History Main / DinosaurPlanet

* The video game ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', before Nintendo characters were shoehorned in.

* ''Series/DinosaurPlanet'', the show from The Discovery Channel.

* The video game ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', before Nintendo characters were shoehorned in.*

''Dinosaur Planet'' could refer to
* [[Series/DinosaurPlanet The Discovery Channel show]]
* [[Music/DinosaurPlanet the comedy rock opera]]
* the video game ''StarFoxAdventures'', before Nintendo characters were shoehorned in.

* or [[Music/DinosaurPlanet the comedy rock opera]]

''Dinosaur Planet'' could refere to

* or [[Music/DinosaurPlanet The comedy rock opera]]

'''''Dinosaur Planet''''' is a [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaur]]-themed SpeculativeDocumentary MiniSeries that aired on the DiscoveryChannel in 2003. [[FollowTheLeader It followed in the footsteps]] of the famous and highly successful ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'' from {{BBC}}, and Discovery's own ''WhenDinosaursRoamedAmerica'' (produced by much the same team).

Like the above shows, it used {{CGI}} to recreate long-extinct creatures, and placed them into [[RogerRabbitEffect real-life backgrounds]]. However as opposed to its forerunners, all four of ''Dinosaur Planet'''s hour-long episodes took place in the Late Cretaceous, and each told the story of one or two main dinosaur characters:

* ''White Tip's Journey'': The tale of White Tip, a female ''[[StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'' trying to survive in the Mongolian desert and find a new pack after having lost her old one.
* ''Pod's Travels'': Pod, a Romanian ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeDinosaurs Pyroraptor]]'' finds himself stranded on a strange island full of [[LittlePeople little dinosaurs]].
* ''Little Das' Hunt'': A young and eager ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeLargeTheropods Daspletosaurus]]'' tries to aid his family on the hunt, but constantly gets in the way, much to the annoyance of his sisters and mother. [[spoiler:Has a soul-crushing DownerEnding.]]
* ''Alpha's Egg'': We follow the life of Alpha, a young female ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeSauropods Saltasaurus]]'', and her carnivorous adversary, Dragonfly, a male ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeLargeTheropods Aucasaurus]]''.

As the above descriptions may tell, the stories seem much more fantasy-like, as opposed to being strictly scientific reenactments of prehistoric life on Earth. The "humanizing" of the dinosaurs doesn't stop at giving them names. The {{Narrator}} gives us an insight into their thoughts and feelings, and a large number of plot elements seem to have been lifted straight out of an adventure novel. Does this make the documentary more engaging or rather laughably implausible? That's for the viewer to decide.

