Dinosaur Revolution: Dinosaurs Like You've Never Seen Them Before (And Some You've Never Seen at All)

This weekend, Discovery will launch Dinosaur Revolution, a four-hour animated miniseries that, according to the network, combines "the artistic and storytelling talents of the world's most renowned dinosaur illustrators with the most up-to-date discoveries about dinosaurs, their culture, and their behaviors." Earlier this summer, I caught up with a few of the show's artists and creators at Comic-Con. Here's what they had to say about the project.

Dinosaur Revolution is a fresh twist on an old theme.
The vision behind it, to create eight-minute vignettes that star a variety of species, harkens back to the old cartoons of yesteryear. But the way in which the creators hope to get audiences inside the heads of the dinosaurs, without narration, is forward-thinking. Producer Erik Nelson told me proudly, "I'm sure TV producers who are used to blowing smoke will always say, 'This is unique! No one's ever done this before!' but… this is unique. No one has ever done this before. These dinosaurs are characters. You're in their heads, not outside of them."

Dinosaur fans will go nuts over the show.
Paleontologist Dr. Thomas R. Holtz worked closely with producers and the animation team to make sure every story was backed by "real data and analysis." For example, Holtz explains, "When the two Tyrannosaurus Rex characters lock jaws, that's based on real skulls that show face bites as their preferred way of dealing with non-lethal wounds. So it's not pure imagination, it's fact." Because of this, the creative team has promised some really cool features—like introductions to Paleolithic species that have never been shown on TV before. Why have they been kept in the dark until now? Because nobody knew they existed until recently; Dinosaur Revolution's artists and creators were adamant about keeping up with and including new research.

Nature fans will like it, too.
While not as visually riveting as Life or Planet Earth, (Dinosaur Revolution is animated, after all, not high-def, slow-mo reality) Dinosaur Revolution is truly "art meets science," as artist Ricardo Delgado noted during our conversation. The stories are told through action, and it's easy decipher who's who (pocket the prejudice, dinosaurs don't all look alike!). The visual experience is what drives the whole series, so you learn through action, not just scientific commentary (though there's plenty of that as well).

Dinosaurs, they're just like us!
The vignette I screened surprised me, because it actually made me feel bad for a T-Rex. In it, two male T-Rexes battle and the loser walks away with a missing limb. Two years later, the victor returns and attacks the loser's babies (sad!). The characters are clearly defined, recognizable, annnnd… weirdly relatable. Delgado makes the point, "Right away there's that human element that you inject into these fearsome predators. You grow attached. And audiences will be compelled by that."

The animation holds up. And it's not just for kids.
Three years of work went into this thing, and it shows. I'd be lying if I said I didn't squirm at some of the dino-on-dino violence, which plays with great realism. And the sex scene (yep) was actually kind of awkward, to the point where I felt a little too voyeuristic.

Here's Discovery's official trailer:

Dinosaur Revolution premieres this Sunday, September 4, at 9pm on Discovery.