Exploring the World of Dinotopia (Part 1)

[@hagfish4998]

Dinotopia is one of those books that everyone remembers, regardless if they actually read it or not.

[@prasetyodwikuncorojati2434]

Even that never read it, maybe will remember about "realistic" ilustration of human riding dinosaurs in medieval like setting, or even interact with them not as animal but as fellow people

[@valentinmitterbauer4196]

Never heard of the book before and only knew the series. But it certainly gives me similar vibes to ParaWorld, which was part of my childhood.

[@dragonking8085]

@@valentinmitterbauer4196god I miss that game

[@gentlemanvontweed7147]

There great porn made of Dinotopia.

[@simonboyle4459]

Dinotopia was everything to me. The paintings were so beautiful.

[@joneshoward17]

Don't you mean are?

[@riverAmazonNZ]

The artist wrote a book about how to paint and it’s one of the best painting books I’ve ever read. Extremely helpful and full of amazing paintings too. I recommend it!

[@Aurinor]

Now when I think about it, as a kid Dinotopia actually was my first ever dive into that whole idea of speculative evolution and ”what if” scenarios. Like, what if in some part of the world dinosaurs never went extinct and instead evolved alongside humans, and then gained sentience and lived with humans as just some different sentient race? And that franchise basically gives us exactly that.

[@Stop_Gooning]

You act like birds don't even exist.

[@prasetyodwikuncorojati2434]

Yup. It was so believeable and organic

[@theinternetsightseer2935]

​@@Stop_GooningWe're talking about dinosaurs, not birds. All birds are dinosaurs, but not all dinosaurs are birds.

[@TylerRakstis]

James Gurney is definitely one of my favorite paleoartists, and I even got to see him in person while he visited Canajoharie.

[@enderman_666]

it’s cool that they named a Torvosaurus species after him

[@deadpoolrlz9685]

We need a dinotopia series with the same people who made prehistoric planet

[@turkey4802]

So true!

[@chancegivens9390]

Fuck yeah!!

[@yeetthatmolotov]

oh that would be so cool

[@jacksonhopp2003]

Yes. Please!

[@lordedmundblackadder9321]

The four original dinotopia books were so good. They had absolutely beautiful art and this Victorian sense of wonder in discovery to them that I love.

[@coolhorselover234]

I practically lived in the dinosaur section of my elementary school library. I remember being the only one who checked out these books for some reason.

[@matthewpopow6647]

You were the only kid who had good taste

[@Yig_al_Gaib4242]

Right in the childhood. I loved these books when I was a kid, 'Dinotopia: The World Beneath' especially.

[@boogerman908]

I actually went and tracked down almost all of the books last year. So glad there's going to be some comprehensive coverage of it

[@canonbehenna612]

Anyone wish for a dinotopia remake with more realistic designs(maybe some speciations)and some new world building

[@altithoraxperotorum5133]

Here

[@justrambling5267]

🤚

[@altithoraxperotorum5133]

And maybe some new species as well

[@canonbehenna612]

@@altithoraxperotorum5133 great idea also maybe put more danger and mystery’s in the world beneath

[@MonsterGaming-fz4fs]

Saying "better" seems a bit disrespectful to the work put in that was already very thoughtful

[@Bionickpunk]

James Gurney is seriously one of the most underrated creators in modern times. His world is so fantastical and influential and yet barely anyone talks about it nowadays, and thats why seeing people finally represent his works truly is amazing.

[@KrazyKaiser]

I grew up with a hardcover copy of the original Dinotopia book and the artwork in that book was always so spectacular to look at, honestly a great worldbuilding project.

[@erinrising2799]

my childhood home didn't have AC, but the town library did. So we would walk over there as soon as they opened and spend all day. Dinotopia was my favorite book to just gaze into for hours, imagining I could live in this world

[@thedoodlefox5640]

As a massive dinosaur fan and an art student I have so much admiration of Gurney. His painting techniques are taught by my professors, a few of whom are friends with the guy. I don’t know a single student who doesn’t own his books on Color and Light and Drawing From Imagination. He is without a doubt one of the most skilled and influential painters of our time.

[@matthewpopow6647]

Dude. When i was a kid, i won a contest at my local post office. I got to meet the author and got an autographed copy of the first book. I still have it on my bookshelf.

