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* Similarly to the ''Pokemon'' example above, the various dinosaur-based ''{{Franchise/Digimon}}'' are generally portrayed as fully sapient, able to speak, follow orders, and work effectively with humans.
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*Similarly to the ''Pokemon'' example above, the various dinosaur-based ''{{Franchise/Digimon}}'' are generally portrayed as fully sapient, able to speak, follow orders, and work effectively with humans.
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* Bob the Dinosaur from ''NewspaperComics/{{Dilbert}}''.
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* Bob the Dinosaur from ''NewspaperComics/{{Dilbert}}''.''NewspaperComics/{{Dilbert}}'' - he's one of the strip's few consistently nice and well-meaning characters, but [[DumbIsGood also one of the dumbest]].
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* Averted in ''FanFic/TheBridge''. Godzilla and the other dinosaurian kaiju are as intelligent as they are in canon. Some of which are even presented as [[GeniusBruiser Genius Bruisers]], most notably Xenilla.
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* Averted in ''FanFic/TheBridge''. Godzilla and the other dinosaurian kaiju are portrayed as intelligent as they are in canon.like their canon versions. Some of which are even presented as [[GeniusBruiser Genius Bruisers]], most notably Xenilla.
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* Averted in ''FanFic/TheBridge''. Godzilla and the other dinosaurian kaiju are as intelligent as they are in canon. Some of which are even presented as [[GeniusBruiser Genius Bruisers]], most notably Xenilla.
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* Averted ''ComicBook/DinosaursVsAliens''. The main premise is that dinosaurs (and pterosaurs) were actually intelligent and sapient, using tools and wearing tribal headgear.
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* Averted in ''ComicBook/DinosaursVsAliens''. The main premise is that dinosaurs (and pterosaurs) were actually intelligent and sapient, using tools and wearing tribal headgear.
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* Averted in ''Film/JurassicPark'' - the dinosaurs aren't unrealistically stupid, the ''T. rexes'' show parental care and plan in battle, the herbivores fight back when threatened, even ''Stegosaurus'' comes to their offspring's aid when they hear its cries of alarm, and others, like the ''Velociraptors'', are dangerously intelligent. In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the intelligence of the ''Indominus rex'' is part of what makes her so dangerous, and the humans often underestimate the predatory dinosaurs with fatal results.
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* Averted in ''Film/JurassicPark'' - the dinosaurs aren't unrealistically stupid, the ''T. rexes'' show parental care and plan in battle, the herbivores fight back when threatened, threatened and even ''Stegosaurus'' comes immediately come to their offspring's aid when they hear its cries of alarm, and others, like the ''Velociraptors'', are dangerously intelligent. In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the intelligence of the ''Indominus rex'' is part of what makes her so dangerous, and the humans often underestimate the predatory dinosaurs with fatal results.
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* Averted in ''Film/JurassicPark'' - the dinosaurs aren't unrealistically stupid, the ''T. rexes'' show parental care and plan in battle, and others, like the ''Velociraptors'', are dangerously intelligent. In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the intelligence of the ''Indominus rex'' is part of what makes her so dangerous, and the humans often underestimate the predatory dinosaurs with fatal results.
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* Averted in ''Film/JurassicPark'' - the dinosaurs aren't unrealistically stupid, the ''T. rexes'' show parental care and plan in battle, the herbivores fight back when threatened, even ''Stegosaurus'' comes to their offspring's aid when they hear its cries of alarm, and others, like the ''Velociraptors'', are dangerously intelligent. In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the intelligence of the ''Indominus rex'' is part of what makes her so dangerous, and the humans often underestimate the predatory dinosaurs with fatal results.
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* {{Franchise/Godzilla}} is an aversion. He is usually portrayed as intelligent, actively strategizes when fighting other monsters, and cares for his young. Even in the original ''{{Film/Gojira}}'', his rampage was both calculated and intentional.
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* {{Franchise/Godzilla}} is an aversion. He is usually portrayed as intelligent, actively strategizes when fighting other monsters, and cares for his young. Even in the original ''{{Film/Gojira}}'', his rampage was both calculated and intentional. The same goes for other Mesozoic kaiju such as Anguirus and Rodan.
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* In ''Creator/LennyHenry and the Quest for the Big Woof'', {{God}} says He created dinosaurs and couldn't remember why, so He dropped an Ice Age on them. He regards the fact none of them thought of inventing skiing as evidence they were all morons.
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* An EnforcedTrope in ''Homchen'' by {{Creator/KurdLasswitz}}, where the birdlike antagonists encourage the dinosaurs to evolve spinal brains instead of their heads, to keep them as obedient DumbMuscle. When one dinosaur and one mammal show signs of becoming too smart, they plan to put the dinosaur at the head of an army that will wipe out the mammals and then see to it that he comes to a martyr's death.
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* An EnforcedTrope in ''Homchen'' by {{Creator/KurdLasswitz}}, [[{{Creator/KurdLasswitz}} Kurd Lasswitz]], where the birdlike antagonists encourage the dinosaurs to evolve spinal brains instead of their heads, to keep them as obedient DumbMuscle. When one dinosaur and one mammal show signs of becoming too smart, they plan to put the dinosaur at the head of an army that will wipe out the mammals and then see to it that he comes to a martyr's death.
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* An EnforcedTrope in ''Homchen'' by {{Creator/KurdLasswitz}}, where the birdlike antagonists encourage the dinosaurs to evolve spinal brains instead of their heads, to keep them as obedient DumbMuscle. When one dinosaur and one mammal show signs of becoming too smart, they plan to put the dinosaur at the head of an army that will wipe out the mammals and then see to it that he comes to a martyr's death.
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This trope is generally associated with older works and is becoming increasingly rare after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_renaissance the Dinosaur Renaissance]] revamped the popular image of dinosaurs, but it does still occasionally pop up every now and again. These days, however, it's far more likely to be PlayedForLaughs as opposed to serious fiction.
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[[DiscreditedTrope This trope is generally associated with older works works]] and is becoming increasingly rare after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_renaissance the Dinosaur Renaissance]] revamped the popular image of dinosaurs, but it does still occasionally pop up every now and again. These days, however, it's far more likely to be PlayedForLaughs as opposed to serious fiction.
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* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', where [[TyrannosaurusRex Megatron]] and [[RaptorAttack Dinobot]] are both highly intelligent warriors. Megatron in particular is the series' resident [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] and one of the more intelligent incarnations of the character. [[PteroSoarer Terrorsaur]] plays this trope straight, due to his constant failures to [[TheStarscream overthrow Megatron]].
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* Dinosaurs in ''[[ComicStrip/TheFarSide The Far Side]]'' don't come across as particularly intelligent for the most part. In one cartoon a ''T. rex'' is shown to have poor grammar, and in another a group of dinosaurs are laughing at a mammal as it begins to snow.
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* Dinosaurs in ''[[ComicStrip/TheFarSide The Far Side]]'' don't come across as particularly intelligent for the most part. In one cartoon a ''T. rex'' is shown to have poor grammar, and in another a group of dinosaurs are laughing at a mammal as it begins to snow. Yet another has a dinosaur explaining that the prospects for long-term species survival are poor because they have a brain the size of a walnut.
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* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' averts this as far as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly herbivores]] (and pterosaurs) are concerned. The [[PredatorsAreMean carnivores]] are presented as more vicious, most notably the [[TyrannosaurusRex Redeye Tribe]].
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* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' averts this as far as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly herbivores]] (and pterosaurs) are concerned. The [[PredatorsAreMean carnivores]] are presented as more vicious, most notably the [[TyrannosaurusRex Redeye Tribe]].Tribe]], which do not talk and are driven by more animalistic instinct.
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* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' averts this as far as [[HerbivoresAreFriendly herbivores]] (and pterosaurs) are concerned. The [[PredatorsAreMean carnivores]] are presented as more vicious, most notably the [[TyrannosaurusRex Redeye Tribe]].
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* The dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/LostEden'' are aversions - they're intelligent and coexist with humans as equals along the lines of ''Dinotopia''. On the other hand, the ''T. rexes'' are portrayed as bloodthirsty warmongers.
