PBS The Dinosaurs! 1992 | All Animated Segments

The Dinosaurs!, American television miniseries produced by WHYY-TV for PBS in 1992, featuring some of the then-modern theories about dinosaurs and how they lived. It aired four episodes from November 22 to November 25, 1992.

[@Caun-88]

These animations had a huge impact on my imagination as a child, extremely nostalgic

[@TatraScrambler]

Likewise, here in Poland the series aired probably a little later, probably mid 90's. I still remember how impatiently I had awaited each new episode. Fond memories.

[@MajorMontana]

First time I saw these animated segments was from the Microsoft Dinosaurs CD-ROM back in 1993. I had no idea they were originally from this.

[@Caradepato]

same

[@leaflock7462]

I had these documentaries on bootleg vhs that my mom recorded because I was a huge dinosaur kid. All 4 parts are on KZbin, and I watch them occasionally, they never fail to fill me with nostalgia

[@godzilla964]

Good times

[@chickencharlie1992]

Holy fuck I've been trying to find this forever

[@pbh9195]

Me too I saw it from that magic school bus dino game

[@flightlesslord2688]

Never saw this as a kid, but God do I adore the 90s animation style. Beautifully animated whilst being very accurate for the time.

[@happymonkeyfish]

i like how the Rex isn't roaring he just gurgles like a croc, the animals act like animals its cool to see from the 90s

[@gojizard704]

Sadly this came before a certain movie took the world by storm...

[@laseriedeladilophosaure9246]

​@@gojizard704rugir n’à rien avoir avec le fait qu’ont soit un animal ou pas de plus rexy ne fait que rugir un peu ce nourris d’humains puis partir car elle malheureusement mal nourrir c’est pour sa qu'elle attaques tous se qu'elle peut manger m’importe te qu'elle prédateurs de sa taille ferais la même chose si il était mal nourrir donc arrête de dire que rexy est un monstre

[@gojizard704]

@@laseriedeladilophosaure9246 I used a translator and I'm not saying rexy is a monster. I love Jurassic Park but the fact that most people thought of dinosaurs as blood thirsty roaring monsters was mostly their cloudy vision Jurassic park. I never thought this. I always knew they were animals caught in a bad situation. (Cept the raptors...Those were indeed science fiction.)

[@GladDestronger]

Which is probably more scientifically accurate than the Jurassic Park/World film series... at least as far as paleontologists say.

[@ultilinium8]

No, people thought of dinosaurs as monsters long before Jurassic Park. If anything Jurassic Park (and the following Walking with Dinosaurs and so on) helped mainstream the idea of dinosaurs just being animals and not just monsters of a lost era. When Megalosaurus was found it was thought of some biblical monster only existing to clean up rotten flesh.

[@IAmAGyroGamer]

From a scientific point of view, this documentary has obvious outdated information. But from an art and animation POV, it looks superb. Rarely do we see realistic dinosaurs made using traditional animation. Many others and I like to see more of this. This is like peak traditional animation for dinosaurs, while Prehistoric Planet is peak 3D CGI. Edit: Did I miss something here? What's with a sudden influx of more people replying in the comment section?

[@paleoph6168]

And Walking with Dinosaurs is peak storytelling (when it comes to dinosaur documentaries).

[@mahakalaeliluminado7675]

Oye güey The current reconstructions of dinosaurs are horrific and without scientific foundation and have been criticized by paleontologists themselves 🤮

[@FlagAnthem]

I honestly miss this documentary style

[@guiltystress509]

for the time it was made, its actually not bad scientifically, but the animation is spectacular, better than most shown on tv today. dude, the action sequences, they were cooking.

[@BoneTon]

From a scientific point of view we really dont know but from a modern point of view yeah

[@necrofuryan5899]

Speaking to that segment with the allosaurus fighting the stegosaurus, we tend to focus on how deadly the carnivores were and overlook the fact that the reason for all that power and those massive jaws full of teeth was because in many instances the herbivores were even worse.

[@INDORIPPER]

Ceratosaurus

[@isolatedclips]

True

[@necrofuryan5899]

I stand corrected.

[@INDORIPPER]

@@necrofuryan5899 No

[@GladDestronger]

Yeah, keep in mind while crocodiles are vicious killers... hippos are worse.

[@umamizaddy]

Watching this again after 30 years really brought back joyful tears. We really need to give the animation team their due credit for their amazing work!

[@Nictrain123]

Nice to finally find the source of the animated segments used in “The Magic School Bus Explored in the Age of Dinosaurs” CD-ROM! Loved that game during my childhood! Also see this was also the source of some music tracks from Hoops&DinoMan’s “A Dinosaur Story”

[@Pssybart]

It's kinda cool to imagine how the dinosaurs in these animated segments were seen as radical and scientifically accurate 30 years ago. Now of course they're incredibly outdated. I especially notice how much the artists use shrink wrapping. It's just a reminder to how our own modern view of dinosaurs will probably be seen as outdated in 30 more years. And yet, we can still appreciate the amount of work put into these dinosaur designs.

[@jihunshin4864]

And to add to your comment, I love how despite all the outdated stuff shown the dinosaurs in the animated segment are still depicted as ANIMALS, not movie monsters. That cannot be overlooked. :)

[@RetroCarsForever]

Thanks for posting this! The level of detail in this animation was astonishing.

[@nickquick3470]

Before Jurassic Park, this was the best we had! I grew up on this!

