Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone is a 2005 Direct to Video animated film, loosely based on the Dinotopia book series. Co-produced by SD Entertainment, Larry Levinson Productions, Mat IV, Alpine Medien Productions, and Hallmark Entertainment, it also takes some things from the latter's previous Dinotopia miniseries, most notably the character of 26, the Chasmosaurus.
A 12-year-old orphan, Kex Bradley, escapes from an orphanage, hoping to see the world. He stows away on a lifeboat, but is later pushed overboard during a storm out at sea and later finds himself on an island called Dinotopia. Here, he befriends the beloved young Triceratops 26 and a 12-year-old girl named Mara. They get in trouble fast as the evil Ogthar is released from his stone prison and recovers the Ruby Sunstone, whose dark power can endanger all of Dinotopia. They soon have to stop Ogthar in time to save Dinotopia.
This film provides examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: Ogthar is the main villain who plots to conquer Dinotopia. In the original books, King Ogthar was a mythical king who is spoken of by dinosaurs and humans alike with great reverence.
- Adaptation Species Change:
- In addition to the aforementioned Adaptational Villainy, Ogthar was originally a half-human, half-dino being in the source material. Here, he's a fully human warlord.
- Stinktooth was a Giganotosaurus in the books. Here, he's a Tyrannosaurus rex.
- Animal Mecha: Ogthar built a number of dino-shaped mechas named Strutters to help him create his empire. Some of them are still in his lair and are later used against him. Ogthar gets one too, shaped like a scorpion. Even Spazz gets to drive one for a while.
- Artifact of Doom: The Ruby Sunstone. Its magical power was used by Ogthar to control Dinotopia, and now that he's back, he plans to use it to create an army of superpowered dinosaurs to conquer it once again.
- Artistic License – Biology:
- Throughout the film, many quadrupedal dinosaurs are shown to be able to walk bipedally, which would be physically impossible for a completely quadrupedal animal to do.
- When Spazz hatches from his egg, he mistakes 26 for his mom and begins to suck on her nose. He then says "That's not milk!" and promptly spits. Reptiles don't breastfeed. He's also depicted as herbivorous when Dilophosaurus was carnivorous.
- As stated below, the protagonists come across the skin of a Iguanodon when in real life dinosaurs most likely didn't shed their skin.
- Artistic License – Paleontology: The dinosaurs are depicted with kangaroo postures and pronated wrists. Thudd the Euoplocephalus is also depicted as being able to walk bipedally when Euoplocephalus was quadrupedal.
- Balloonacy: The protagonists attempt to cross a chasm by using a discarded Iguanodon skin as a makeshift balloon that they they travel inside. However, they don't float much and they end up landing on an angry Stinktooth.
- Big Damn Heroes: Stinktooth pulls one of these near the climax, when he saves 26 from getting stabbed by the drill in Ogthar's scorpion strutter. It doesn't stop Ogthar, but it does destroy the tank.
- Cool Board: Kex has one that he carries everywhere.
- Disney Villain Death: Ogthar ends up falling in the lava of an active volcano, taking the Ruby Sunstone with him. That being said, he shields himself in his armor just before he hits the lava, and Albagon posits the possibility that he may have survived. Considering the guy spent hundreds of years sealed inside a sarcophagus and was completely fine when Rhoga and Thudd accidentally release him, Albagon may be right.
- Egg McGuffin: Much of the film is spent attempting to retrieve the orphaned eggs that the bad guys stole from John's hatchery in order to create an army.
- Expy:
- 26 bears more than a passing resemblance to Cera.
- Spazz, a Dilophosaurus, has a Jurassic Park like neck frill.
- Little Stowaway: Kex stows away in the lifeboat of a ship, which is then lost during a storm, which leads to him washing ashore on Dinotopia.
- Orphan's Ordeal: In the beginning, Kex runs away from his orphanage because he believes that, aged 12, he's too old to likely be adopted, which is sadly Truth in Television. The dinosaur eggs in the Dinotopia hatchery are also orphaned, with humans choosing one to be its adoptive parent.
- Predators Are Mean: Subverted. Stinktooth, a Tyrannosaurus rexnote is one of the heroes, while the supporting antagonists Rhoga and Thudd, a Parasaurolophus and Euoplocephalus respectively, are herbivores.
- Quicksand Sucks: Happens twice. Kex gets a bit too cocky while taunting Rhoga and Thudd and falls in some quicksand, having to be rescued by Mara. It later happens to Rhoga and Thudd themselves in the climax. The heroes rescue them by dropping a tree, which falls on Rhoga's head.
- Rampage from a Nail: 26 helps Stinktooth out with a splinter stuck in his teeth, after which he considerably mellows out and befriends the heroes.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Ogthar is a former Evil Overlord of Dinotopia who was sealed inside a stone sarcophagus using the power of the Ruby Sunstone. Rhoga and Thudd accidentally release him while bumbling around the ruins of his former empire. They mistake him for a genie at first.
- Sequel Hook: Just before Ogthar hits the lava as he falls into the volcano, he shields himself in his armor and sinks. Albagon then suggests that this may not be the last we will see of him.
- Sidekick Creature Nuisance: Spazz, the baby Dilophosaurus. He mostly provides comic relief and visibly annoys 26.
- Talking Animal: All of the dinosaurs in this movie can freely communicate with humans.
- Vegetarian Carnivore: Spazz, a Dilophosaurus, is portrayed as a herbivore while his species was carnivorous in actuality.
- Volcano Lair: Ogthar has one of these. See the Disney Villain Death entry to see how that turned out for him.
