The Dinosaurs
In general
- All Animals Are Dogs and All Flyers Are Birds: Most of the dinosaurs act like dogs. Madonna acts something like a parrot.
- Domesticated Dinosaurs: Docile little creatures kept as pets by a pair of kids.
- Fun Size: They've been stuck in their eggs for so long that their growth has been stunted. In short, they will never grow any bigger than they are now. Good thing too, seeing as all of them would be pretty huge if they did (especially Paula).
- Happily Adopted: By Ruby (the Taylors' dog).
- Musical Theme Naming: All of them are named after musicians, with Jerry naming the T. rex after Elvis Presley and the Stegosaurus after Mick Jagger while Monica named the Pteranodon after Madonna, the Chasmosaurus after MC Hammer and the Brachiosaurus after Paula Abdul.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: They're all super adorable.
- Sealed Good in a Can: Their eggs were sealed in that temple for a reason.
Elvis the Tyrannosaurus rex
- Big Eater: While all of the baby dinos have gluttonous appetites, Elvis trumps them all.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: One of the more easily angered members of the bunch.
- Killer Rabbit: Being a miniature T. rex, this is to be expected.
- The Leader: Of the dinosaurs.
- Meaningful Name: The King of the Dinosaurs is named after the King of Rock and Roll.
- Pride: Certainly has shades of this.
- Terrifying Tyrannosaur: Subverted. He's rambunctious and sort of snappish, but also harmless.
- The Trickster: The most mischievous of the dinos.
- Vegetarian Carnivore: Played with. He's happy to eat raisins and potato chips, but he's still primarily a carnivore, being just as happy to eat dogfood or flies snatched out of the air.
Madonna the Pteranodon/Geosternbergia
- All Flyers Are Birds: She acts more like a parrot than a pterosaur.
- Animal Gender-Bender: She's a female pterosaur, but has the large crest of a male.
- Big Sister Instinct: She often flies in to save her adoptive siblings when danger threatens.
- Morality Pet: A literal one, even; before she showed up, Monica bordered on being a Bratty Teenage Daughter.
- Polly Wants a Microphone: She can mimic human speech like a parrot. Ironically, her mimicry is actually more accurate than that of a movie parrot.
- Supporting Protagonist: She and Elvis are the most prominent of the dinosaurs.
- Taxonomic Term Confusion: She's erroneously referred to as a dinosaur.
- Two Girls to a Team: She and Paula are the only girls among the dinosaurs.
- Vegetarian Carnivore: Implied, as she seems to be as enthusiastic as her siblings when they stumble upon a box of raisins, despite her species being known to have fed almost entirely on fish.
Jagger the Stegosaurus
- Beware My Stinger Tail: Subverted; as a Stegosaurus he has a thagomizer, but he never uses it.
- Dumb Is Good: Is a Stegosaurus, which are infamously unintelligent, and the calmest member of the cast.
- Herbivores Are Friendly: The most lax of the group.
- Those Two Guys: With Hammer, as the two rarely contribute much to the plots of the movies.
- Tough Armored Dinosaur: Subverted; he is pretty lax and never seen actually fighting.
Hammer the Chasmosaurus
- The Big Guy
- Temper-Ceratops: He's quite prone to charging into things.
- Those Two Guys: With Jagger.
- Use Your Head: Often rams into things with his head.
Paula the Brachiosaurus
- Gentle Giant Sauropod: Well, she's a giant compared to the other dinos, but she's still the sweetest and calmest of the dinos.
- The Heart: A very gentle little creature.
- Long Neck: Goes without saying, as she's a sauropod. The Scotland-fangirl protagonist of the third movie even lampshaded it by comparing her to the Loch Ness Monster.
- Nice Girl: The dinosaur equivalent to one.
Characters introduced in Prehysteria
Jerry Taylor
- Annoying Younger Sibling: To Monica.
- Decoy Protagonist: Besides Sarno (who is obviously the villain), Jerry and Monica are the first characters we meet, implying that they're the human protagonists of the picture. The story centers more around their father, however.
- Fanboy: Is a huge fan of Elvis Presley.
- Kid Hero: Along with his sister.
- Nice Guy: Kind of annoying, but he's a good kid all things considered.
- Sibling Team: He and Monica work well together, despite how often they may clash.
Monica Taylor
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: At first, but this is mostly based on the fact that she still isn't over the death of her mother.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: She says that Frank hates her boyfriend Danny, though seeing as she goes out of her way to warn him about this, this might not be to denote her as a rebel.
- Deadpan Snarker:Frank: If Brain-Dead Danny were to pass away, you'd want a new boyfriend someday, wouldn't you?
Monica: I want a new boyfriend now. - Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Is sort of snobbish and rude, but she loves her family and the dinosaurs.
- Mama Bear: Is probably the one who is most protective of the dinosaurs.
- Missing Mom: A major plot point for her, as she very much misses her late mother and is not happy when she learns that her father is interested in someone else.
- What Does She See in Him?: Even she doesn't seem to know why she's dating Brain-Dead Danny.
