History WesternAnimation / MarchOfTheDinosaurs

*** The only known freshwater mosasaur is ''Pannoniasaurus'', but it was only 6 meters long, native to Europe, and a much more basal form of mosasaur.

** The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is a mixed bag. On one hand, for once, it has accurate proportions for an azhdarchid (proportionally short wings, long neck, large head), and is not depicted as a piscivore but a terrestrial forager, but on the other hand, it lacks pycnofibers, as well as wing fingers, and most egregiously, it’s depicted as a bird-like ''biped'', even though the notion that pterosaurs were bipedal [[JustForPun died out]] during the 90s.

* PaletteSwap: The ''Gorgosaurus'' and ''Albertosaurus'' are the exact same model, but the former has silvery feathers while the latter has [[DarkIsEvil black ones]]. Somewhat justified, as the two were very close relatives and very similar in appearance.

%%* CirclingVultures

%%* NoisyNature: Not as apparent as in some other dino-docs.

* PteroSoarer: The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is a mixed bag. On one hand, for once, it has accurate proportions for an azhdarchid (proportionally short wings, long neck, large head), and is not depicted as a piscivore but a terrestrial forager, but on the other hand, it lacks pycnofibers, as well as wing fingers, and most egregiously, it’s depicted as a bird-like ''biped'', even though the notion that pterosaurs were bipedal [[JustForPun died out]] during the 90s.

%%* CoolOldLady: The old female ankylosaur. She not only survives the winter on her fat reserves, [[spoiler: but she also is the one to finish off the ''Gorgosaurus''.]]

%%* CoolOldLady: The old female ankylosaur.

* DeathbringerTheAdorable: Our lead dino is named Scar, and from the name alone you'd think he was some grizzled and badass [[KingOfTheDinosaurs tyrannosaur]], [[RaptorAttack raptor]], or [[TemperCeratops ceratopsid]], or at least a badass who can hold his own. Nope, he's a cute little baby ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursOrnithischianDinosaurs Edmontosaurus]]'' who got his scar from a predator attack, and spends a good chunk of the movie being antagonized by the afromentioned dinosaurs.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: Even better than with just [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguins]]. Which are of course, also dinosaurs.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:The ''Albertosaurus''.]]

* SmallTaxonomyPools: Played with. Besides the recognizable ''Quetzalcoatlus'' and ''Troodon'', the film uses B and C-list StockDinosaurs such as the hadrosaur ''Edmontosaurus'', the albertosaurines ''Gorgosaurus'' and ''Albertosaurus'', the hornless ceratopsid ''Pachyrhinosaurus'', and an unnamed panoplosaurine ankylosaur (most likely an ''Edmontonia''), as well as the mammal ''Alphadon''.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: Few works of media will feature ''Prognathodon'' as the token mosasaur.

* SuperPersistentPredator: The ''Albertosaurus'' that hounds Scar and his companion takes this UpToEleven. [[spoiler:His feathers catch fire? Mild annoyance. A volcanic flood drags him away? Temporary setback. His pack mates brought down several other duckbills? Nope, he's catching his own food dammit! He's falling down from a cliff? Not going down without its victim.]] [[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime Sharptooth would be proud of him.]]

** The ''Prognathodon'' is depicted more like an {{Expy}} of the giant alligatoroid ''Deinosuchus'', being able to live in both fresh and saltwater and actively hunting dinosaurs, down to the scene where they congregate to attack the migrating duckbill and''Pachyrhinosaurus'' being a direct homage to Nile crocodiles hunting migrating zebra and wildebeest during river crossings today. Not only is there no evidence that ''Prognathodon'' behaved like that, but it and other giant, derived mosasaurs are known exclusively from marine deposits and were much more analogous to killer whales and sharks (open ocean predators). You get the sense that the producers really wanted to use ''Deinosuchus'' but couldn't, due to the story being set in the frigid north, where ectothermic crocodiles couldn't exist.

** The ''Prognathodon'' is depicted more like an {{Expy}} of the giant, dinosaur-eating alligatoroid ''Deinosuchus'', being able to live in both fresh and saltwater and actively hunting dinosaurs, down to the scene where they congregate to attack the migrating ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' being a direct homage to Nile crocodiles hunting migrating zebra and wildebeest today. Not only is there no evidence that ''Prognathodon'' behaved like that, but it and other giant, derived mosasaurs are known exclusively from marine deposits and were much more analogous to killer whales and sharks (open ocean predators). You get the sense that the producers really wanted to use ''Deinosuchus'' but couldn't, due to the story being set in the frigid north, where ectothermic crocodiles couldn't exist.

** While the notion itself that derived tyrannosauroids were extensively feathered has become dated, here, they are depicted as sporting pennaceous (branching) feathers. While tyrannosaurs are coelurosaurs, pennaceous feathers are only known from the more derived maniraptoriformes, while tyrannosaurs are basal coelurosaurs and would have possessed more simplistic, hair-like plumage, as confirmed by ''Dilong'' and ''Yutyrannus''.
** In an example of RuleOfScary, during the attack on the herd, we see one of the 3-ton ''Albertosaurus'' leaping into the air as it blindsides an ''Edmontosaurus'', ala the T. rex from WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime. Pretty self-explanatory.