[@WolfStar08]

I haven't even thought about dinotopia being reviewed on this channel yet but now that its out it makes so much sense! This used to be my favorite dinosaur series growing up for years, and still holds a special place in my heart. Recently now West Of Eden has taken the spot as my favorite dino series because of your video on book one and now I have the whole trilogy. Gotta get all the topia books now too.

[@brodeeo]

Please post part 2, Id love to hear about the whole series. I love how he adapted the world with more discoveries in paleontology

[@zechariahsteiger4325]

I loved Dinotopia growing up! Glad to see you're covering it.

[@Ou_phrontis]

Got my signed copy of “The World Beneath” on my bookshelf now. My sister got the signed copy of “Dinotopia”. These books are incredible and Gurney is not just a great artist and storyteller, but a wonderful art educator. His books “Imaginative Realism” and “Color and Light” are indispensable for anyone in illustration. What’s your opinion on the idea that Lucasfilm/ILM ripped off a lot of Gurney’s designs to create Naboo in Episode 1?

[@Ferril21]

I remember going to Library as a kid and borrowing the Dinotopia books over and over, to the point that the lady at the loans desk would remind me that I already had that book before.

[@TheRealRiptide01]

lmao same 😂

[@ThomasdWell]

45:09 I checked this book out a lot, LOVED the art but I couldn't read the cursive. Didn't officially read it till in my 20's but it is just as magical

[@L337P1R4735]

Excellent job I can't wait for more. Dinotopia gives me this wonderful warm feeling, every image is so beautiful.

[@Lornext]

Man, I really want to see more parts about Dinotopia. This first book was my childhood.

[@kyonthirtytwo2456]

I read this as a child, i found it in the local library Thank you for investigating this nostalgic topic

[@Atomic_Chef]

As a 90's kid this was my inspiration to be an artist! My mom grew up in the same town that Gurney lives in and so my grandma would get me signed (signature AND a small dinosaur drawing) copies of the books knowing I loved dinosaurs. They are some of my biggest treasures! I think they are one of the only pieces of pop-culture dinosaur media where dinosaurs were not portrayed as monsters. I love the historical and naturalist feel the stories have to them. I would love to see more Dinotopia in the world but I think it's message and nature is one that big media companies and mass marketers would not want to touch. Unfortunately I think Dinotopia will remain a treasured memory of the past.

[@ladyofthedrgns]

When i first discovered the very first book. I could not find a single copy anywhere, mind you this is long before Ebay or Amazon, or any online shops exsisted. So my only referance i had to help my local library to find a copy was a worn out copy of the kids magazine Ranger Rick featuring the book. After having read just about every book in the series, it makes me miss all the adventures. Pray one day someone out there will give a more faithful adaptation of it. Reading, all the books felt like i was sitting on a bench on the corner of a random unnamed street or walking among them people watching. I could hear the usual everyday noisy bussel of the crowded streets, people doing their daily rotines, dinos doing the same. A funny confession, i used all the referanced in all the books to try to narrow down the location of the island on a world map.

[@michaelhoffmann2891]

This didn't come out until I was in my late 20s - I remember it being advertised on CNN, of all places. As paleontology nerd, I was a bit too jaded to get over the "suspension of disbelief" threshold, but would just pore over the artwork for hours and over and over. I have some regrets of having no longer been a child, where I would have enjoyed the story for its own sake, instead of my analytical mind overthinking things. Alas!

[@Eshkanama]

We need an adult drama version of Dinotopia. War based, kinda like Game of Thrones, but with dinosaurs, all new rendered species.

[@Shanksspeare]

I'm so glad you're doing a series on Dinotopia! I loved the big books when I was a kid. I love that you did a background on James Gurney, too. I'm a big Bakshi fan and the first time I watched Fire and Ice I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Gurney's name pop up onscreen.

[@WillTheGreatest]

This made me go to the side room and realize i have 3 of the 4 books but never got journey to chandara. Thanks for the reminder and deep lore dig. James is an incredibly talented and fascinating individual

[@steveirwin3594]

Thanks so much for this. I absolutely loved Dinotopia when I was a kid, and it's interesting to hear someone's thoughts on it who's new to the series. I was just thinking about trying to get my hands on the books and re-experience them, so this was a nice surprise. It was really big for a while there, and I think it needs a revival. A lost island where humans and hyperintelligent dinosaurs live side-by-side has so many possibilities, it could make a great movie or netflix series.