Not to be confused with the ''very'' similarly titled ''PlanetDinosaur'', which is a {{BBC}} production or the cancelled Nintendo 64 game [[NamesTheSame of the same name]] which later became ''StarFoxAdventures''.
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!!The show contains examples of the following tropes:
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Some ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirds Ichthyornis]]'' find the unconscious Pod on shore and are then chased away by [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirdlikeTheropods dwarf dromaeosaurids]]. Then a few ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles Allodaposuchus]]'' arrive and are about to take over the "carcass" when Pod wakes up and scares ''everyone'' away.
* ApeShallNeverKillApe: Averted. Broken Hand feeds on White Tip's eggs.
* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:The volcanic eruption at the end of ''Little Das' Hunt'' earns itself a class 0.]]
* ApocalypseWow: [[spoiler:The volcanic eruption at the end of ''Little Das' Hunt'' is pretty spectacular and horrifying.]]
* ArtEvolution: Compared to ''WhenDinosaursRoamedAmerica''.
* BadAss: ''[[StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Oviraptor]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeLargeTheropods Carcharodontosaurus]]'', and Pod may also qualify at the end of his story.
* BehindTheBlack: As ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeBirdlikeTheropods Shuvuuia]]'' is chased by White Tip's pack, an ''[[StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Oviraptor]]'' bursts from the left side of the screen and kills it.
* BloodierAndGorier: Than many previous dino-docs. The animators must have been really proud of their blood effects.
* BulletTime: [[spoiler:The scene turns to slow-motion as the volcanic eruption obliterates Little Das and his family.]]
* CarnivoreConfusion: Averted. Many main characters are carnivores themselves.
* CrapsackWorld: The Mongolian desert, and Patagonia for the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeSauropods Saltasaurus]]''.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The whole cast of ''Little Das' Hunt'' dies, no matter how young or cute they are.]]
** And all of the other episodes arguably have {{bittersweet ending}}s. [[spoiler:White Tip ends up back where she started but with a group of youngsters that need to be taken care of, Alpha survives to adulthood and defeats Dragonfly but all her eggs drown in a flood, while Pod arguably has the happiest ending where he ends up as an apex predator and gets a new pack, but his former pack is still killed off and he'll never be able to interact with his own kind.]]
* DumbMuscle: ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles Allodaposuchus]]'' is said to be this.
* EatsBabies: ''Velociraptor'', ''Notosuchus'', ''Alvarezsaurus'', and ''Aucasaurus''. The ''Daspletosaurus'' try to, but then [[spoiler:everybody dies]].
* {{Expy}}: ''T. rex'' and ''Edmontosaurus'' to ''Daspletosaurus'' and ''Maiasaura'' respectively, as well as animals that use the [[PaletteSwap same animation models]]: ''Alvarezsaurus'' to ''Shuvuuia'', ''Notosuchus'' to ''Allodaposuchus'', ''Magyarosaurus'' to ''Ampelosaurus'', and other island-dwelling dwarf dinosaurs to their mainland counterparts.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Some, [[spoiler:like what happens to Dragonfly or the dwarf ''Tarascosaurus'']].
* FeatheredFiend: Many dinosaurs, including ''Velociraptor'', ''Oviraptor'', ''Pyroraptor'', ''Troodon'', ''Ichthyornis'', ''Alvarezsaurus'', and another type of ''Troodon''. The ''Velociraptor'' and ''Pyroraptor'' are portrayed as sympathetic characters, however, and the island troodonts are also benevolent towards the main character in the episode they're shown in.
** Averted by ''Shuvuuia'', which only serves to get eaten by an ''Oviraptor''.
* FightScene: A few. The most memorable being the FinalBattle between Alpha and Dragonfly.
* FollowTheLeader: To ''WalkingWithDinosaurs''.
* GiantFlyer: ''Quetzalcoatlus''.
* GoodBadTranslation: Some dubs, like the Hungarian, got many animal names wrong. Most embarrassingly, the narrator pronounced ''Magyarosaurus'' (the word "magyar" being Hungarian for, well, Hungarian) as "Magiasaurus". Moreover, he constantly called the ''Aucasaurus'' "''Arcosaurus''", ''Prenocephale'' "''Prenocephalus''" and "''Prenocephal''", ''Maiasaura'' "''Mayasaurus''", and in one instance referred to White Tip as "White Nose" (the official title of the episode also calls her by this erroneous name).
* {{Gorn}}: Most of Pod's episode.
* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: The ''Tarascosaurus'' stand no chance against a pissed-off Pod. Also counts as a slight aversion, since the ''Tarascosaurus'' in question are dwarf specimens, not the great mainland predators Pod once feared.
* InfantImmortality: Averted, being a nature documentary that went for shock factor.
** Specifically: some ''Oviraptor'' chicks are killed by ''Velociraptor'', [[spoiler:Some of White Tip's eggs are eaten by Broken Hand]], [[spoiler:Little Das and presumably Buck and Blaze are killed by a volcanic eruption]], ''many'' baby ''Saltasaurus'' are killed by ''Notosuchus'', ''Alvarezsaurus'', and ''Aucasaurus'', and [[spoiler:Alpha's first clutch of eggs drowns]].
* MamaBear: The father ''Aucasaurus'' has to flash his red throat to keep his mate from going MamaBear on his tail.
** White Tip also qualifies.
* MinorInjuryOverreaction: Alpha's leg gently brushes against a fallen twig. ''And she limps throughout the rest of the episode''. This is supposed to be realistic.
* MisplacedVegetation: Grass in Europe. It's only known to have grown in India back then.
* MisplacedWildlife: ''Carcharodontosaurus'' in South America, when it was actually African. They could have named the critter ''Giganotosaurus'', which looked almost exactly the same, and ''was'' South American.
** Not to mention ''Ichthyornis'' and ''Troodon'' in Europe. They're both known from EagleLand, and the latter from CanadaEh as well.
** The European ''Troodon'' is actually ''Elopteryx'', they just called it ''Troodon''.
* MoodWhiplash: Is ''Little Das' Hunt'' supposed to be funny or tragic? We are constantly treated to the adorable Little Das' childish antics, and then... [[spoiler:he dies, along with the rest of the cast]].
* {{Narrator}}: ChristianSlater.
* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: ''Allodaposuchus'' and ''Notosuchus''.
* NoPronunciationGuide: Slater mispronounces ''Shuvuuia'' as "Shuvia" (Dr. Scott Sampson later pronounces it correctly).
* NoisyNature: There are scenes of dinosaurs roaring at each other that just won't end.
* OneHitKill: Pod uses his sickle-claw effectively against a dwarf ''Tarascosaurus''. [[spoiler:Alpha, on the other hand, utilizes an involuntary final blow.]]
* PteroSoarer: The (again) scaly ''Quetzalcoatlus''.
* RaptorAttack: To be fair, it's due to ScienceMarchesOn.
* RogerRabbitEffect: Dinosaurs occasionally interact with the talking head, Scott Sampson.
* RuleOfCool: Most of the fight scenes.
* ScienceMarchesOn: While it was very up-to-date (some might even say ahead of its time) with its dinosaur portrayals, modern paleontology has made a few discoveries since its debut:
** We now know ''Aucasaurus'' had even less developed arms, and lacked claws altogether.
** Raptors should have actual clawed wings.
** ''Quetzalcoatlus'' didn't look nor live like that.
** ''Oviraptor'' was probably not ''nearly'' the BadAss the show portrays it as. And the ones in the show should be called ''Citipati''.
** The plesiosaur shouldn't have been able to eat Pod's sister, nor would it probably be interested.
** Male deinonychosaurs were probably the ones responsible for brooding nests, and young deinonychosaurs were likely capable of foraging on their own instead of being fed.
** Pterosaurs were probably not outcompeted by birds, as the two coexisted for 85 million years.
* SeaMonster: The plesiosaur from ''Pod's Travels''.
* SeldomSeenSpecies: ''Shuvuuia'', ''Prenocephale'', ''Deltatheridium'', ''Allodaposuchus'', ''Pyroraptor'', ''Tarascosaurus'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Daspletosaurus'', ''Orodromeus'', ''Einiosaurus'', ''Alvarezsaurus'', ''Aucasaurus'', and ''Notosuchus''.
* SmallTaxonomyPools: Totally averted. ''Shuvuuia''? ''Einiosaurus''? ''Tarascosaurus''? ''Allodaposuchus''? How many shows have these? ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'' certainly doesn't.
* SpeculativeDocumentary: Perhaps a bit too much on the speculative side.
* StockDinosaurs: ''T. rex'', ''Edmontosaurus'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Oviraptor'', ''Troodon'', ''Protoceratops'', ''Maiasaura'' and ''Quetzalcoatlus''.
* TruthInTelevision: The scene in which a dueling ''Protoceratops'' and ''Velociraptor'' get crushed under an avalanche of sand has been based on the actual fossil of the actual event.
* TyrannosaurusRex: Has only a cameo. But the ''Daspletosaurus'', ''Carcharodontosaurus'' and ''Tarascosaurus'' fill in much the same role.
* UseYourHead: ''Prenocephale''.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: ''Shuvuuia'', ''Prenocephale'', ''Deltatheridium'', ''Allodaposuchus'', ''Pyroraptor'', ''Tarascosaurus'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Daspletosaurus'', ''Orodromeus'', ''Alvarezsaurus'', ''Aucasaurus'', and ''Notosuchus''.