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* The dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/LostEden'' are aversions - they're intelligent and coexist with humans as equals along the lines of ''Dinotopia''. On the other hand, the ''T. rexes'' are portrayed as bloodthirsty warmongers.warmongers out to threaten the dinosaurs and humans' way of life.
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* The dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/LostEden'' are aversions - they're intelligent and coexist with humans as equals along the lines of ''Dinotopia''.
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* The dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/LostEden'' are aversions - they're intelligent and coexist with humans as equals along the lines of ''Dinotopia''. On the other hand, the ''T. rexes'' are portrayed as bloodthirsty warmongers.
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* Averted in ''Anime/YouAreUmasou'', where both the carnivorous dinosaurs and herbivorous ones are portrayed as senient and able to speak, the main character being a ''Tyrannosaurus'' raised by ''Maiasaura''. That doesn't stop the carnivores from attacking and eating other dinosaurs, though. In fact, the movie tries to enforce the fact that a carnivore must eat meat to survive.
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* Averted in ''Anime/YouAreUmasou'', where both the carnivorous dinosaurs and herbivorous ones are portrayed as senient sentient and able to speak, the main character being a ''Tyrannosaurus'' ''T. rex'' raised by a ''Maiasaura''. That doesn't stop the carnivores from attacking and eating other dinosaurs, though. In fact, the movie tries to enforce the fact teach that a carnivore must eat meat to survive.
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* Averted in ''Anime/YouAreUmasou'', where both the carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs are portrayed as senient and able to speak.
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* Averted in ''Anime/YouAreUmasou'', where both the carnivorous dinosaurs and herbivorous dinosaurs ones are portrayed as senient and able to speak. speak, the main character being a ''Tyrannosaurus'' raised by ''Maiasaura''. That doesn't stop the carnivores from attacking and eating other dinosaurs, though. In fact, the movie tries to enforce the fact that a carnivore must eat meat to survive.
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* Averted in ''Anime/YouAreUmasou'', where both the carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs are portrayed as senient and able to speak.
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* Bob the Dinosaur from ''NewspaperComics/{{Dilbert}}''.
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* Averted ''ComicBook/DinosaurVsAliens''. The main premise is that dinosaurs (and pterosaurs) were actually intelligent and sapient, using tools and wearing tribal headgear.
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* Averted ''ComicBook/DinosaurVsAliens''.''ComicBook/DinosaursVsAliens''. The main premise is that dinosaurs (and pterosaurs) were actually intelligent and sapient, using tools and wearing tribal headgear.
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* Averted ''ComicBook/DinosaurVsAliens''. The main premise is that dinosaurs (and pterosaurs) were actually intelligent and sapient, using tools and wearing tribal headgear.
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* Averted in ''Franchise/TheSimpsons'' episode "Days of Future Future" where resurrected dinosaurs and pterosaurs kept in zoos are intelligent enough to understand and obey orders, perform tricks in front of patrons, and make use of human-made material (''T. rex'' even sleeps with a teddy bear while wearing a nightcap).
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* George the ''Stegosaurus'' in ''The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek'' is an early aversion - he can talk and is fairly intelligent, but he's painfully shy and usually avoids humans.
* In ''Tyrannosaurus Drip'', the ''Parasaurolophus'', including the title character, are intelligent but the ''T. rexes'' are stupid bullies.
* In ''Tyrannosaurus Drip'', the ''Parasaurolophus'', including the title character, are intelligent but the ''T. rexes'' are stupid bullies.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the herbivore protagonists are sapient and can talk, but the villainous "Sharptooth" can't. Even Spike ''can'' talk, but (usually) chooses not to, and other ''Stegosaurus'' in the setting are intelligent. Sequels portray the situation as less Sharpteeth being stupid and more that they have a separate language from the herbivores, with the sympathetic Sharptooth Chomper as bilingual. [[AllThereInTheManual As confirmed by the film's novelization]], the Sharptooth in the original film ''was'' intelligent and a particularly sadistic one who killed for fun more than food. The villainous ''Struthiomimus'' pair in the second film can and do talk to the protagonists, and other bilingual predatory characters, like Ichy and Dil in the fourth movie, likely can't be bothered to have conversations with their prey.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the herbivore protagonists are sapient and can talk, but the villainous "Sharptooth" can't. Even Spike [[TheVoiceless Spike]] ''can'' talk, but (usually) chooses not to, and other ''Stegosaurus'' in the setting are intelligent. Sequels portray the situation as less Sharpteeth being stupid and more that they have a separate language from the herbivores, with the sympathetic Sharptooth Chomper as bilingual. [[AllThereInTheManual As confirmed by the film's novelization]], the Sharptooth in the original film ''was'' intelligent and a particularly sadistic one who killed for fun more than food. The villainous ''Struthiomimus'' pair in the second film can and do talk to the protagonists, and other bilingual predatory characters, like Ichy and Dil in the fourth movie, likely can't be bothered to have conversations with their prey.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the herbivore protagonists are sapient and can talk, but the villainous "Sharptooth" can't. Sequels portray the situation as less Sharpteeth being stupid and more that they have a separate language from the herbivores, with the sympathetic Sharptooth Chomper as bilingual. [[AllThereInTheManual As confirmed by the film's novelization]], the Sharptooth in the original film ''was'' intelligent and a particularly sadistic one who killed for fun more than food. The villainous ''Struthiomimus'' pair in the second film can and do talk to the protagonists, and other bilingual predatory characters, like Ichy and Dil in the fourth movie, likely can't be bothered to have conversations with their prey.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the herbivore protagonists are sapient and can talk, but the villainous "Sharptooth" can't. Even Spike ''can'' talk, but (usually) chooses not to, and other ''Stegosaurus'' in the setting are intelligent. Sequels portray the situation as less Sharpteeth being stupid and more that they have a separate language from the herbivores, with the sympathetic Sharptooth Chomper as bilingual. [[AllThereInTheManual As confirmed by the film's novelization]], the Sharptooth in the original film ''was'' intelligent and a particularly sadistic one who killed for fun more than food. The villainous ''Struthiomimus'' pair in the second film can and do talk to the protagonists, and other bilingual predatory characters, like Ichy and Dil in the fourth movie, likely can't be bothered to have conversations with their prey.
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* In the German poem ''Der Ichthyosauren'', the dinosaurs' extinction is because they grew decadent, got drunk, and had affairs.
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-->-- '''Charles R. Knight''' on ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', as reported by [[http://http://strangescience.net/knight.htm Strange Science]]
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-->-- '''Charles R. Knight''' on ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', as reported by [[http://http://strangescience.[[http://strangescience.net/knight.htm Strange Science]]
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->''"Stegosaurus was, no doubt, the stupidest member of a very moronic family," he wrote. Of T. rex, Knight remarked, "He was just an enormous eating machine with an insatiable appetite and with practically no brains."''
-->-- '''Charles R. Knight''' on ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', as reported by [[http://http://strangescience.net/knight.htm Strange Science]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oldfashionedstegosaurus.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Duh.]]
In RealLife, while there is still research to be done on this topic, there's a good chance that dinosaurs, in particular the carnivores, were more intelligent than they are generally given credit for, showing complex social behaviors and caring for their young. In any case, dinosaurs existed for roughly 165 million years (and, if you count birds, they still exist today), so clearly they did something right.
In the media, dinosaurs and their relatives are often portrayed as helplessly stupid and sluggish to the point of being barely functional. They usually live in swamps, do nothing but fight, hide from predators, and eat marsh grass all day, and it's a wonder that they don't trip over their own feet. At their best, they're mindless eating machines, and at their worst they [[TheDinosaursHadItComing caused their own extinction]] [[TooDumbToLive through sheer stupidity]]. They are also found in OneMillionBC, where they often serve as food, mounts, or [[DomesticatedDinosaurs pets]] for the native cavepeople. If one is brought back to civilization or is revived in modern times, it will inevitably [[PrehistoricMonster go on a rampage and have to be destroyed]]. On the other hand, since they're so stupid the most effective way of avoiding the dinosaur is hiding, since it has no memory and will forget about you (incidentally, birds and crocodilians, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, ''[[ItCanThink do]]'' have memories, and good ones). Even anthropomorphized dinosaurs aren't immune to this, especially if they share the setting with [[MostWritersAreHuman mammals]].