[@Pangolin-Mandolin]

We didn't have much money as a kid but we used to have this book shop called 'The Works' that sold all different types of books for ridiculous discounts. One occasion we were there I saw the hardcover, 'The World Beneath' for £5! As I was already dinosaur mad, my Mum treated me and even after over 20 years it's still one of my most favourite books! Thank you, Mum 🤜❤🦖😊👌🦕💯🤙

[@juanisol8275]

Thank you very much for reviewing this iconic prehistoric utopia lost in time!! I really love this kind of audiovisual work!! I'm already intrigued to see the second part and other doses of nostalgia! 🦕👏❤️🦖

[@alejandrominero3692]

Been waiting on a Dinotopia video ! I was so into the books when I was younger

[@travisbishop782]

No, thank you Diego. Thank you for highlighting all this fascinating dinosaur media.

[@Sharauni]

Dinotopia is one of my all time favorite series ever, I have the books by James Gurney, all the youth books, the two novels, have seen the movie and show and even have a Bix plushie! I was also a pen pal to James Gurney for a while when I was younger and he signed my books when I met him in person at an art gallery, as well as getting a signed poster of Dinosaur Parade while there, and giving him a little Bix clay figure I made him lol. He even sent me some Dinotopia trading cards he signed too; he is the sweetest and most mellow man, I absolutely adore how patient and caring he is with his fans and how much detail he puts into his world and the art for it. Thank you so much for doing this video, it was very well done and hopefully it gets a new generation into his books, even if they aren't fully scientifically accurate anymore; the art and story are still worth praise!

[@Enshohma]

Love these dinosaur videos of yours! Always a treat to wake up to every week!

[@Nervadane]

Your channel made me buy Jurassic World 2 to build a dino park lol

[@notreal9579]

I had one of these books at my house and i read it all the time as a kid so its really cool to see this

[@InfiniteAnvil]

Dinotopia is the best. I spent hours and days as a kid just going through it and studying the pictures for their little details. I only ever had the first two books, but I very nearly wore them out. I was a little disappointed that the "dinosaur writing" was all directly translatable to English, though. I was so into the books that at one point I went through and translated all of it, and I was never able to look at it with quite the same level of wonder and immersion again.

[@dyj321]

I remember watching the show! Loved it growing up! I didn't even know there were books! Time to find them!

[@SillyClothesStealer]

Found this book in my library, I loved it

[@canonbehenna612]

Wish my library 📚 had it and the other four books

[@wolfheartdarnell324]

I came here expecting a dive into some nostalgia from an old childhood (TV) fave. Little do I realize that there's a massively deep rabbit hole that looks intriguing.

[@friend_trilobot]

Bix is one of my all time favorite characters, esp after reading "The World Beneath"

[@johnyiannacopoulos639]

this was also in my school library and I was actually OBSESSED with this book. Thank you for covering

[@elliotludwig7487]

Can’t wait to see part 2!!

[@davidgomez-wt7pn]

Omg. Yay Dinotopia! I love this book so much, I shed a happy little dino tear when I listened to this. Thank you Dino Diego!

[@TobeWilsonNetwork]

My introduction was the made-for-tv-movie adaptation. Always was more interested in the precursors to the Dino civilization

[@nm2530]

When I first learned about dinotopia earlier this year I was super intrigued by the art Gurney made. Its beautiful, fantasy but feels real. I've always enjoyed history, art and fantasy since I was very young, so having them all combined in dinotopia just brings my inner child back to surface. Imagining it as if it was a real history is what I love about it. great video btw!!

[@Jekyllhyde360]

Aaahhhh!!!!! i fucking love Dinotopia! Thank you for covering it!

[@Savannah_Simpson]

I watched the miniseries when it first aired and it fascinated me. I think I might rewatch it and get into some of the other parts of the franchise too.

[@jacedayne1535]

Fantastic video. I watched a couple of episodes the series when I was like 6 or 7 and I almost forgot it existed. With this now everything takes a shape and context

[@chancegivens9390]

I appreciate you going over all of these dinosaur media stories. It gives me something great to listen to and more ideas for custom figurines in the future. Thank you for that.