Not to be confused with the ''very'' similarly titled ''PlanetDinosaur'', which is a {{BBC}} production.

As the above descriptions may tell, the stories seem much more fantasy-like, as opposed to being strictly scientific reenactments of prehistoric life on Earth. The "humanizing" of the dinosaurs doesn't stop at giving them names. The {{Narrator}} gives us an insight into their thoughts and feelings, and a large number of plot elements seem to have been lifted straight out of an adventure novel.

* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:The volcanic eruption at the end of ''Little Das' Hunt'' earns itself a [[ApocalypseHow/Class0 class 0]].]]

As the above descriptions may tell, the stories seem much more fantasy-like, as opposed to being strictly scientific reenactments of prehistoric life on Earth. The "humanizing" of the dinosaurs doesn't stop at giving them names. The {{Narrator}} gives us an insight into their thoughts and feelings, and a large number of plot elements seem to have been lifted straight out of an adventure novel. Does this make the documentary more engaging or rather laughably implausible? [[YourMileageMayVary That's for the viewer to decide.]]

As the above descriptions may tell, the stories seem much more fantasy-like, as opposed to being strictly scientific reenactments of prehistoric life on Earth. The "humanizing" of the dinosaurs doesn't stop at giving them names. The {{Narrator}} gives us an insight into their thoughts and feelings, and a large number of plot elements seem to have been lifted straight out of an adventure novel. Does this make the documentary more engaging or rather laughably implausible? [[YourMileageMayVary That's for the viewer to decide.]] Not to be confused with the ''very'' similairly titled PlanetDinosaur.

As the above descriptions may tell, the stories seem much more fantasy-like, as opposed to being strictly scientific reenactments of prehistoric life on Earth. The "humanizing" of the dinosaurs doesn't stop at giving them names. The {{Narrator}} gives us an insight into their thoughts and feelings, and a large number of plot elements seem to have been lifted straight out of an adventure novel. Does this make the documentary more engaging or rather laughably implausible? [[YourMileageMayVary That's for the viewer to decide.]]

* GoodBadTranslation: Some dubs, like the Hungarian, got many animal names wrong. Most embarrassingly, the narrator pronounced ''Magyarosaurus'' (the word "magyar" being Hungarian for, well, Hungarian) as "Magiasaurus". Moreover, he constantly called the ''Aucasaurus'' "''Arcosaurus''", ''Prenocephale'' "''Prenocephalus''" and "''Prenocephal''", ''Mayasaura'' "''Mayasaurus''", and in one instance referred to White Tip as "White Nose" (the official title of the episode also calls her by this erroneous name).

* GoodBadTranslation: Some dubs, like the Hungarian, got many animal names wrong. Most embarrassingly, the narrator pronounced ''Magyarosaurus'' (the word "magyar" being Hungarian for, well, Hungarian) as "Magiasaurus".

* ''White Tip's Journey'': The tale of White Tip, a female ''[[STockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'' trying to survive in the Mongolian desert and find a new pack after having lost her old one.

* ''White Tip's Journey'': The tale of White Tip, a female ''Velociraptor'' trying to survive in the Mongolian desert and find a new pack after having lost her old one.
* ''Pod's Travels'': Pod, a Romanian ''Pyroraptor'' finds himself stranded on a strange island full of [[LittlePeople little dinosaurs]].
* ''Little Das' Hunt'': A young and eager ''Daspletosaurus'' tries to aid his family on the hunt, but constantly gets in the way, much to the annoyance of his sisters and mother. [[spoiler:Has a soul-crushing DownerEnding.]]
* ''Alpha's Egg'': We follow the life of Alpha, a young female ''Saltasaurus'', and her carnivorous adversary, Dragonfly, a male ''Aucasaurus''.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: Some ''Ichthyornis'' find the unconscious Pod on shore and are then chased away by dwarf dromaeosaurids. Then a few ''Allodaposuchus'' arrive and are about to take over the "carcass" when Pod wakes up and scares ''everyone'' away.

* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:The volcanic eruption at the end of ''Little Das' Hunt'' earns itself a [[{{ApocalypseHow/Class0}} class 0]].]]

* BadAss: ''Oviraptor'', ''Carcharodontosaurus'', and Pod may also qualify at the end of his story.
* BehindTheBlack: As ''Shuvuuia'' is chased by White Tip's pack, an ''Oviraptor'' bursts from the left side of the screen and kills it.

* CrapsackWorld: The Mongolian desert, and Patagonia for the ''Saltasaurus''.

* DumbMuscle: ''Allodaposuchus'' is said to be this.

** And all of the other episodes arguably have [[BittersweetEnding Bittersweet Endings]]. [[spoiler:White Tip ends up back where she started but with a group of youngsters that need to be taken care of, Alpha survives to adulthood and defeats Dragonfly but all her eggs drown in a flood, while Pod arguably has the happiest ending where he ends up as an apex predator and gets a new pack, but his former pack is still killed off and he'll never be able to interact with his own kind.]]

** The European ''Troodon'' is actually ''Elopteryx'', they just called it ''Troodon''

* OneHitKill: Pod uses his sickle-claw effectively against a dwarf ''Tarascosaurus''. [[spoiler:Alpha on the other hand utilizes an involuntary final blow.]]

*** The European ''Troodon'' is actually ''Elopteryx'', they just called it ''Troodon''

* IAmAHumanitarian: Broken Hand tries this in order to survive.