''Stegosaurus'' (pictured) and sauropods in general are particularly associated with this stereotype, partly due to a long-standing myth that these dinosaurs were so stupid that they needed a second brain in the rear to function at all. Carnivorous dinosaurs like TyrannosaurusRex are likely to be mindlessly violent, [[SuperPersistentPredator attacking in dangerous situations where no real animal would take the risk]] or when the dinosaur recently fed and has no need to hunt. Herbivores will sometimes be [[HerbivoresAreFriendly unrealistically passive]], running away at best and making no serious attempt to defend themselves from predators, let alone effectively. However, in settings where the dinosaurs are sapient, it's likely that the carnivores will be on the receiving end of the trope because PredatorsAreMean. Sympathetic herbivores may also fall under DumbIsGood. The one exception is usually dromaeosaurs, who are [[RaptorAttack a trope of their own]], and almost always portrayed as neither dumb nor good. Pterosaurs are also less likely to be victims of this trope, and have [[PteroSoarer their own set of stereotypes]].
This trope is generally associated with older works and is becoming increasingly rare after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_renaissance the Dinosaur Renaissance]] revamped the popular image of dinosaurs, but it does still occasionally pop up every now and again. These days, however, it's far more likely to be PlayedForLaughs as opposed to serious fiction.
Compare PrehistoricMonster, which it often overlaps with, and FrazettaMan, in which prehistoric humans are demonized and their intelligence downplayed. DumbDodoBird is a similar trope applied to dodos (ironically another kind of dinosaur, as far as science is concerned). A subtrope of ArtisticLicensePaleontology.
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!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: Art]]
* Up until the 1960's, it was the general scientific consensus that dinosaurs were slow, stupid, and evolutionary failures, and scientific artwork of them tended to reflect that. The most famous and influential contributor to paleoart from this period was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Knight Charles R. Knight]], who provides the page image and quote.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Comic Books]]
* In ''{{ComicBook/Flesh}}'', a comic from ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'', dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals imported from the Mesozoic are used as a food source in the future. They are portrayed as instinct-driven and unintelligent, but are still dangerous in the case of predatory species, especially legendary individuals like Big Hungry the giant nothosaur and Old One Eye, a [[BadassGrandma 120 year old]] female ''T. rex''. [[spoiler: The dinosaurs eventually [[RockBeatsLaser attack and utterly slaughter the invading humans]].]]
* ''ComicBook/DevilDinosaur'' is an aversion, but because his intelligence was boosted to human levels by a mutation. He can't talk, but he can understand human speech. He's generally good-natured and is an effective partner to the human Moon-Boy.
* In "We Were Trapped in the Twilight World", a 1961 Creator/JackKirby story set in OneMillionBC, dinosaurs are depicted as lacking a sense of memory because of their stupidity, allowing the protagonists to escape a ''T. rex''.
* This trope [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/turok-young-earth-dinosaurs-21.jpg?w=370&h= comes]] [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/turok-young-earth-dinosaurs-18.jpg?w=370&h= up]] in ''Young Earth'', an [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology educational]] back-up comic to ''[[{{ComicBook/Turok}} Turok Son of Stone]]''. The dinosaurs in the actual comic are of the standard violent-monster variety.
* The ''Tor'' comics had similar back-up comics with [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/dino-comic001.jpg unflattering descriptions]] of the dinosaurs.
* In ''ComicBook/TheCartoonHistoryOfTheUniverse'', the dinosaurs are portrayed as dim-witted bullies toward the mammals, deliberately suppressing and stepping on them.
* Stegron the Dinosaur Man, a lesser-known member of [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spider-Man's]] RoguesGallery and a MadScientist who was transformed into an anthropomorphic ''Stegosaurus'' and has the ability to control dinosaurs. While he isn't stupid ''per se'', he isn't exactly considered a top-tier threat.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fan Works]]
* Averted in ''FanFic/ItsNotTheRaptorDNA'', where the dinosaurs are key characters as much as the humans are. The extraordinary intelligence of Elise the ''Indominus rex'' turns out to come from the human DNA added to the genetic mix used to create her. Elise herself is a complete aversion, since she is able to learn how to read and write, understand orders, communicate with humans using sign language, and work as a team with human ACU members. Blue and the Raptor Squad, Rexy, and Sobek are no mental slouches, either.
* In the ''FanFic/NegaverseChronicles'', Dr. Fossil and Stegmutt are both aversions. Fossil is a friendly MadScientist in the Negaverse as opposed to his villainous self in ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', even as a pterosaur. However, the Negaverse's Stegmutt is a much nastier and much smarter [[TheStarscream Starscream]] even in ''Stegosaurus'' form. On being transformed into raptors by Stegmutt, Bushroot and Quackerjack lose their intelligence and free will until the transformation is reversed, playing the trope straight.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film - Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'', the pre-anthropomorphized dinosaurs, Rex in particular, are portrayed as stupid and mindlessly violent. They are later returned to this state by the film's BigBad.
* In ''{{Disney/Dinosaur}}'', the herbivores are fully sapient while the carnivores seem more instinct-driven and can't talk. However, even the herbivores are portrayed with a [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] mentality which only the mammal-raised hero lacks.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the herbivore protagonists are sapient and can talk, but the villainous "Sharptooth" can't. Sequels portray the situation as less Sharpteeth being stupid and more that they have a separate language from the herbivores, with the sympathetic Sharptooth Chomper as bilingual. [[AllThereInTheManual As confirmed by the film's novelization]], the Sharptooth in the original film ''was'' intelligent and a particularly sadistic one who killed for fun more than food. The villainous ''Struthiomimus'' pair in the second film can and do talk to the protagonists, and other bilingual predatory characters, like Ichy and Dil in the fourth movie, likely can't be bothered to have conversations with their prey.
* Arlo of ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' is an aversion, along with most of the other dinosaurs, who are fully sapient - including the ''T. rexes'', who are stern but friendly ranchers. Ironically, the AxCrazy raptor rustlers come off as the least intelligent dinosaurs in the movie, while Thunderclap and the pterosaurs are cruel and superstitious but not ''stupid''.
* The various dinosaurs in the ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' series generally aren't very bright compared to the mammal protagonists, and none of them can talk. Cretaceous and Maelstrom in ''[[WesternAnimation/IceAgeTheMeltdown The Meltdown]]'' are more brutish and hungry forces of nature than characters, while Rudy the ''Baryonyx'' and the mother ''T. rex'' in ''[[WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnofTheDinosaurs Dawn of the Dinosaurs]]'' are portrayed as a fair bit smarter than most - the ''T. rex'' eventually befriends the main characters while Rudy is smart enough to hold a mutual grudge with Buck.
* Tiny the ''T. rex'' in ''Disney/MeetTheRobinsons'', although under mind control at the time, is at least smart enough to ask Bowler Hat Guy if he thought his plan through. He's also perfectly willing to be civil once the hat mind-controlling him is removed.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film - Live Action]]
* In ''[[Film/KingKong1933 King Kong]]'', the dinosaurs are stupid and violent, attacking humans for little reason. This includes the herbivores.
* The dinosaurs in ''[[Film/OneMillionYearsBC One Million Years BC]]'' are similar, constantly fighting the native cavepeople and one another in situations where normal animals would back off.
* Averted in ''Film/JurassicPark'' - the dinosaurs aren't unrealistically stupid, the ''T. rexes'' show parental care and plan in battle, and others, like the ''Velociraptors'', are dangerously intelligent. In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the intelligence of the ''Indominus rex'' is part of what makes her so dangerous, and the humans often underestimate the predatory dinosaurs with fatal results.
* The intelligent dinosaur-people of the ''[[Film/SuperMarioBros Super Mario Bros.]]'' movie are generally portrayed as more violent, crude, and stupid than their human counterparts, and their world is a {{dystopia}}n hellhole.
* In ''Film/TheLastDinosaur'', the title character, a ''T. rex,'' is of the "mindless eating machine" variety, consistently attacking humans as opposed to its natural prey in the LostWorld and occasionally targeting inanimate objects.