Frank Taylor
- Good Parents: He's fairly stern and does not take well to the dinosaurs, but he genuinely wants what's best for his children.
- Official Couple: With Vicki.
- Papa Wolf: To both his own kids and the baby dinosaurs.
- Parent with New Paramour: A plot point, as Monica doesn't like the fact that he's interested in Vicki.
Vicki
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially when Sarno is around.
- Official Couple: With Frank.
- Team Mom: Friendly and always willing to help the Taylors out. It's implied that she'll become the family's actual mom somewhere along the way too.
Ruby Taylor
- Canine Companion: To the Taylors.
- Parental Substitute: She hatched the dinosaurs, so she's essentially their "mother".
- Team Pet
- Undying Loyalty: To the Taylors, which makes sense because she's a dog.
"Brain-Dead" Danny
- Brainless Beauty: He's not called "brain-dead" for nothing, and one can assume that Monica is only interested in him because he's cute.
- Official Couple: With Monica.
- Satellite Character: Exists solely to be Monica's boyfriend. Although to be fair, he does help her get back to the house after she sees Rico and his goons driving past them.
Whitey
- Almighty Janitor: A literal example. He's just a janitor, but he also manages to knock Rico out and keeps a shockingly calm demeanor when the guy is strangling him. And if it weren't for him, the dinos would never have escaped from Rico.
- Nice Guy: A bit odd, but genuinely helpful.
Rico Sarno
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Vicki, though he later reveals he'd be willing to kill her if it means he'll win.
- Big Bad: The first film's antagonist, due to wanting the dinosaurs for his own selfish reasons.
- Evil Is Hammy: "MY EGGS! WHERE ARE MY EGGS!?"
- Fat Bastard: Is overweight and a pretty big jerk.
- Greed: His main motivation.
- Humiliation Conga: The dinosaurs are rescued without his knowledge and their spot in the cage is filled by Ruby instead, rendering him a laughing stock.
- Jerkass: Treats the Taylors, Vicki and the dinosaurs like dirt and is just generally unpleasant.
- Kick the Dog: One of the first things he does when he sees the Taylors? Yell at their dog.
- Obviously Evil: He's so thoroughly unpleasant that it's impossible to not see him as anything other than the villain.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Is constantly rude and disrespectful towards his guide Jefe and his people, at one point remarking "Thought you were a modern Injun" while pestering Jefe to lead him to the sacred cave that the other man had very clearly stated was off limits to outsiders. (Unsurprisingly, it's not long after this that Jefe gets fed up and informs Sarno - at knifepoint - that the tour is over.) He also seems to look down on people of lower economic status than him, dismissively calling the Taylors "sharecroppers" multiple times.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Is legitimately concerned for the dinosaurs' safety, but this is purely because they'd be have no monetary value to him unless they were all in one piece.
- Smug Snake: Is trounced at nearly every turn, yet is convinced he's a genius.
- Villainous Breakdown: Freaks the heck out after his Humiliation Conga.
- Villainous Glutton: Certainly appears to be this.
Characters Introduced in Prehysteria 2
Brendan Wellington
- Break the Cutie: When his father misses his birthday.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Granted the only reason he's jerky is because he's lonely.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Doesn't have any friends (until he meets Naomi) and has an absent father.
- Missing Mom: His mom divorced his dad because the latter was a workaholic.
- The Trickster: He likes to mess with his house staff.
Naomi
- Only Friend: To Brendan.
- Plucky Girl
Mr. Wellington
- Cutting the Electronic Leash: At the end.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: His relationship with Brendan.
- Workaholic: A major trait of his.
Ivan
- Cool Old Guy: Helps Brendan take out Ms. Winters.
- Green Thumb: The Wellingtons' gardener.
- Heel–Face Turn: Hated Brendan because he played tricks on him, but had a change of heart when he saw how much Brendan missed his father.
Hiro
- Heel–Face Turn: Hated Brendan because he played tricks on him, but had a change of heart when he saw how much Brendan missed his father.
- Running Gag: Often shown singing when he cooks. Brendan takes advantage of this at one point.
- Supreme Chef: The Wellingtons' chef.
Ms. Winters
- Abusive Parents: She's not Brendan's mother, but she is emotionally abusive towards Brendan for no apparent reason.
- Big Bad: The antagonist of the second film.
- Humiliation Conga: Suffers one from her own coworkers and Brendan.
- Jerkass: Treats Brendan and her coworkers harshly and is just all around unpleasant.
- Karma Houdini: With the exception of the above mentioned Humiliation Conga, she pretty much gets off scot-free.
- Meaningful Name: Miss Winters is a fairly cold individual.
- Plot Allergy: Is allergic to animals. The dinosaurs end up setting off her allergies.
Somehow. - "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Attempts one on Brendan. It doesn't work.Ms. Winters: (fighting with Brendan) You're nothing but a troublemaker! That's why your father spends so little time with you. He despises you!
Brendan: THAT'S NOT TRUE!
Characters Introduced in Prehysteria 3
