History Main / DumbDinos

* While this isn't the case with most dinosaur-based ''Franchise/Pokemon'', the Cranidos line, based on pachycephalosaurs, are described as having small brains.

* While the featured dinosaurs subvert it, ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' gives this treatment to the non-saurian rauisuchid ''Postosuchus'' and dicynodont ''Placerias'' in the first episode (“New Blood”), as both are depicted as lumbering and ungainly relics from a bygone age that can barely move at a snail’s pace and are destined to be supplanted by the “superior” dinosaurs like ''Coelophysis'' and ''Plateosaurus'', much in the same way mammals were once viewed in contrast to dinosaurs.

** The devolution ray is shown in one episode to have a similar effect on humans, reverting the target to an animalistic "caveman" type. He gets loose -[[{{Masquerade}} fortunately]] in New York City, where he's just seen as a street act.

* ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'': Yoshi 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.

* ''Literature/TheNewDinosaursAnAlternativeEvolution'' was made during a transitionary period between the view that dinosaurs [[TooDumbToLive were moronic, evolutionary failures]], and the dinosaur renaissance, and it shows. Nothing remotely as intelligent as modern day apes, corvids, elephants, or parrots appears, and the closing afterword poo-poos the idea that dinosaurs could ever evolve beyond being savage, instinct-driven beasts. The large predators in particular are depicted as being slow, unintelligent scavengers.

* ''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. Dinny the dinosaur, the primary dinosaur character in the strip, is friendly but none too bright.

* 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''.

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked, hence the term "birdbrain" coming to mean "stupid person". We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids. Still, it could be assumed that had the rejection of the dinosaur-bird link in the 1920s (which led to this trope becoming more widespread for much of the 20th Century) never happened, [[InSpiteOfANail there still would have been a widespread belief that dinosaurs were unintelligent or "bird-brained"]], though it would be not as bad (for example, dinosaurs would have been consistently portrayed as active, agile and alert much earlier).

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}'', the herbivores are fully sapient while the carnivores seem more instinct-driven and show no capacity for speech. However, even the herbivores are portrayed with a [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] mentality which only the mammal-raised hero lacks.

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked, hence the term "birdbrain" coming to mean "stupid person". We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids. Still, it could be assumed that had the rejection of the dinosaur-bird link in the 1920s (which led to this trope becoming more widespread for much of the 20th Century) had never happened, [[InSpiteOfANail there still would have been a widespread belief that dinosaurs were unintelligent or "bird-brained"]], though it would be not as bad (for example, dinosaurs would have been consistently portrayed as active, agile and alert much earlier).

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked, hence the term "birdbrain" coming to mean "stupid person". We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids. Still, it could be assumed that had the dinosaur-bird link never got pushed aside in the 1920s (which led to this trope becoming more widespread for much of the 20th Century), [[InSpiteOfANail there still would have been a widespread belief that dinosaurs were unintelligent or "bird-brained"]], though it would be not as bad.

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked, hence the term "birdbrain" coming to mean "stupid person". We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids. Still, it could be assumed that had the dinosaur-bird link never got pushed aside in the 1920s (which led to this trope becoming more widespread for much of the 20th Century), there still would have been a widespread belief that dinosaurs were unintelligent or "bird-brained", though not as bad.

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked, hence the term "birdbrain" coming to mean "stupid person". We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids. Still, it could be assumed that had the dinosaur-bird link never got pushed aside in the 1920s, this trope could have still persisted for this reason, though not as bad.

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked, hence the term "birdbrain" coming to mean "stupid person"[[note]]Had the dinosaur-bird link never got pushed aside in the 1920s, this trope could have still persisted for this reason, though not as bad[[/note]]. We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids.

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked, hence the term "birdbrain" coming to mean "stupid person"[[note]]Had the dinosaur-bird link never got pushed aside in the 1920s, this trope could have still persisted for this reason[[/note]]. We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids.

* ''Dazzle the Dinosaur'' is of the herbivores as sapient, carnivores as non-sapient variety. The herbivores speak and are helpful, but the
''Deinonychus'', ''T. rex'', and "Dragonsaurus" never demonstrate signs of intelligence or the ability to be reasoned with.

* ''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.

* 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.

* Ironically, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked (hence the term "birdbrain")[[note]]Had the dinosaur-bird link never got pushed aside in the 1920s, this trope could have still persisted for this reason[[/note]]. We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids.