* The Rhedosaurus of ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'' is another mindlessly violent city-destroying monster. However, the Creator/RayBradbury short story it was adapted from averted the trope - the dinosaur is intelligent enough to socialize and avoid contact with humans.
* While the ''T. rex'' in ''{{Film/Dinosaurus}}'' is a violent monster who attacks indiscriminately, the ''Brontosaurus'' is more good-natured and trainable by the heroes but also [[DumbIsGood dim]].
* Parodied in ''Film/LandOfTheLost'': when a TyrannosaurusRex attacks the protagonists, but they outwit it by crossing a log bridge, Marshall notes as it walks away that it only has a brain the size of a walnut. The ''T. rex'' takes it as a [[ItsPersonal personal insult]] and attacks the protagonists again. Later it drops a gigantic walnut in front of the cave where the protagonists are hiding, just to prove a point.
* The dinosaurs in ''Film/TheLostWorld'', which follow standard movie dinosaur behavior in constantly attacking humans and other dinosaurs for no reason. Special mention goes to the ''Brontosaurus'', who rampages across London despite being an herbivore. On the other hand, there is a sympathetic moment for a mother ''Triceratops'' looking after its young. This is a very early example that predates fossil evidence of parental care in dinosaurs.
* Gwangi the ''Allosaurus'' of ''Film/TheValleyOfGwangi'' is of the marauding-monster variety, leaving an elephant he kills uneaten before targeting humans.
* The dinosaurs in the 1955 Czech film ''Journey to the Beginning of Time'' come off this way.
* {{Franchise/Godzilla}} is an aversion. He is usually portrayed as intelligent, actively strategizes when fighting other monsters, and cares for his young. Even in the original ''{{Film/Gojira}}'', his rampage was both calculated and intentional.
* The dinosaur in ''The Beast of Hollow Mountain'' is a similar case to Gwangi above, and preys on human cowboys and cattle.
* A non-dinosaur example in ''The Crater Lake Monster'', featuring an [[StockNessMonster amphibious plesiosaur]] who crawls onto land to hunt humans, continuing to attack even when seriously hurt and facing severe resistance.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature]]
* In ''Astrosaurs'', the dinosaurs are intelligent enough to build spaceships and leave Earth before the meteorite hits. However, the carnivores are [[PredatorsAreMean usually portrayed as violence-prone, evil, and stupid]] while the herbivores are intelligent and generally friendly. Ironically, the hero of the series is a ''Stegosaurus'', a common victim of this stereotype.
* ''Detective Dinosaur'' of the series of the same name is a CluelessDetective, and DaChief, a ''T. rex'', isn't much better. His pterosaur partner, however, is a HypercompetentSidekick.
* The ''T. rex'' in the Creator/RayBradbury story ''Literature/ASoundOfThunder'' is portrayed as a more-or-less mindless monster who attacks the time travelers even when badly wounded.
* Averted in a non-Bradbury spin-off novel to the above ''Sound of Thunder'', where a race of sapient allosaurs appears. [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent They aren't]] [[AlwaysChaoticEvil very nice.]]
* The various dinosaurs in ''Literature/TheLandThatTimeForgot'', ''{{Literature/Pellucidar}}'', and the ''{{Literature/Tarzan}}'' novels by Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs are feral and unintelligent. The telepathic and highly intelligent Mahars, descended from pterosaurs, are an aversion, although they suffer from a strong case of BlueAndOrangeMorality - they legitimately see nothing wrong with hypnotizing and enslaving other species, which they don't see as sentient. This is because they are completely deaf and can only communicate through their own telepathy.
* The assorted prehistoric animals in ''Literature/TheLostWorld1912'' by Creator/ArthurConanDoyle come off this way, including the pterodactyls, ''Iguanodon'', and ''Megalosaurus'' - they are portrayed as backwards, grotesque, and inferior creatures who need to be subjugated for progress. The pterodactyl is utterly incapable of surviving in the modern world when it escapes capture, and a ''Megalosaurus'' attacks the protagonists even after it has recently fed on an ''Iguanodon'' herd. Since the book was one of the first appearances of dinosaurs as characters in popular fiction, it was the TropeCodifier for many pre-Renaissance portrayals. For example, because the dinosaurs are so stupid and slow, they die slowly and can take a lot of damage in the meantime.
* ''Dazzle the Dinosaur'' is of the herbivores as sapient, carnivores as non-sapient variety. The herbivores speak and are helpful, but the ''T. rex'' and "Dragonsaurus" never demonstrate signs of intelligence or the ability to be reasoned with.
* In "A Gun for Dinosaur" by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp, the dinosaurs' stupidity makes hunting them difficult due to the small size of their skulls. Because they have no memory, it's easy to escape their attention by hiding - they'll simply forget about you.
* The dinosaurs in [[Creator/PoulAnderson Poul Anderson's]] "Wildcat" are so stupid that they are incredibly difficult to kill, staying active enough to fight even after grave injuries. The carnivores also do not recognize carrion as food, [[ScienceMarchesOn something demonstrably false in the fossil record]].
* ''Literature/RaptorRed'' averts the trope, portraying the dinosaurs' intelligence as realistically as could be allowed given information available at the time, and all of them are perfectly functional in their habitat. [[ShownTheirWork The book was written by one of the paleontologists behind the Dinosaur Renaissance.]]
* Both the original novel and [[{{Film/Carnosaur}} film adaptation]] of ''{{Literature/Carnosaur}}'' portray carnivorous dinosaurs as stupid and overly vicious, going out of their way to kill humans and attack public spaces with no provocation. While they were created by a MadScientist to do just this, there's no evidence that he tampered with the DNA to make them more violent. To be fair, the novel does better on this front than the films do, and is an effort to mesh a monstrous portrayal of dinosaurs with Renaissance-era information - the dinosaurs are agile, warm-blooded, and smart enough to be threatening.
* In ''Danger in Dinosaur Valley'', a ''Diplodocus'' is smart enough to learn baseball from watching human time travelers. He then uses this knowledge to help his family fight off a villainous ''T. rex''. On the other hand, the ''T. rex'' itself is an eating machine who shows no intelligence or stealth in hunting.
* Averted in ''{{Literature/Dinotopia}}'', where all of the dinosaurs, both herbivores and carnivores, are sapient and live in peace with humans - even the large predatory species are NobleSavage types who explicitly aren't evil and can be reasoned with.
* In "The Dechronization of Sam [=McGruder=]", the title character, a time traveler, observes that dinosaurs do not have memories and carnivores can be avoided simply by hiding. This is a relatively late example in serious fiction, written in 1970 and published in 1996.
* Inverted in "Dinosaur on a Bicycle", where the protagonist is a sapient dinosaur who initially thinks ''mammals'' are the stupid ones, since in his universe they never achieved full self-awareness.
* Averted in ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', where the main characters become dinosaurs of various species themselves through a memory transfer device. The non-transformed dinosaurs they encounter are intelligent and often helpful.
* Played with in the Creator/IsaacAsimov stories "Day of the Hunters" and "Big Game" - an intelligent race of dinosaurs who developed guns killed off the rest and eventually each other for sport. The dinosaurs' self-destructive ways [[NotSoDifferent are explicitly compared to humans']].
* This trope is discussed extensively along with PrehistoricMonster in ''Starring T. Rex!'', an analysis of dinosaurs in film and popular culture.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* In ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'', the dinosaurs are portrayed as stupid but mostly likable and well-meaning. On the other hand, they are responsible for their own extinction.
* In a miniseries adaptation of ''The Lost World'', the trope is deconstructed - while the team goes in with this attitude and the allosaurs are still dangerous, the protagonists interact peacefully with other dinosaurs, the prehistoric creatures are well-adapted to their environment and fairly intelligent, and [[spoiler: the protagonists ultimately decide to spare the plateau where the animals live.]]
