History Film / TRexBackToTheCretaceous

A brief scene establishes that Ally herself is a palaeontology enthusiast. Meanwhile, Donald and his assistant Elizabeth Sample (Coleman) are climbing down a mountain cliff. They want to examine the mountain surface for presence of further fossils. An accident almost costs Elizabeth her life, but helps both of them stumble onto some interesting fossils. Later, Donald announces his discoveries to Ally by phone. She pleads for a chance to join him on the field, even if only to keep notes and help categorize the findings. He dismisses her as not ready for field work yet. Ally makes clear that this isn't the first time her father lets her down.

* EvilEggEater: When Ally ends up in the Late Cretaceous period, she finds a ''T. rex'' nest with five eggs and an ''Ornithomimus'' trying to raid the nest. Ally defends the nest despite the ''Ornithomimus'' being much bigger and more ferocious than her, until mother ''T. rex'' shows up and chases away the egg eater.

** ''Dryptosaurus'' is portrayed as a (featherless) dromaeosaur, when it's been already been established since the 1960s it was a tyrannosaur.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: More or less averted. No major anachronisms here as all depicted species were native to the Cretaceous and North America. Though they might belong to different sub-periods of the era. However, a plot point of the film contains a discussion on whether dinosaur eggs even existed. There have been many found since 1859. Since they were reptiles, this should hardly be a matter of debate. Not to mention ''Dryptosaurus'' is portrayed as a (featherless) dromaeosaur, when it's been already been established since the 1960s it was a tyrannosaur.

* PteroSoarer: The ''Pteranodon'' is fairly accurate. The main problems are its lack of fur (although the perception made it hard to tell), living alongside ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' and flying inland when it would actually be typically seen near the ocean.

* HotScientist: Elizabeth Sample is a slender blonde with a radiant smile.

* StockDinosaurs: Besides the ''Tyrannosaurus'', there are three animal species of the Cretaceous seen: ''Ornithomimus'', ''Parasaurolophus'', and ''Pteranodon''. All are among the "dinosaurs" frequently depicted in fiction.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: Obscure tyrannosaur ''Dryptosaurus'' appears in a reference to Charles R. Knight's famous "Leaping ''Laelaps''" painting.

Not long after, Ally has a minor accident with a fossilized dinosaur egg and inhales dust from the Cretaceous period (145-65 million years ago) She starts wondering the museum and having realistic hallucinations of the exhibits coming to life. From her POV, Ally is shifting between visions of the museum with some unusual elements and an actual time-travel to different eras. (The film leaves it unclear as to whether all she sees are illusions or whether travel occurs). She gets to witness life at the Cretaceous and see a real-life Tyrannosaurus its nest. Ally also has a chance to meet and have brief conversations with her idols: Charles Robert Knight (1874-1953) and Barnum Brown (1873-1963). The film explains that Knight was the artist responsible for highly influential paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, while Barnum was one of the most famous fossil hunters of his era. With each having a chance to explain their methods and ways of looking at evidence.

'''T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous''' is a 1998 3D IMAX Movie, directed by BrettLeonard. Like previous Leonard films (''Film/TheLawnmowerMan'', ''Film/{{Virtuosity}}'') it makes use of then-pioneering CGI effects. The film is mostly a documentary with a FramingDevice, only 45 minutes in length. The main stars were LizStauber, PeterHorton, and KariColeman. It was the first starring film role for Stauber, who previously only had theatrical credits and a cameo in ''Can't Hardly Wait''.

Not long after, Ally has a minor accident with a fossilized dinosaur egg and inhales dust from the Cretaceous period (145-65 million years ago) She starts wondering the museum and having realistic hallucinations of the exhibits coming to life. From her POV, Ally is shifting between visions of the museum with some unusual elements and an actual time-travel to different eras. (The film leaves unclear whether all she sees are illusions or whether travel occurs). She gets to witness life at the Cretaceous and see a real-life Tyrannosaurus its nest. Ally also has a chance to meet and have brief conversations with her idols: Charles Robert Knight (1874-1953) and Barnum Brown (1873-1963). The film explains that Knight was the artist responsible for highly influential paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, while Barnum was one of the most famous fossil hunters of his era. With each having a chance to explain their methods and ways of looking at evidence.