* PteroSoarer: The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is a mixed bag. On one hand, for once, it has accurate proportion for an azhdarchid (proportionally short wings, long neck, large head), and is not depicted as a piscivore but a terrestrial forager, but on the other hand, it lacks pycnofibers, as well as wing fingers, and most egregiously, it’s depicted as a bird-like ''biped'', even though the notion that pterosaurs were bipedal [[JustForPun died out]] during the 90s.

* SuperPersistentPredator: The ''Albertosaurus'' is the very definition of this. [[spoiler:His feathers catch fire? Mild annoyance. A volcanic flood drags him away? Temporary setback. He's falling down from a cliff? Not going down without its victim.]]

* SmallTaxonomyPools: Averted. Instead of the overused ''T. rex'', generic dromaeosaur, ''Triceratops'' and ''Anyklosaurus'', the program uses ''Gorgosaurus'' and ''Albertosaurus'', ''Troodon'', ''Pachyrhinosaurus'', and an unnamed nodosaur (most likely an ''Edmontonia'').
* SpeculativeDocumentary
* StockDinosaurs: ''Edmontosaurus'', ''Quetzalcoatlus'', ''Troodon'', ''Gorgosaurus'', ''Albertosaurus'', ''Pachyrhinosaurus'', and... that's it.

** While the notion itself that derived tyrannosauroids were extensively feathered has become dated, here, they are depicted as sporting pennaceous (branching) feathers. While tyrannosaurs are coelurosaurs, pennaceous feathers are only known from the more derived maniraptoriformes, while tyrannosaurs are basal tyrannosaurs and would have possessed more simplistic, hair-like plumage, as confirmed by ''Dilong'' and ''Yutyrannus''.

** The ''Prognathodon'' is depicted more like an {{Expy}} of the alligatoroid ''Deinosuchus'', being able to live in both fresh and saltwater and actively hunting dinosaurs, down to the scene where they congregate to attack the migrating ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' being a direct homage to Nile crocodiles hunting migrating zebra and wildebeest today. Not only is there no evidence that ''Prognathodon'' behaved like that, but it and other giant, derived mosasaurs are known exclusively from marine deposits and were much more analogous to killer whales and sharks (open ocean predators). You get the sense that the producers really wanted to use ''Deinosuchus'' but couldn't, due to the story being set in the frigid north, where ectothermic crocodiles couldn't exist.

* RaptorAttack: Mostly averted with the ''Troodon''. While severely underfeathered, its behavior is largely accurate and plausible, as it’s depicted as an opportunistic small-game hunter who poses no threat to the hadrosaurs, with one of the first scenes being an encounter between Scar and Patch, and the latter poses no threat to the young duckbill. And they don't overemphasize its alleged intelligence either.

** While the notion itself that derived tyrannosauroids were extensively feathered has become dated, here, they are depicted as sporting pennaceous (branching) feathers. While tyrannosaurs are coelurosaurs, pennaceous feathers are only known in the more derived maniraptoriformes, while tyrannosaurs are basal tyrannosaurs and would have possessed more simplistic, hair-like plumage, as confirmed by ''Dilong'' and ''Yutyrannus''.

* ScienceMarchesOn:
** The basic plot probably wouldn’t have happened in real life, as Arctic dinosaurs likely didn’t migrate during the winter, or at least nowhere near as extensively as shown here. Part of the reason behind this theory was that, at the time, the ''Edmontosaurus'' and ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' found in Alaska were assumed to be the same species as the ones found further south in Alberta, but not long after the film aired, the former were reclassified as being separate species from their southern cousins (with some even considering the polar edmontosaura separate genus, ''Ugrunaaluk''), along with several other lines of evidence suggesting that hadrosaurs and ceratopsians didn’t travel much.
** The Alaskan tyrannosaur is depicted as a ''Gorgosaurus'', an albertosaurine (gracile tyrannosaur) who lived in Alberta several million years prior, but in 2014, it was discovered that the former was a previously unknown species dubbed ''Nanuqsaurus'', who also turned out to be a tyrannosaurine (robust tyrannosaur), meaning it would have more closely resembled a ''Daspletosaurus'' than a ''Gorgosaurus''.
** The ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is depicted with a robust, blunt bill, a semi-common depiction of the animal at the time and inspired by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javelina_azhdarchid#/media/File:TMM_42489-2.png one specimen]] from Texas, but in 2021, the specimen was recognized as a completely different azhdarchid, called ''Javelinadactylus'', and the real ''Quetzalcoatlus'' had a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus#/media/File:Quetzalcoatlus_sp.jpg much thinner bill]]. It’s also depicted as a vulture-esque scavenger but subsequent studies showed that it was a terrestrial predator of small animals (akin to a stork), though it would have still scavenged dead dinosaurs when given the opportunity.
** The ''Prognathodon'', in general, has aged very poorly. [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology Even ignoring the fact that it’s shown living in freshwater]], it’s depicted as incredibly skinny and has the traditional, paddle-like tail, but later finds showed that mosasaurs were [[https://www.deviantart.com/arvalis/art/Saurian-Mosasaurus-661984681 much more compact animals and had crescent-shaped tail flukes]] (akin to a shark).
** Same for the ''Troodon''. While it's behavior is mostly plausible, its plumage is very minimalistic, with a naked face and no wings. Furthermore, ''Troodon'' itself has been deemed a dubious genus in 2017 (due to its holotype being just teeth, which are undiagnostic on a generic level) and the giant Alaskan troodont was likely a completely different animal.