[@thetophatnerd2664]

This stuff was my childhood (just right after jewels Verns) and there were moments where I thought up of a movie based off this franchise

[@fizzplease6742]

Ohhh I am going to enjoy these!! I adored Dinotopia. Still do but mannn as a kid one my best memories is getting the first two books from Scholastic lol.

[@Aaron-mj9ie]

Dinotopia taught me to appreciate only the highest quality aesthetics as a child.

[@brycevo]

Dinotopia is still so beautiful I wish and hope they do something with it, whether that is a game or series. It would be amazing

[@Carnagepwnz]

Dinotopia was one of my formative books as a kid, it inspired so much imagination and creativity. I've recently made a habit of buying it for my friends kids for their birthdays as I think it's a great book to read to them with the impressive watercolour pictures and something they can handle later solo when they can read the large flowing writing.

[@Joe___schmoe]

My grandma bought all of the dinotopia books to go in her library for me, the one I remember most was the first book which she had as an interactive pop-up book, it was my favorite book ever and It's still there to this day

[@joshuab4586]

Have you ever checked out dinosaur YuGiOh cards? Haven’t checked those specifically myself but most themed card sets have a sort of story being told through the art on the cards

[@andreavasquez4355]

They're also pretty good competitively.

[@MercuryModder]

I was lucky enough to have this book as a kid, loved it

[@bradmyst1339]

Could we get part 2? I like anything dinotopia. The more people know it the better

[@septicduzzle]

I had dinotopia in my primary school library too, though I read it a ton of times, I can say this was one of the few old dinosaur stories that got me into Dinosaurs and Paleontology.

[@blackdiamond9636]

To this day I wonder about the world beneath. This is one of THE books of my childhood I've always wanted to know of the world beneath

[@SomeoneOnYoutub7471]

Dino Diego, have you considered doing a review of David Bischoff’s 1980s Dragonstar sci-fi novels? I’ve seen them describe as “Jurassic Park in Space”. And (if you ever consider revisiting the Fringe Theories Iceberg) have you encountered the theory about Maya civilization interacting with surviving Mammoths/Mastodons? The theory stems from a Maya carving known as Stela B at the Copan archeological site depicting what appear to be elephants.

[@TheLightThatBurnsTheSky]

Oh hell yeah love to see (Part 1) in the title

[@CosmicPotato740]

Imagine if they could remake dinotopia 2024 with the knowledge on dinosaurs we have now

[@newfate26]

I knew about the first book, one of the novels and the miniseries. Im pretty certain ive had the book since it first came out. Looks like I'm gonna be spending some money for the other books in the main series at least. I can't believe I never knew that there was more out there.

[@keks_krieger44]

to be fair tho a protoceratops bite could still nonetheless be nasty for a human considereing their jaws and that beak

[@cthulhufan_2394]

Finally! Thanks for making this! and it's just part 1? Sign me up for more!

[@Jodipo]

LET'S GO!!!

[@altithoraxperotorum5133]

I remember there being an animated dinotopia movie where some mad scientist tried to make cyborg dinosaurs . Anyone else

[@canonbehenna612]

Yes, I came with some other dvd 📀 in a lunch box I owned when I’m younger

[@DinoDiego16]

I do, unfortunately😂

[@altithoraxperotorum5133]

​@@DinoDiego16 there was also that weird live action dinotopia show from the early 2000s . You saw that too?

[@daemonxdog3477]

I remember that.

[@qwellen7521]

Dinotopia was my childhood; but i was thrown for a loop that i just learnt there was 4th mainline book. I feel robbed.

[@LadyLeomon]

God I remember watching the TV adaptation of this, never knew there were books so this is really cool to find out! Thanks for a great video Diego and go hug your furbabies all 💙🐱💙

[@Emperor_Oshron]

i read _Dinotopia_ when it was new, but i haven't gotten around to most of the rest of it. i DID write a book report on _The World Beneath_ in elementary school, though ;)

[@Texas.Pokeman]

I just ordered the first book!! It's my favorite!!

[@themidnighttrain3045]

15:17 is that mah boy edaphosaurus

[@Delphink]

13:18 - maybe he thought he was in the Kanto Safari zone and wanted to increase his catch percentage before using his Safari Balls.