* Technically speaking, since they are dinosaurs themselves, birds were also victims of this trope. The common scientific consensus in older times was that birds were unintelligent due to the way their brains looked (hence the term "birdbrain")[[note]]Had the dinosaur-bird link never got pushed aside in the 1920s, this trope could have still persisted for this reason[[/note]]. We now know many birds are fairly clever, and even highly intelligent in the case of parrots and corvids.

Dinosaurs: slow, moronic, only existing to eat and [[TheDinodaursHadItComing destinrd to go extinct as they couldn't cope with their changing world]], due to their brains being no bigger than a walnut. Slow, lumbering brutes with poor reflexes and even poorer movement... and heaven help you if you run into a carnivore, because they've only got one thing on their mind: eat.

Dinosaurs: slow, moronic, only existing to eat and [[PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs get wiped out by a giant meteor]], due to their brains being no bigger than a walnut. Slow, lumbering brutes with poor reflexes and even poorer movement... and heaven help you if you run into a carnivore, because they've only got one thing on their mind: eat.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'', the herbivore protagonists are sapient and can talk, but the villainous "Sharptooth" can't. Even [[TheVoiceless Spike]] ''can'' talk, [[ElectiveMute 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 depicted in 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. This trope gets referenced in the first movie when Cera insults Littlefoot by saying that "[[FantasticRacism I hear long necks have very small brains]]."

* ''Film/SuperMarioBros'': The evolved, sapient dinosaur-people are generally portrayed as more violent, crude, and stupid than their human counterparts, and their world is a {{dystopia}}n hellhole.

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'': The various dinosaurs and Mesozoic reptiles generally aren't very bright compared to the mammal protagonists, and most of them can't 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. Dromaeosaurids, particularly the three flying raptors from ''[[WesternAnimation/IceAgeCollisionCourse Collision Course]]'' (believed to be ''Dakotaraptors'' by fans and Wiki/TheOtherWiki, although real ''Dakotaraptor'' couldn't fly) appear to be the only non-avian dinosaurs who are sapient and capable of speech. Even they, with the possible exception of [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Roger]], aren't too bright, genuinely believing that they can avoid an impending mass extinction through flight and deliberately trying to sabotage the main characters' efforts to stop it. [[spoiler:They do, however, eventually realize that they won't survive either and pull a HeelFaceTurn.]]

This view of dinosaurs was prevalent from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, to the point where the word "dinosaur" came to mean "obsolete failure." ''Stegosaurus'' and sauropods, such as the now-invalid ''Brontosaurus'', 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 ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' 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.

This view of dinosaurs was prevalent from the 1850s to the 1970s, to the point where the word "dinosaur" came to mean "obsolete failure." ''Stegosaurus'' 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 ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' 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.

* ''Film/TheLostWorld'': The dinosaurs 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. In the case of the ''Brontosaurus'', it was most likely rampaging out of panic from suddenly ending up in an unfamiliar environment. It helped that it was fairly calm in its natural habitat.

* ''Film/TheLostWorld'': The dinosaurs 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.

* ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'': The Dinobots [[TheVoiceless can't speak]] in English or Cybertronian, generally seem pretty bestial, and are more violence-prone than the other Autobots. When they return briefly in the ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'', they behave more like domesticated animals.

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
** [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Generation 1]]:
*** The Dinobots are very powerful, but also very stupid and difficult to control. Various adaptations since then have [[DependingOnTheWriter 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.
*** The Dinobots in any version have nothing on Soundwave's two dinosaur cassettes, Overkill (a ''Ceratosaurus'') and Slugfest (a ''Stegosaurus''). Overkill is, as his name suggests, prone to overdoing everything and getting himself in trouble. Slugfest, meanwhile, is not only dumber than a post, he perceives things that he can't understand (which is practically everything) as insults and [[BerserkButton immediately attacks them]].
*** The Decepticon Titan Trypticon, whose robot mode resembles a tyrannosaurus rex, also had this as his portrayal, acting childish and prone to violent tantrums of destruction. Unlike the Dinobots, this is the only portrayal that depicts him as such, though he's still often used as a brutish force of destruction.
*** The Japanese-original sequel ''Anime/TransformersVictory'' introduces the Dinoforce, a group of Decepticons with dinosaur Pretender shells that while a competent threat in the first episodes, BadassDecay leads them to this, becoming the series comic relief.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': The series portrayal of the Dinobots are heavily influenced by the Generation 1 versions, being more than often persuaded by villains to aid them.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': While Starscream mistakes Predaking, the setting's dinosaur equivalent, for a stupid animal, 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.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersCyberverse'': Grimlock is portrayed as a sophisticated and eloquent genius... In robot mode. When he changes to his beast mode, his personality shifts more towards the classic version of the character.