* In ''Series/LandOfTheLost1974'', most of the dinosaurs that the Marshalls meet aren't particularly smart, and even fewer are particularly friendly.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Music]]
* The rampaging dinosaurs in ''Music/DinosaurPlanet'' are ultimately a subversion - after their attack, they are smart enough to team up with the humans to defeat the giant robots who are really responsible for the invasion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Newspaper Strips]]
* Dinosaurs in ''[[ComicStrip/TheFarSide The Far Side]]'' don't come across as particularly intelligent for the most part. In one cartoon a ''T. rex'' is shown to have poor grammar, and in another a group of dinosaurs are laughing at a mammal as it begins to snow.
* The dinosaurs in ''[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvin and Hobbes]]'' come across as dim and helpless, in the case of the herbivores, and violent eating machines, in the case of the carnivores. Justified in that the strips reflect Calvin's imagination, not real life, and this is how he imagines dinosaurs to be.
* Played straight in [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/1934-may19-this-curious-world-william-g-ferguson.jpg this 1934 cartoon from]] ''This Curious World'', which claims that the dinosaurs' lack of brains hastened their extinction.
* ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop'', set in OneMillionBC, released a few "educational" comics about the dinosaurs in the strip. [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/alley-oop-1934-0916-v-t-hamlin.jpg?w=700&h= Several]] [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/alley-oop-1934-0923-v-t-hamlin.jpg?w=700&h= used]] this trope.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Poetry]]
* The dinosaurs in the poetry collection ''Tyrannosaurus was a Beast'' are either [[PrehistoricMonster prehistoric monsters]] on the carnivores' side or this trope on the herbivores' side.
* [[http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-riddle-of-the-dinosaur/ This poem]] by Bert Leston Taylor, which invokes the then-common belief that sauropod dinosaurs had two brains. (In fact, they only needed one - the second "brain" was a starch deposit.)
[[/folder]]
[[folder: TabletopGames]]
* In ''TabletopGame/DinosaursAttack'', a reptilian alien describes the attacking dinosaurs as dumb, evil brutes who live only by instinct and lack the souls [[HumansAreSpecial that humans have]]. The dinosaurs themselves don't exactly go out of their way to prove his description wrong - almost every time they appear, they're seen eating or maiming someone, [[AscendedToCarnivorism including the plant-eaters]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Toys]]
* While the mutated dinosaurs in ''Toys/LegoDinoAttack'' are violent, at least some of them are smart enough to adapt to tactics used against them, making them an aversion. This is even more the case in the ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'', where the ''real'' dinosaurs are benevolent and sapient, including the ''T. rex''.
* In ''Toys/LegoDino'', on the other hand, all of the prehistoric animals are violent, stupid, and threaten to rampage across the city for no reason - including relatively nonthreatening ones like ''Coelophysis'' and ''Pteranodon'' as well as herbivores like ''Triceratops''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Video Games]]
* Averted with the various dinosaur-based ''{{VideoGame/Pokemon}}'', who are at least intelligent enough to follow orders, cooperate with humans, and [[ThePowerOfFriendship show loyalty toward their trainers]]. Archeops in particular is described as being intelligent, although no dinosaur Pokémon is described as being ''stupid''.
* Yoshi of the ''{{Franchise/Mario}}'' games is another aversion - he and his species are completely sapient on the level of the other characters, he is a friend to Mario as opposed to a pet, and Yoshi is a [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland capable hero]] [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 in his]] [[VideoGame/YoshisWoollyWorld own right]].
* The herbivorous dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/ZooTycoon'' don't bother to defend themselves from predators, even ones much smaller than they are. Averted in the sequel with the ''Utahraptors'' and ''Stokesosaurus'', who are smart enough to need enrichment and like to paint.
* The dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/LostEden'' are aversions - they're intelligent and coexist with humans as equals along the lines of ''Dinotopia''.
* Most of the enemies and bosses in ''VideoGame/PrehistoricIsle'' are rampaging dinosaurs.
* Riptor in ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' has human intelligence, but [[AllThereInTheManual according to supplementary material]] she has severe SplitPersonality issues between her intelligent human side and instinctual dinosaur side and is more likely to attack than attempt any kind of friendly communication.
* Most of the enemy dinosaurs in ''{{VideoGame/Nanosaur}}'' follow this trope - the player character, a sapient ''Velociraptor'' in the first game and a pterosaur in the second, is the exception.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Webcomics]]
* Subverted with the dinosaurs in ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics'', who are very philosophical. (Although ''T. rex'' is sometimes portrayed as TheMcCoy.)
* The fully-sapient dinosaurs in ''Webcomic/TetZooTime'' are another aversion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Web Original]]
* The blog ''WebOriginal/LoveInTheTimeOfChasmosaurs'' often discusses [[http://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/search/label/vintage%20dinosaur%20art books]], generally nonfiction and/or [[ScienceMarchesOn educational]], using this trope from the perspective of a modern paleontologist.
* The short web video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0NuKvGcrpk Dumb Dinosaur]] shows a poorly-drawn theropod (probably an ''Allosaurus'' or a ''Megalosaurus''), based on a fake tattoo, in various situations where its low intelligence gets it into trouble.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Web Animation]]
* Inverted in ''WebAnimation/ReverseJurassicPark'', where the dinosaurs are intelligent and humans are feared as stupid, ferocious monsters.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Western Animation]]
* Yoshi in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' animated series is childlike and good-natured, but dim. The other dinosaurs in the setting are stupid and predatory toward the native cavemen. This is a departure from the games, as noted above.
* In a similar case to ''We're Back'' above, the villains of ''{{WesternAnimation/Dinosaucers}}'' have access to [[DevolutionDevice Devolution Devices]] that allow them to forcibly regress a target anthro-dinosaur to his or her feral prehistoric form, with the accompanying loss of intelligence.
* The Dinobots in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' are very powerful, but also very stupid and difficult to control. Various adaptations since then have played with just how stupid they are, and in some cases their leader Grimlock is ObfuscatingStupidity or suffers from speech defects that make him sound more stupid than he really is. True to the trope, however, Sludge, the sauropod Dinobot, is the stupidest of the bunch.
* Stegmutt from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' is an anthropomorphic duck turned into a ''Stegosaurus'' by a DevolutionDevice. He's a DumbMuscle minion of the VillainOfTheWeek, Dr. Fossil (who himself is an aversion, an EvilGenius duck turned into a pterosaur who keeps his intelligence), until he does a HeelFaceTurn and becomes Darkwing's gentle, but still dumb ally.
* While Starscream mistakes Predaking, the setting's dinosaur equivalent, for a stupid animal in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', Predaking is a subversion - he's smart enough to operate a computer after watching Cybertronians do it, recognizes and avoids Wheeljack's EatTheBomb tactic in battle, is capable of speech, and later reveals himself to be intelligent and eloquent. His species, the Predacons, are fully sapient.
* Dino and the other tame dinosaurs in ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' are friendly but not particularly bright. However, in his debut Dino was actually an aversion - he was able to talk and was more of a household servant than a pet. In the series proper, he has the behavior of a dog, combining this trope with DogsAreDumb.
* Averted with the anthropomorphic dinosaurs (and one pterosaur) in ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeDinosaurs'', who are intelligent and well-spoken. Ironically, TheSmartGuy of the team is a ''Stegosaurus'', and the only truly stupid dinosaur character is Haxx, one of the antagonistic ''Velociraptors''.
* ''WesternAnimation/GertieTheDinosaur'' is an early aversion, since she's smart enough to understand and obey (and willingly disobey) orders.
[[/folder]]
-->-- '''Charles R. Knight''' on ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', as reported by [[http://http://strangescience.net/knight.htm Strange Science]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oldfashionedstegosaurus.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Duh.]]
In RealLife, while there is still research to be done on this topic, there's a good chance that dinosaurs, in particular the carnivores, were more intelligent than they are generally given credit for, showing complex social behaviors and caring for their young. In any case, dinosaurs existed for roughly 165 million years (and, if you count birds, they still exist today), so clearly they did something right.
