As the fantasy genre continues to expand in mainstream film and television its the perfect time for creators to look at rebooting Dinotopia.
Back in the 90s and early 2000s author and illustrator James Gurneys Dinotopia stunned readers and television viewers with its gorgeous fantasy world and unique combination of prehistoric life and ancient human culture. It breathed life into the imaginings of every 10-year-old and introduced the world to a land unlike any other. Its time to bring Dinotopia back.
In recent years Hollywood has been busy reaching back into iconic franchises of the past and reimagining fully fleshed-out worlds. Since studios have only been going for some of the largest and remaking them a lot of the more deserving franchises have been left completely untouched. With todays VFX capabilities and the fantasy genres current place in the mainstream studios and networks should absolutely be looking at Dinotopia.
Gurney was an illustrator who specialized in lifelike renderings. With his skills he often worked on assignments for National Geographic for which he would create realistic recreations of ancient civilizations and prehistoric life. According to him the research that went into all of that inspired two specific pieces Dinosaur Parade and Waterfall City. Therein lay the beginnings of what would become Dinotopia.
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Spurred on by retired publishers Ian and Betty Ballantine Gurney went on to write and illustrate the first Dinotopia novel Dinotopia A Land Apart from Time. This would become the first in a long line of novels set in this unique continent as well as the mysterious World Beneath. In total Gurney himself wrote four novels and worked with other authors to publish 18 short novels that fleshed out the fantasy world.
The success of these novels eventually led to Dinotopias jump from Gurneys breathtaking illustrations to the screen. In the early 2000s Hallmark Entertainment and Walt Disney Television released one miniseries and a TV show adapting the events and characters of A Land Apart from Time. The 2002 limited series featured the likes of Prison Break star Wentworth Miller Downton Abbeys Jim Carter and Harry Potters David Thewlis. Back then the special effects that brought the dinosaurs to life were groundbreaking earning the miniseries an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.
The shows success led to the short-lived television series. Unfortunately for the series none of the miniseries stars reprised their roles and the production budget was nowhere near as great -- a fact evidenced by the lackluster special effects which have not aged as well as those of the miniseries. Thats not necessarily a critique of the show since it was as much as could be expected from television in those days before hits like Game of Thrones instilled confidence in network execs.
There was one more traditionally animated movie featuring a star-studded cast in 2005 but Dinotopias popularity in mainstream media had waned by then. Its been nearly 30 years since Gurneys illustrations captivated the imagination of children and awed television with the creativity behind them. Some might argue that dinosaurs and fantasy worlds like that might not be able to impress in the same way as more established fantasy works like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones and their respective spinoff shows.
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