting: A minor case. Ally is a high-schooler and estimated to be about 16-years-old. She is played by 19-years-old Liz Stauber.

* ScienceMarchesOn: The ''Ornithomimus'' requires thick coats of feathers. ''Tyrannosaurus'' and ''Dryptosaurus'' should be feathered as well.

* StockDinosaurs: Besides the ''Tyrannosaurus'', there are four animal species of the Cretaceous seen: ''Ornithomimus'', ''Parasaurolophus'', and ''Pteranodon''. All are among the "dinosaurs" frequently depicted in fiction. However, the film also averts this with obscure tyrannosaur ''Dryptosaurus'' in a reference to Charles R. Knight's famous "Leaping ''Laeaps''" painting.

* ScienceMarchesOn: The ''Ornithomimus'' requires thick coats of feathers.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: More or less averted. No major anachronisms here as all depicted species were native to the Cretaceous and North America. Though they might belong to different sub-periods of the era. However, a plot point of the film contains a discussion on whether dinosaur eggs even existed. There have been many found since 1859. Since they were reptiles, this should hardly be a matter of debate.

* ScienceMarchesOn: The ''Ornithomimus'' requires thick coats of feathers. Also, ''Dryptosaurus'' is portrayed as a dromaeosaur instead of a tyrannosaur.

* StockDinosaurs: Besides the ''Tyrannosaurus'', there are four animal species of the Cretaceous seen: ''Ornithomimus'', ''Parasaurolophus'', and ''Pteranodon''. All are among the "dinosaurs" frequently depicted in fiction. However, the film also averts this with obscure tyrannosaur ''Dryptosaurus'' in a reference to Charles R. Knight's famous "Leaping ''Laeaps'' painting.

* OurTimeTravelIsDifferent:At first Videocassette Time Travel. Ally sees visions of artifacts of ancient civilizations, then hominid skeletons, skeletons of prehistoric mammals, then finds herself in the Cretaceous. Later, Instantaneous Time Travel. One moment she is having a conversation with an early 20th century palaeontologist, the next she is in the museum. Next she is back in the Cretaceous. She is barely aware of the changes.

* StockDinosaurs: Besides the Tyrannosaurus, there are four animal species of the Cretaceous seen. ''Ornithomimus'', ''Parasaurolophus'', and ''Pteranodon''. All are among the "dinosaurs" frequently depicted in fiction. However, the film averts this with obscure tyrannosaur ''Dryptosaurus''.

* RaptorAttack: ''Deinonychus'' is featherless.
* ScienceMarchesOn: The ''Ornithomimus'' and ''Deinonychus'' require thick coats of feathers.
* StockDinosaurs: Besides the Tyrannosaurus, there are four animal species of the Cretaceous seen. Deinonychus, Ornithomimus, Parasaurolophus, and Pteranodon. All are among the "dinosaurs" frequently depicted in fiction.

* BittersweetEnding: Ally helps rescue the Tyrannosaurus's egg from the Ornithomimus and gains it's trust, but unfortunately the meteor strikes nearby and kills the T. Rex and her eggs.

* SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying: More or less averted. No major anachronisms here as all depicted species were native to the Cretaceous and North America. Though they might belong to different sub-periods of the era. However, a plot point of the film contains a discussion on whether dinosaur eggs even existed. There have been many found since 1859. Since they were reptiles, this should hardly be a matter of debate.

* ScienceMarchsOn: The ''Ornithomimus'' and ''Deinonychus'' require thick coats of feathers.

Not long after, Ally has a minor accident with a fossilized dinosaur egg and inhales dust from the Cretaceous period (145-65 million years ago) She starts wondering the museum and having realisting hallucinations of the exhibits coming to life. From her POV, Ally is shifting between visions of the museum with some unusual elements and an actual time-travel to different eras. (The film leaves unclear whether all she sees are illusions or whether travel occurs). She gets to witness life at the Cretaceous and see a real-life Tyrannosaurus its nest. Ally also has a chance to meet and have brief conversations with her idols: Charles Robert Knight (1874-1953) and Barnum Brown (1873-1963). The film explains that Knight was the artist responsible for highly influential paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, while Barnum was one of the most famous fossil hunters of his era. With each having a chance to explain their methods and ways of looking at evidence.

Not long after, Ally has a minor accident with a fossilized dinosaur egg and inhales dust from the Cretaceous period (145-65 million years ago) She starts wondering the museum and having realisting hallucinations of the exhibits coming to life. From her POV, Ally is shifting between visions of the museum with some unusual elements and an actual time-travel to different eras. (The film leaves unclear whether all she sees are illusions or whether travel occurs). She gets to witness life at the Cretaceous and see a real-life Tyrranosaurus its nest. Ally also has a chance to meet and have brief conversations with her idols: Charles Robert Knight (1874-1953) and Barnum Brown (1873-1963). The film explains that Knight was the artist responsible for highly influential paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, while Barnum was one of the most famous fossil hunters of his era. With each having a chance to explain their methods and ways of looking at evidence.

Not long after, Ally has a minor accident with a fossilized dinosaur egg and inhales dust from the Cretaceous era (145-65 million years ago) She starts wondering the museum and having realisting hallucinations of the exhibits coming to life. From her POV, Ally is shifting between visions of the museum with some unusual elements and an actual time-travel to different eras. (The film leaves unclear whether all she sees are illusions or whether travel occurs). She gets to witness life at the Cretaceous and see a real-life Tyrranosaurus its nest. Ally also has a chance to meet and have brief conversations with her idols: Charles Robert Knight (1874-1953) and Barnum Brown (1873-1963). The film explains that Knight was the artist responsible for highly influential paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, while Barnum was one of the most famous fossil hunters of his era. With each having a chance to explain their methods and ways of looking at evidence.

* ExcellentAdventure: The ''Tyrannosaurus'' is the subject of Ally's science project for school. Then she meets one first hand and gets the details.

The film and its storyline stand as a fun way to present some scientific facts, theories and views on palaeontology. The CGI helped visualize the way actual dinosaurs would live and move. At the time of release, it was a modest box office hit. Its worldwide gross is estimated to 102,425,137 dollars, more than covering its budget. About 53 million of those dollars came from the United States market, where it was the 43rd most successful film of its year (likely aided by being shown in IMAX theatres at science centers and children's museums]]. The critics were mostly favorable to it, feeling it was fine as a children's movie, although there were also negative comparisons to ''Film/JurassicPark''. It had a SpiritualSuccessor of sorts in the documentary series ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' (1999) which used similar CGI technology to depict living dinosaurs.

* BitterSweetEnding: Ally helps rescue the Tyrannosaurus's egg from the Ornithomimus and gains it's trust, but unfortunately the meteor strikes nearby and kills the T. Rex and her eggs.

'''T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous''' is a 1998 [[ThreeDMovie 3D IMAX Movie]], directed by BrettLeonard. Like previous Leonard films (''TheLawnmowerMan'', ''{{Virtuosity}}'') it makes use of then-pioneering CGI effects. The film is mostly a documentary with a FramingDevice, only 45 minutes in length. The main stars were LizStauber, PeterHorton, and KariColeman. It was the first starring film role for Stauber, who previously only had theatrical credits and a cameo in ''Can't Hardly Wait''.

* BitterSweetEnding: Ally helps rescue the Tyrannosaurus's egg from the Ornithomimus and gains it's trust, unfortunately the meteor strikes and kills the T.Rex and her eggs.