In the media, dinosaurs and their relatives are often portrayed as helplessly stupid and sluggish to the point of being barely functional. They usually live in swamps, do nothing but fight, hide from predators, and eat marsh grass all day, and it's a wonder that they don't trip over their own feet. At their best, they're mindless eating machines, and at their worst they [[TheDinosaursHadItComing caused their own extinction]] [[TooDumbToLive through sheer stupidity]]. They are also found in OneMillionBC, where they often serve as food, mounts, or [[DomesticatedDinosaurs pets]] for the native cavepeople. If one is brought back to civilization or is revived in modern times, it will inevitably [[PrehistoricMonster go on a rampage and have to be destroyed]]. On the other hand, since they're so stupid the most effective way of avoiding the dinosaur is hiding, since it has no memory and will forget about you (incidentally, birds and crocodilians, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, ''[[ItCanThink do]]'' have memories, and good ones). Even anthropomorphized dinosaurs aren't immune to this, especially if they share the setting with [[MostWritersAreHuman mammals]].
''Stegosaurus'' (pictured) and sauropods in general are particularly associated with this stereotype, partly due to a long-standing myth that these dinosaurs were so stupid that they needed a second brain in the rear to function at all. Carnivorous dinosaurs like TyrannosaurusRex are likely to be mindlessly violent, [[SuperPersistentPredator attacking in dangerous situations where no real animal would take the risk]] or when the dinosaur recently fed and has no need to hunt. Herbivores will sometimes be [[HerbivoresAreFriendly unrealistically passive]], running away at best and making no serious attempt to defend themselves from predators, let alone effectively. However, in settings where the dinosaurs are sapient, it's likely that the carnivores will be on the receiving end of the trope because PredatorsAreMean. Sympathetic herbivores may also fall under DumbIsGood. The one exception is usually dromaeosaurs, who are [[RaptorAttack a trope of their own]], and almost always portrayed as neither dumb nor good. Pterosaurs are also less likely to be victims of this trope, and have [[PteroSoarer their own set of stereotypes]].
This trope is generally associated with older works and is becoming increasingly rare after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_renaissance the Dinosaur Renaissance]] revamped the popular image of dinosaurs, but it does still occasionally pop up every now and again. These days, however, it's far more likely to be PlayedForLaughs as opposed to serious fiction.
Compare PrehistoricMonster, which it often overlaps with, and FrazettaMan, in which prehistoric humans are demonized and their intelligence downplayed. DumbDodoBird is a similar trope applied to dodos (ironically another kind of dinosaur, as far as science is concerned). A subtrope of ArtisticLicensePaleontology.
----
!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: Art]]
* Up until the 1960's, it was the general scientific consensus that dinosaurs were slow, stupid, and evolutionary failures, and scientific artwork of them tended to reflect that. The most famous and influential contributor to paleoart from this period was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Knight Charles R. Knight]], who provides the page image and quote.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Comic Books]]
* In ''{{ComicBook/Flesh}}'', a comic from ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'', dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals imported from the Mesozoic are used as a food source in the future. They are portrayed as instinct-driven and unintelligent, but are still dangerous in the case of predatory species, especially legendary individuals like Big Hungry the giant nothosaur and Old One Eye, a [[BadassGrandma 120 year old]] female ''T. rex''. [[spoiler: The dinosaurs eventually [[RockBeatsLaser attack and utterly slaughter the invading humans]].]]
* ''ComicBook/DevilDinosaur'' is an aversion, but because his intelligence was boosted to human levels by a mutation. He can't talk, but he can understand human speech. He's generally good-natured and is an effective partner to the human Moon-Boy.
* In "We Were Trapped in the Twilight World", a 1961 Creator/JackKirby story set in OneMillionBC, dinosaurs are depicted as lacking a sense of memory because of their stupidity, allowing the protagonists to escape a ''T. rex''.
* This trope [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/turok-young-earth-dinosaurs-21.jpg?w=370&h= comes]] [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/turok-young-earth-dinosaurs-18.jpg?w=370&h= up]] in ''Young Earth'', an [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology educational]] back-up comic to ''[[{{ComicBook/Turok}} Turok Son of Stone]]''. The dinosaurs in the actual comic are of the standard violent-monster variety.
* The ''Tor'' comics had similar back-up comics with [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/dino-comic001.jpg unflattering descriptions]] of the dinosaurs.
* In ''ComicBook/TheCartoonHistoryOfTheUniverse'', the dinosaurs are portrayed as dim-witted bullies toward the mammals, deliberately suppressing and stepping on them.
* Stegron the Dinosaur Man, a lesser-known member of [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spider-Man's]] RoguesGallery and a MadScientist who was transformed into an anthropomorphic ''Stegosaurus'' and has the ability to control dinosaurs. While he isn't stupid ''per se'', he isn't exactly considered a top-tier threat.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Fan Works]]
* Averted in ''FanFic/ItsNotTheRaptorDNA'', where the dinosaurs are key characters as much as the humans are. The extraordinary intelligence of Elise the ''Indominus rex'' turns out to come from the human DNA added to the genetic mix used to create her. Elise herself is a complete aversion, since she is able to learn how to read and write, understand orders, communicate with humans using sign language, and work as a team with human ACU members. Blue and the Raptor Squad, Rexy, and Sobek are no mental slouches, either.
* In the ''FanFic/NegaverseChronicles'', Dr. Fossil and Stegmutt are both aversions. Fossil is a friendly MadScientist in the Negaverse as opposed to his villainous self in ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', even as a pterosaur. However, the Negaverse's Stegmutt is a much nastier and much smarter [[TheStarscream Starscream]] even in ''Stegosaurus'' form. On being transformed into raptors by Stegmutt, Bushroot and Quackerjack lose their intelligence and free will until the transformation is reversed, playing the trope straight.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film - Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'', the pre-anthropomorphized dinosaurs, Rex in particular, are portrayed as stupid and mindlessly violent. They are later returned to this state by the film's BigBad.
* In ''{{Disney/Dinosaur}}'', the herbivores are fully sapient while the carnivores seem more instinct-driven and can't talk. However, even the herbivores are portrayed with a [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] mentality which only the mammal-raised hero lacks.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the herbivore protagonists are sapient and can talk, but the villainous "Sharptooth" can't. Sequels portray the situation as less Sharpteeth being stupid and more that they have a separate language from the herbivores, with the sympathetic Sharptooth Chomper as bilingual. [[AllThereInTheManual As confirmed by the film's novelization]], the Sharptooth in the original film ''was'' intelligent and a particularly sadistic one who killed for fun more than food. The villainous ''Struthiomimus'' pair in the second film can and do talk to the protagonists, and other bilingual predatory characters, like Ichy and Dil in the fourth movie, likely can't be bothered to have conversations with their prey.
* Arlo of ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodDinosaur'' is an aversion, along with most of the other dinosaurs, who are fully sapient - including the ''T. rexes'', who are stern but friendly ranchers. Ironically, the AxCrazy raptor rustlers come off as the least intelligent dinosaurs in the movie, while Thunderclap and the pterosaurs are cruel and superstitious but not ''stupid''.
* The various dinosaurs in the ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' series generally aren't very bright compared to the mammal protagonists, and none of them can talk. Cretaceous and Maelstrom in ''[[WesternAnimation/IceAgeTheMeltdown The Meltdown]]'' are more brutish and hungry forces of nature than characters, while Rudy the ''Baryonyx'' and the mother ''T. rex'' in ''[[WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnofTheDinosaurs Dawn of the Dinosaurs]]'' are portrayed as a fair bit smarter than most - the ''T. rex'' eventually befriends the main characters while Rudy is smart enough to hold a mutual grudge with Buck.
* Tiny the ''T. rex'' in ''Disney/MeetTheRobinsons'', although under mind control at the time, is at least smart enough to ask Bowler Hat Guy if he thought his plan through. He's also perfectly willing to be civil once the hat mind-controlling him is removed.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film - Live Action]]
* In ''[[Film/KingKong1933 King Kong]]'', the dinosaurs are stupid and violent, attacking humans for little reason. This includes the herbivores.
* The dinosaurs in ''[[Film/OneMillionYearsBC One Million Years BC]]'' are similar, constantly fighting the native cavepeople and one another in situations where normal animals would back off.
