Greetings and salutations! ROBOGEEK here with something you just might find interesting...
Long-time readers know that we've been following Disney's forthcoming DINOSAUR for quite some time. And you've probably heard that it's rumored to be the most expensive film ever, with a budget of over $200 million, and that at one point early in its development, Paul Verhoeven was attached. Many of you by now have also no doubt seen the trailer, which demonstrates the stunning integration of CG and real world backdrops -- though it's burdened with completely inappropriate rock music in its second half (hopefully this will remain true only for the trailer, and not the film itself).
Anyway, the thing most people have been wondering about is the STORY, which has largely remained a mystery. Until now.
Thanks to a faithful (and greatly appreciated) reader I'll call Sunny Steve, I can share with you Disney's official internal synopsis for DINOSAUR, liberated from the confines of the Mouse House itself. It certainly contains what most readers would probably consider significant spoilers, so be warned. However, I have gone ahead and taken the liberty of deleting the last 1.3 sentences, so as not to give away the ending and ruin the movie for anyone. (But if you think about it, this is a Disney movie, so you can probably guess the ending.)
Here it is...
DINOSAUR
Memorial Day, 2000
(Target audience: boys aged 6-8 years)
A family of Lemurs rescues an orphaned dinosaur egg and name the hatchling Aladar.
Years pass and Aladar grows up under the gentle influence of his Lemur family. Then catastrophe strikes! A meteor collides with Earth destroying Lemur Island. Aladar and his family wash ashore onto the unfamiliar mainland. They ally themselves with a herd of dinosaurs trekking toward their nesting grounds. Excited to met his own kind, Aladar is smitten with Neera, a lovely female. But Aladar quickly infuriates her brother, Kron, the herd's ruthless leader.
Day after day the herd weakens. The meteor has devastated the Earth and water is scarce. Believing only the strong deserve to live, Kron leaves the weaker herd members behind to slow predatory Carnotaurs. But Aladar's kind heart cannot accept Kron's decision. Aladar stays behind with the older dinosaurs, 'the misfits' that he's befriended.
Working as a team, Aladar and the misfits find a shortcut to the nesting grounds. Aladar learns, however, that a landslide blocks the usual entrance. Neera and the herd are trapped outside. Aladar rushes back to save them.
In a fierce showdown, Aladar gains control of the herd from Kron, but before he can lead them to safety, a Carnotaur attacks. Proving that there is strength in numbers, Aladar rallies the herd to confront the Carnotaur, but Kron... [SPOILERS DELETED]
