Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter is a 1987 Made-for-TV Movie based on Hank Ketcham's Dennis the Menace (US) and produced by DIC Entertainment along with Coca-Cola Telecommunications. Airing in Syndication in 1987 under the title "Dennis the Menace", it got a home video release by Vidmark as "Dennis the Menace: Dinosaur Hunter". The movie stars Victor DiMattia as Dennis Mitchell, Jim Jansen as Henry Mitchell, Patricia Estrin as Alice Mitchell, William Windom as Mr. Wilson and Barton Tinapp as Barclay "Bones" Schuyler III.
Dennis and his friends dig up the front yard of the Mitchell house in order to help put in a sprinkler system his father wanted. During the dig, he finds a dinosaur bone. Henry calls in an old friend, a paleontologist named Barclay Schuyler III (nicknamed "Bones"), to see if the bone is authentic. It is indeed authentic but things go downhill from there. Bones has a crew digging up both the Mitchells' and then the Wilsons' property. Besides disrupting the neighborhood with a paleontological dig and unwanted tourists, things get even worse when an amusement park named Dinosaur Land is going to be built over the neighborhood which will force everyone to move.
Meanwhile, the Wilsons are approaching their fortieth wedding anniversary. Mrs. Wilson wants to go to Hawaii but Mr. Wilson doesn't want to pay for the trip. This leads to Mrs. Wilson getting a part-time job; Mr. Wilson has to keep house (failing at it) while dealing with his wife's boss, Mr. Bonfigli, as a rival for her affection.
Not to be confused with the 1993 Dennis the Menace live-action movie by Warner Bros., although a trailer for the 1993 re-release of this film does acknowledge the latter film's existence.
This movie contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adventurer Outfit: Bones wears a variation of the archaeologist version. He wears the hat, vest, boots and shorts instead of the normal long pants. He gives one of these outfits to Dennis too.
- All Take and No Give: Bones really takes advantage of Henry and Alice's hospitality during his stay.
- Bank Toaster: A variation - at the end of the movie, Mr. Wilson breaks down and agrees to go to Hawaii with his wife for their anniversary. He mentions getting the airline tickets through a bank promotion.
- Brick Joke: Henry Mitchell talks early in the movie about putting a sprinkler system in their front yard. At the end of the movie during a luau for the Wilsons, Dennis reveals he and his friends set up sprinklers; they set them off, soaking everyone there.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Dennis is asked by Bones to keep it a secret that he buried dinosaur bones in the Wilsons' garden. Dennis reveals this at a big press conference, thus bringing the dig and planned Dino Land park to an end.
- Community-Threatening Construction: The planned amusement park, Dino Land, becomes this as the entire neighborhood the Mitchells and their neighbors live in would be torn down.
- Colon Cancer: The title is better known under its "Dinosaur Hunter" subtitle for home video, possibly to distinguish it from the 1993 movie.
- Covers Always Lie: The VHS cover shows an actual dinosaur but none actually appear in the movie since the plots involves bones and fossils. The Dennis on the cover looks nothing like his actor in this film, most likely being a stock actor.
- Evil Genius: Downplayed with Bones. While he is not exactly evil, he is quite selfish during his stay with the Mitchells and even plants dinosaur bones in the Wilsons' garden to make sure he can profit from the dig.
- Foreshadowing: When Henry mentions Bones in the museum during the film's opening, Alice reminds her husband he had to bail Bones out of prison with his own money. This anecdote sets up how Bones takes advantage of Henry and his family later.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Margaret is holding the bride and groom dolls, anyone familiar with toys from The '80s should recognize her groom doll as a My Buddy doll
. - Karma Houdini: Played with for Bones. While his plans to profit off the dig are foiled and his friendship with Henry is ruined, he never faces prison or any legal trouble for his schemes.
- Made-for-TV Movie: Aired in 1987 in syndication on American television.
- Men Can't Keep House: Played straight when Mr. Wilson tries to do laundry and vacuum when his wife starts a part-time job.
- Product Placement: During the luau at the end, Dennis and his friends are drinking Cokes and Minute Maid brand soda. Both of these brands are owned by Coca-Cola Telecommunications.
- Stock "Yuck!": During the ending luau, Margaret reacts this way to a "Honolulu dog", a hot dog concocted by Henry topped with pineapple and coconut.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: Bones moves into the Mitchell house after arriving, takes advantage of the family's hospitality and even disrupts the neighborhood with his crew's fossil dig. He is finally expelled and sent on his way after getting exposed for planting bones in the Wilson's yard.