* Averted in ''Film/JurassicPark'' - the dinosaurs aren't unrealistically stupid, the ''T. rexes'' show parental care and plan in battle, and others, like the ''Velociraptors'', are dangerously intelligent. In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the intelligence of the ''Indominus rex'' is part of what makes her so dangerous, and the humans often underestimate the predatory dinosaurs with fatal results.
* The intelligent dinosaur-people of the ''[[Film/SuperMarioBros Super Mario Bros.]]'' movie are generally portrayed as more violent, crude, and stupid than their human counterparts, and their world is a {{dystopia}}n hellhole.
* In ''Film/TheLastDinosaur'', the title character, a ''T. rex,'' is of the "mindless eating machine" variety, consistently attacking humans as opposed to its natural prey in the LostWorld and occasionally targeting inanimate objects.
* The Rhedosaurus of ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'' is another mindlessly violent city-destroying monster. However, the Creator/RayBradbury short story it was adapted from averted the trope - the dinosaur is intelligent enough to socialize and avoid contact with humans.
* While the ''T. rex'' in ''{{Film/Dinosaurus}}'' is a violent monster who attacks indiscriminately, the ''Brontosaurus'' is more good-natured and trainable by the heroes but also [[DumbIsGood dim]].
* Parodied in ''Film/LandOfTheLost'': when a TyrannosaurusRex attacks the protagonists, but they outwit it by crossing a log bridge, Marshall notes as it walks away that it only has a brain the size of a walnut. The ''T. rex'' takes it as a [[ItsPersonal personal insult]] and attacks the protagonists again. Later it drops a gigantic walnut in front of the cave where the protagonists are hiding, just to prove a point.
* The dinosaurs in ''Film/TheLostWorld'', which follow standard movie dinosaur behavior in constantly attacking humans and other dinosaurs for no reason. Special mention goes to the ''Brontosaurus'', who rampages across London despite being an herbivore. On the other hand, there is a sympathetic moment for a mother ''Triceratops'' looking after its young. This is a very early example that predates fossil evidence of parental care in dinosaurs.
* Gwangi the ''Allosaurus'' of ''Film/TheValleyOfGwangi'' is of the marauding-monster variety, leaving an elephant he kills uneaten before targeting humans.
* The dinosaurs in the 1955 Czech film ''Journey to the Beginning of Time'' come off this way.
* {{Franchise/Godzilla}} is an aversion. He is usually portrayed as intelligent, actively strategizes when fighting other monsters, and cares for his young. Even in the original ''{{Film/Gojira}}'', his rampage was both calculated and intentional.
* The dinosaur in ''The Beast of Hollow Mountain'' is a similar case to Gwangi above, and preys on human cowboys and cattle.
* A non-dinosaur example in ''The Crater Lake Monster'', featuring an [[StockNessMonster amphibious plesiosaur]] who crawls onto land to hunt humans, continuing to attack even when seriously hurt and facing severe resistance.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature]]
* In ''Astrosaurs'', the dinosaurs are intelligent enough to build spaceships and leave Earth before the meteorite hits. However, the carnivores are [[PredatorsAreMean usually portrayed as violence-prone, evil, and stupid]] while the herbivores are intelligent and generally friendly. Ironically, the hero of the series is a ''Stegosaurus'', a common victim of this stereotype.
* ''Detective Dinosaur'' of the series of the same name is a CluelessDetective, and DaChief, a ''T. rex'', isn't much better. His pterosaur partner, however, is a HypercompetentSidekick.
* The ''T. rex'' in the Creator/RayBradbury story ''Literature/ASoundOfThunder'' is portrayed as a more-or-less mindless monster who attacks the time travelers even when badly wounded.
* Averted in a non-Bradbury spin-off novel to the above ''Sound of Thunder'', where a race of sapient allosaurs appears. [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent They aren't]] [[AlwaysChaoticEvil very nice.]]
* The various dinosaurs in ''Literature/TheLandThatTimeForgot'', ''{{Literature/Pellucidar}}'', and the ''{{Literature/Tarzan}}'' novels by Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs are feral and unintelligent. The telepathic and highly intelligent Mahars, descended from pterosaurs, are an aversion, although they suffer from a strong case of BlueAndOrangeMorality - they legitimately see nothing wrong with hypnotizing and enslaving other species, which they don't see as sentient. This is because they are completely deaf and can only communicate through their own telepathy.
* The assorted prehistoric animals in ''Literature/TheLostWorld1912'' by Creator/ArthurConanDoyle come off this way, including the pterodactyls, ''Iguanodon'', and ''Megalosaurus'' - they are portrayed as backwards, grotesque, and inferior creatures who need to be subjugated for progress. The pterodactyl is utterly incapable of surviving in the modern world when it escapes capture, and a ''Megalosaurus'' attacks the protagonists even after it has recently fed on an ''Iguanodon'' herd. Since the book was one of the first appearances of dinosaurs as characters in popular fiction, it was the TropeCodifier for many pre-Renaissance portrayals. For example, because the dinosaurs are so stupid and slow, they die slowly and can take a lot of damage in the meantime.
* ''Dazzle the Dinosaur'' is of the herbivores as sapient, carnivores as non-sapient variety. The herbivores speak and are helpful, but the ''T. rex'' and "Dragonsaurus" never demonstrate signs of intelligence or the ability to be reasoned with.
* In "A Gun for Dinosaur" by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp, the dinosaurs' stupidity makes hunting them difficult due to the small size of their skulls. Because they have no memory, it's easy to escape their attention by hiding - they'll simply forget about you.
* The dinosaurs in [[Creator/PoulAnderson Poul Anderson's]] "Wildcat" are so stupid that they are incredibly difficult to kill, staying active enough to fight even after grave injuries. The carnivores also do not recognize carrion as food, [[ScienceMarchesOn something demonstrably false in the fossil record]].
* ''Literature/RaptorRed'' averts the trope, portraying the dinosaurs' intelligence as realistically as could be allowed given information available at the time, and all of them are perfectly functional in their habitat. [[ShownTheirWork The book was written by one of the paleontologists behind the Dinosaur Renaissance.]]
* Both the original novel and [[{{Film/Carnosaur}} film adaptation]] of ''{{Literature/Carnosaur}}'' portray carnivorous dinosaurs as stupid and overly vicious, going out of their way to kill humans and attack public spaces with no provocation. While they were created by a MadScientist to do just this, there's no evidence that he tampered with the DNA to make them more violent. To be fair, the novel does better on this front than the films do, and is an effort to mesh a monstrous portrayal of dinosaurs with Renaissance-era information - the dinosaurs are agile, warm-blooded, and smart enough to be threatening.
* In ''Danger in Dinosaur Valley'', a ''Diplodocus'' is smart enough to learn baseball from watching human time travelers. He then uses this knowledge to help his family fight off a villainous ''T. rex''. On the other hand, the ''T. rex'' itself is an eating machine who shows no intelligence or stealth in hunting.
* Averted in ''{{Literature/Dinotopia}}'', where all of the dinosaurs, both herbivores and carnivores, are sapient and live in peace with humans - even the large predatory species are NobleSavage types who explicitly aren't evil and can be reasoned with.
* In "The Dechronization of Sam [=McGruder=]", the title character, a time traveler, observes that dinosaurs do not have memories and carnivores can be avoided simply by hiding. This is a relatively late example in serious fiction, written in 1970 and published in 1996.
* Inverted in "Dinosaur on a Bicycle", where the protagonist is a sapient dinosaur who initially thinks ''mammals'' are the stupid ones, since in his universe they never achieved full self-awareness.
* Averted in ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', where the main characters become dinosaurs of various species themselves through a memory transfer device. The non-transformed dinosaurs they encounter are intelligent and often helpful.
* Played with in the Creator/IsaacAsimov stories "Day of the Hunters" and "Big Game" - an intelligent race of dinosaurs who developed guns killed off the rest and eventually each other for sport. The dinosaurs' self-destructive ways [[NotSoDifferent are explicitly compared to humans']].
* This trope is discussed extensively along with PrehistoricMonster in ''Starring T. Rex!'', an analysis of dinosaurs in film and popular culture.
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[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* In ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'', the dinosaurs are portrayed as stupid but mostly likable and well-meaning. On the other hand, they are responsible for their own extinction.
