Kids love the fantastic world of dinosaurs. They are fascinated by their size, aggression, and their surprisingly humane side.
They are in awe of this extinct species and relate with them through movies. Run a dinosaur movie marathon and kids will still not get bored about them.
So, are you planning something like that? In this MomJunction post, we list down some of the best dinosaur movies for kids. They portray the mighty beasts in all their splendor.
17 Best Dinosaur Movies For Kids
Grab the popcorn, get into the sofa with the kids, set up the big screen, and get ready to be enthralled and entertained by these movies on dinosaurs.
1. Jurassic Park
A new park is set up on Isla Nublar, where the genetically engineered dinosaurs are kept for the public to see. Paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler are among the few selected to take a tour of this theme park. Though the safety of roaming inside the park is assured, the team finds it otherwise as some of the deadly dinosaurs break free from their paddock and start hunting the visitors.
2. The Land Before Time
The story revolves around an orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot, who embarks on a journey to find the Great Valley, which is a lush green vegetation land where the dinosaurs thrive. On his way there, he teams up with four other young dinosaurs. Their journey is not a cakewalk, but they work together to overcome the obstacles. The story sends out a great message of teamwork.
3. Jurassic World
It can be considered as a sequel to the movie, Jurassic Park. A new theme park is opened after 20 years at the same place where the original Jurassic park was created. The new park is open for the world to see the new genetically engineered breed of dinosaur called the Indominus Rex. However, something goes wrong in the park that sets the dinosaur free, and a dinosaur is once again hunting people.
4. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Manny, the mammoth, is anxious as he is expecting his first child and is doing all that he should to welcome his child. Sid, the sloth, envies Manny as he cannot become a father. But, he happens to come across three eggs in an abandoned cave. Without realizing that the eggs belong to a dinosaur, he brings them along. Little does Sid know that his deeds will lead him to the hidden world of the dinosaurs.
5. Dinotopia
The airplane that Karl and David were flying in crashes near an uncharted island. They manage to reach the shore and are stunned to see a world of talking dinosaurs that are living in harmony with humans. Though they don’t see the imminent disasters ahead, they work together to combat the consequences.
6. Godzilla 2014
Ford Brody, a naval bomb expert, is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father Joe in finding the truth behind the mysterious Janjira nuclear plant massacre. However, their search enables them to witness a terrible disaster for humanity. The only hope is the Godzilla, the king of the monsters who can save humanity.
7. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
The Jurassic world is closed after the menace of the genetically bred dinosaurs. However, there are still a few dinosaurs left on the abandoned island and need to be rescued as a dormant volcano has become active there. Owen and Claire are on a mission to rescue these dinosaurs, to save the species and all the life on the island from extinguishing.
8. Terror of Mechagodzilla
Aliens from a dying galaxy are all set to capture the Earth to make it their new home. They use Mechagodzilla, a robotic Godzilla armed with sophisticated weapons to destroy everything on planet Earth. Professor Mafune joins the aliens and gives them another weapon, which is a deadly Titanosaurus, an amphibious dinosaur. Now, it’s up to the real Godzilla to save the planet from the alien destruction.
9. We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story
Captain New Eyes decides to travel back in time into the Cretaceous Period, where he meets four dinosaurs named Rex, Elsa, Dweeb, and Woog. He feeds them with a brain grain cereal that turns the dinosaurs into intelligent, and non-violent creatures. These dinosaurs travel with the captain to the 21st century with some good intentions. However, the captain’s brother, Professor Screw Eyes, has some evil intentions to play around with the dinosaurs.
10. Journey to the Center of the Earth 2008
Professor Trevor Anderson sets on an adventurous journey to find his missing brother Max. He is accompanied by his nephew Sean Anderson and a reference book that details everything about his brother’s last journey. During their quest, they get trapped inside a cave. As they try to find an exit, they discover a vicious lost world of dinosaurs in the center of the Earth. It is an action adventure movie that will keep the kids hooked till the end.
11. Land of the Lost
A research team is sent to Isla Sorna, which is an island eighty miles away from Isla Nublar, home to the original Jurassic Park. Isla Sorna is the Site B of Jurassic Park where the dinosaurs were bred before being deported to Isla Nublar. The mission of the team is to study the dinosaurs, but disaster awaits them as another team arrives there intending to capture the dinosaurs and exploit them. The movie will definitely keep the children hooked till the end, wondering know which team succeeds in their mission.
12. Walking with Dinosaurs: The Movie
Zack, a paleontologist by profession, is on a fossil hunt with his nephew Ricky and niece Jade. During the journey, Ricky meets an Alexornis bird from the Cretaceous period that narrates the story of dinosaurs that existed about 70 million years ago. The story revolves around Patchi, an underdog dino, who finds the courage to emerge as a leader of the herd and becomes an icon among dinosaurs for ages.
13. When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
The story is set in a past era, where a small tribal community is struggling to survive the menace of deadly dinosaurs. Their fear forces them to sacrifice a community member named Sanna, as a part of their offerings to the deity whom they believe can save them from the giant lizards. But, she outlives her fate only to encounter the deadly creatures. Will she be able to fight them alone? You’ll have to watch the movie to know.
14. Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
The story is about Susan Matthews-Loomis, who assists her former professor Doctor Eric Kiviat at an archeological site in the Ivory Coast. There she comes across a bone, which she believes is of a dinosaur, but her professor denies it. Susan embarks on a journey to find the truth behind the bones and lands in the middle of a forest where a family of brontosaurus is living. It is a sci-fi adventure movie for kids that will keep them entertained.
15. Back to the Jurassic
Ernie, Julia, and Max are three kids who accidentally kick an egg-shaped time machine that takes them 65 million years back in time. As they land in the world of the dinosaurs, they are adopted by a motherly female dino and a rambunctious dinosaur brother. However, their parents are on a search for their kids back in the present time. It is an animated adventure that will certainly keep the kids entertained until the end.
16. Dinosaurus
A construction crew is carrying out a series of explosions in the bed of the Caribbean sea, which accidentally digs an ice cold pocket, that has been preserving the bodies of two dinosaurs and a caveman. The frozen bodies are brought to the shore by the crew, who do not realize that the dinosaurs are alive but are in a frozen state. During the night, lightning strikes and a thunderstorm breaks the protective frozen layers of ice to awaken the giant creatures.
17. Dinosaur Island
The story is about four teens who are selected as a cast for a survivor-style TV show. While they travel to their shooting location, the plane crashes, and they land up on a remote island which is inhabited by cavemen and a variety of dinosaurs. They realize that their biggest challenge is to learn to work together as a team if they want to make it alive out of the dangerous island.
Whether it is a sci-fi movie with breathtaking graphics or an animation movie with cute graphics, a dinosaur movie will never fail to entertain you. Kids will love watching the giant lizards on the big screen. So set up a projector and let them experience theater-like experience at home, watching the dinosaur movies we have listed.
What’s your child’s favorite dinosaur movie? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
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