[@iasiahharrison9185]

I'm really surprised they never made a major motion picture of this,non of the series did it justice.

[@rhiban]

There's also two full length novels by Alan Dean Foster: "Hand of Dinotopia" and "Dinotopia Lost".

[@garuga1512]

The dinotopia was the friends we made along the way

[@bigforestband]

I loved those books as a kid. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on them!

[@sevv8325]

You should check out the Tales of Kaimere it's an anthology book where all stories take place on a planet called Kaimere it has a lot of speculative evolution not only on dinos but also a lot of other prehistoric and more modern species, the author Keenan Taylor has a youtube channel (it's literally called Keenan Taylor's Tales of Kaimere btw) where he more deeply explores the lore of the world including the history of the natives , history of the planet itself, and goes in detail about various different animals on the planet , his most recent video is about a species of deinotherium that's native to the planet (whitch the natives call Koga) which is a part of a small series of videos about the elephants of the planet

[@chancegivens9390]

I'm a huge fan of Kaimere! And I'm excited for the future. I plan on making figurines of most of the animals on kaimere.

[@trex2251]

I got absolutely enveloped by this world as a kid. I don’t think there has ever been a stronger exercise in world-building using dinosaurs

[@mitchellskene8176]

Never read the original set of books, but I've read a few of the side books, like River Quest (the one where the new habitat partners of freshwater figure out why the river seems to be draining) as well as the Troodon City set of books. I also own a copy of Dinotopia Lost by Alan Dean Foster (featuring Will as the main character). I was first introduced to the series by the made for TV movie (with Carl and David Scott). It's all quite fascinating world building, in my opinion.

[@NoGamble.NoFuture.]

Part 2 please 😁

[@CivilDefenseEngineer]

Dinotopia inspried me so much to be an artist. I think I learned a lot from Gurney.

[@artbravery1498]

Would you be interested in talking about the Future is wild or All Tomorrows? ❤

[@canonbehenna612]

How about the tales of kaimere

[@DinoDiego16]

Maybe one day. They're not really a priority since they've been covered somewhat recently and pretty extensively by other people. But I'll definitely keep them in mind

[@parkerpshebnisky1051]

I love dinotopia!🦖🦕

[@MartianInvader07]

I’m unsure on a way to suggest a video to you. However I’d love to see a video made by you on the ‘dinosaurs in the wild’ experience from 5/6 years ago. It may of been a thing you had to see to experience it however it was an AMAZING art piece/ experience. It had amazing world building aspects like safety videos, baby Dino handling methods etc. you got to watch the dissection of a pregnant Dino, watch a Dino hatch etc. it was incredibly immersive

[@Pangolin-Mandolin]

I think I remember that, was it hosted by Nigel Marvin? The best thing about the show was that it would show us dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals in the same shots with humans! The only thing that is impossible to get across on screen with shows like Prehistoric Planet is the size of these animals. Having no people on screen for scale makes it really difficult to fully appreciate just how big some of these animals could be

[@milesbradshaw6643]

Easily one of the greatest works of paleo media ever made. I would watch an animated adaptation of "Dinotopia", I mean a one-to-one adaptation of the original four James Gurney books, with updated creature designs.

[@adammarrow5980]

I loved this book as a kid. I even had a friend who also loved it and we memorized the footprint alphabet and used it as a secret code to pass notes. For anyone interested it is also available as a font with a quick Google search.

[@Dovawhat]

You should look into dinosaurs with stephen fry. Youre gonna have a field day with that one.

[@MisfortunateJustice]

Dammit, Diego. Giving me another wonderful book (series) i need to read. 😅

[@RustiesCrusties]

I've never heard of dinotopia before but it seems like a really interesting concept, I'll try and see if I can get some of the books.

[@GarGhuul]

I vaguely recall a TV pilot for a show. That was ages ago, glad to know I did not hallucinate it.

[@theoheinrich529]

dinotopia's such a fire book

[@unlovednekochan94]

those pictures just hit me in the childhood *_*

[@Autisticguywithacamera]

I love Dinotopia! I grew up on those old books, I still love them today but haven't read them in a while.

[@purpleYamask]

Breathe Deep, Seek Peace.