* In a miniseries adaptation of ''The Lost World'', the trope is deconstructed - while the team goes in with this attitude and the allosaurs are still dangerous, the protagonists interact peacefully with other dinosaurs, the prehistoric creatures are well-adapted to their environment and fairly intelligent, and [[spoiler: the protagonists ultimately decide to spare the plateau where the animals live.]]
* In ''Series/LandOfTheLost1974'', most of the dinosaurs that the Marshalls meet aren't particularly smart, and even fewer are particularly friendly.
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[[folder: Music]]
* The rampaging dinosaurs in ''Music/DinosaurPlanet'' are ultimately a subversion - after their attack, they are smart enough to team up with the humans to defeat the giant robots who are really responsible for the invasion.
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[[folder: Newspaper Strips]]
* Dinosaurs in ''[[ComicStrip/TheFarSide The Far Side]]'' don't come across as particularly intelligent for the most part. In one cartoon a ''T. rex'' is shown to have poor grammar, and in another a group of dinosaurs are laughing at a mammal as it begins to snow.
* The dinosaurs in ''[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvin and Hobbes]]'' come across as dim and helpless, in the case of the herbivores, and violent eating machines, in the case of the carnivores. Justified in that the strips reflect Calvin's imagination, not real life, and this is how he imagines dinosaurs to be.
* Played straight in [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/1934-may19-this-curious-world-william-g-ferguson.jpg this 1934 cartoon from]] ''This Curious World'', which claims that the dinosaurs' lack of brains hastened their extinction.
* ''ComicStrip/AlleyOop'', set in OneMillionBC, released a few "educational" comics about the dinosaurs in the strip. [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/alley-oop-1934-0916-v-t-hamlin.jpg?w=700&h= Several]] [[https://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/alley-oop-1934-0923-v-t-hamlin.jpg?w=700&h= used]] this trope.
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[[folder: Poetry]]
* The dinosaurs in the poetry collection ''Tyrannosaurus was a Beast'' are either [[PrehistoricMonster prehistoric monsters]] on the carnivores' side or this trope on the herbivores' side.
* [[http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-riddle-of-the-dinosaur/ This poem]] by Bert Leston Taylor, which invokes the then-common belief that sauropod dinosaurs had two brains. (In fact, they only needed one - the second "brain" was a starch deposit.)
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[[folder: TabletopGames]]
* In ''TabletopGame/DinosaursAttack'', a reptilian alien describes the attacking dinosaurs as dumb, evil brutes who live only by instinct and lack the souls [[HumansAreSpecial that humans have]]. The dinosaurs themselves don't exactly go out of their way to prove his description wrong - almost every time they appear, they're seen eating or maiming someone, [[AscendedToCarnivorism including the plant-eaters]].
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[[folder: Toys]]
* While the mutated dinosaurs in ''Toys/LegoDinoAttack'' are violent, at least some of them are smart enough to adapt to tactics used against them, making them an aversion. This is even more the case in the ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'', where the ''real'' dinosaurs are benevolent and sapient, including the ''T. rex''.
* In ''Toys/LegoDino'', on the other hand, all of the prehistoric animals are violent, stupid, and threaten to rampage across the city for no reason - including relatively nonthreatening ones like ''Coelophysis'' and ''Pteranodon'' as well as herbivores like ''Triceratops''.
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[[folder: Video Games]]
* Averted with the various dinosaur-based ''{{VideoGame/Pokemon}}'', who are at least intelligent enough to follow orders, cooperate with humans, and [[ThePowerOfFriendship show loyalty toward their trainers]]. Archeops in particular is described as being intelligent, although no dinosaur Pokémon is described as being ''stupid''.
* Yoshi of the ''{{Franchise/Mario}}'' games is another aversion - he and his species are completely sapient on the level of the other characters, he is a friend to Mario as opposed to a pet, and Yoshi is a [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland capable hero]] [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 in his]] [[VideoGame/YoshisWoollyWorld own right]].
* The herbivorous dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/ZooTycoon'' don't bother to defend themselves from predators, even ones much smaller than they are. Averted in the sequel with the ''Utahraptors'' and ''Stokesosaurus'', who are smart enough to need enrichment and like to paint.
* The dinosaurs in ''VideoGame/LostEden'' are aversions - they're intelligent and coexist with humans as equals along the lines of ''Dinotopia''.
* Most of the enemies and bosses in ''VideoGame/PrehistoricIsle'' are rampaging dinosaurs.
* Riptor in ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' has human intelligence, but [[AllThereInTheManual according to supplementary material]] she has severe SplitPersonality issues between her intelligent human side and instinctual dinosaur side and is more likely to attack than attempt any kind of friendly communication.
* Most of the enemy dinosaurs in ''{{VideoGame/Nanosaur}}'' follow this trope - the player character, a sapient ''Velociraptor'' in the first game and a pterosaur in the second, is the exception.
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[[folder: Webcomics]]
* Subverted with the dinosaurs in ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics'', who are very philosophical. (Although ''T. rex'' is sometimes portrayed as TheMcCoy.)
* The fully-sapient dinosaurs in ''Webcomic/TetZooTime'' are another aversion.
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[[folder: Web Original]]
* The blog ''WebOriginal/LoveInTheTimeOfChasmosaurs'' often discusses [[http://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/search/label/vintage%20dinosaur%20art books]], generally nonfiction and/or [[ScienceMarchesOn educational]], using this trope from the perspective of a modern paleontologist.
* The short web video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0NuKvGcrpk Dumb Dinosaur]] shows a poorly-drawn theropod (probably an ''Allosaurus'' or a ''Megalosaurus''), based on a fake tattoo, in various situations where its low intelligence gets it into trouble.
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[[folder: Web Animation]]
* Inverted in ''WebAnimation/ReverseJurassicPark'', where the dinosaurs are intelligent and humans are feared as stupid, ferocious monsters.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Western Animation]]
* Yoshi in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' animated series is childlike and good-natured, but dim. The other dinosaurs in the setting are stupid and predatory toward the native cavemen. This is a departure from the games, as noted above.
* In a similar case to ''We're Back'' above, the villains of ''{{WesternAnimation/Dinosaucers}}'' have access to [[DevolutionDevice Devolution Devices]] that allow them to forcibly regress a target anthro-dinosaur to his or her feral prehistoric form, with the accompanying loss of intelligence.
* The Dinobots in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' are very powerful, but also very stupid and difficult to control. Various adaptations since then have played with just how stupid they are, and in some cases their leader Grimlock is ObfuscatingStupidity or suffers from speech defects that make him sound more stupid than he really is. True to the trope, however, Sludge, the sauropod Dinobot, is the stupidest of the bunch.
* Stegmutt from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' is an anthropomorphic duck turned into a ''Stegosaurus'' by a DevolutionDevice. He's a DumbMuscle minion of the VillainOfTheWeek, Dr. Fossil (who himself is an aversion, an EvilGenius duck turned into a pterosaur who keeps his intelligence), until he does a HeelFaceTurn and becomes Darkwing's gentle, but still dumb ally.
* While Starscream mistakes Predaking, the setting's dinosaur equivalent, for a stupid animal in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', Predaking is a subversion - he's smart enough to operate a computer after watching Cybertronians do it, recognizes and avoids Wheeljack's EatTheBomb tactic in battle, is capable of speech, and later reveals himself to be intelligent and eloquent. His species, the Predacons, are fully sapient.
* Dino and the other tame dinosaurs in ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' are friendly but not particularly bright. However, in his debut Dino was actually an aversion - he was able to talk and was more of a household servant than a pet. In the series proper, he has the behavior of a dog, combining this trope with DogsAreDumb.
* Averted with the anthropomorphic dinosaurs (and one pterosaur) in ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeDinosaurs'', who are intelligent and well-spoken. Ironically, TheSmartGuy of the team is a ''Stegosaurus'', and the only truly stupid dinosaur character is Haxx, one of the antagonistic ''Velociraptors''.
* ''WesternAnimation/GertieTheDinosaur'' is an early aversion, since she's smart enough to understand and obey (and willingly disobey) orders.
[[/folder]]