[@INDORIPPER]

I look just before JPVI it's great

[@Mac14329]

Not to mention the sounds the dinosaurs make. They seem pretty accurate to what they might've sounded like in real life.

[@paleoph6168]

@@Mac14329 yeah, the T. rex in this documentary makes grunting noises instead of roars.

[@Mac14329]

@@paleoph6168 I mean, technically it does roar. Just not like in say Jurassic Park.

[@SwordsmanMercenary]

I had this on VHS. Loved the animations, those were the best parts IMO

[@synthstatic9889]

This was a year before the movie Jurassic Park. This was the first time most of us had seen dinosaurs depicted as more bird-like.

[@drakynlp1022]

that opossum in the last 20 seconds is just as bewildered by what it's doing as anyone else would be.

[@dylangeltzeiler946]

This 4 part Documentary has been on VHSES for years. This has yet to be released on DVD in America. Plus, I discovered that this isn’t the only Documentary that has the animated segment sequences of the Dinosaurs. If any of you remember that Really Wild Animals episode “Dinos & other Creature Features”, I found the identity of the Documentary those other animated segments & the Dinamation of the Dinosaurs in the Stock Footage came from. It is & was called “Dinosaurs on Earth: Then…& Now”, All along from the National Geographic Society. Like “The Dinosaurs!” From PBS, “Dinosaurs on Earth: Then…& Now” From National Geographic also has yet to be released on DVD in America. Along with 16 other National Geographic Documentaries on Modern & Prehistoric that have yet to be released on DVD in America after all these years. If anyone likes to know the names of the other National Geographic Documentaries, please leave a comment.

[@myotherchannel2469]

Interesting

[@dylangeltzeiler946]

@@myotherchannel2469 I'm going to take that "Interesting" word as a yes. Here are the names of the other National Geographic Documentaries that have yet to be released on DVD in America. "As much as one of the PBS Documentaries including one of the NATURE Programs too, for the moment." "Australia's Improbable Animals" "Foxes of the Kalahari" "The Thunder Dragons" "Dinosaurs On Earth: Then...And Now” (The other Documentary I mentioned before that has its very own animated segments of the Dinosaurs like it's 1992 PBS Predecessor, but a little bit different.) "The Last Feast of the Crocodiles" "The Crocodiles of the Orinoco" Including "Croc Chronicles: Orinoco Loco" as a Bonus Program "The Croc Chronicles Series” Seasons 1 through 5 Dinosaur Double Feature "Dino Death Match" & "T.Rex Ultimate Survivor" "T.Rex Autopsy" "Top 10 Largest Beasts" "Earth: The making of our Planet" AKA The History Of Earth or The Story Of Earth Finally "Kangaroo Comeback" Bonus: "Rhythms of Life" (Doubtful) kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ3LeXWGp6iUbLc "Hidden Congo - The Forest Primeval" AKA "Forest Primeval: Heart of Africa" kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIa7qnSGnt6fZ6M "Serengeti Diary" kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ_TeIuFmqdge68 "Prehistoric Predators: Razor Jaws" kzbin.info/www/bejne/anW5lHd4bNSfnac & possibly "African Safari"

[@fleedledeedle666]

I'm here a year later cause there was another animated special(?)/documentary that focused on dinosaurs. I can't remember the name for the life of me but it was about two boys just going about their day and wondering what life would be like with dinos still present. One scene that particularly stuck out to me as a kid was they were sitting on a random park bench and one of them imagined a pteranadon flying towards them, causing him to flip the whole bench backward. I can't remember the name of it for the life of me.

[@Morrison-saber-tooth]

Again, youtube just now decides to recommend this to us

[@itsahostiletakeover]

Thanks for getting all of these in one video. Still some of my favorite dinosaur animation of all time, aesthetically it's all amazing but a pretty good amount of it has held up remarkably well scientifically.

[@cristianbonilla5106]

The early 90s gave us the Dinosaur Renaissance. I had no idea this series was made a year before the release of Jurassic Park. I've loved these creatures since I was little, most especially T-rex. I know science has given us more accurate depictions of what dinosaurs really look like today, but I am very impressed with how the dinosaurs are brought to life through animation and CGI. These were what I grew up with, and the fact that these guys existed long before humans is astonishing. To this day, dinosaurs are the ultimate legends even when millions of years ago, their rule came to an end.

[@SwordsmanMercenary]

We can probably thank Jurassic Park for that dino renaissance.

[@chadgorosaurus4898]

The animation and art in this documentary are beautiful. There are many inaccurate reconstructions, but still, the animations are superb.

[@laseriedeladilophosaure9246]

Les reconstitution sont précis dans les années 90s

[@TheWuailson]

The flying tooth at 11:53, one of the best details.

[@sonofeyeabovealleffoff5462]

I love rotoscoping.

[@joeguevara1145]

I really cried back then when the Trike died. Both Rex and Trike are my personal favourites though.

[@Supersenior870]

The triked to attack the trex's hatchling

[@joeguevara1145]

@@Supersenior870 The mother Rex was stalking the herd. Then again, it was foolish for the Trike to defend its herd alone.

[@joeguevara1145]

@@Supersenior870 It was defending its herd!

[@dragonstormx]

@@joeguevara1145The Trike would have won if it didn’t suddenly run away for no reason.

[@moode9941]

​@@joeguevara1145a herd has a "leader" that has to prove it's strength unless it wouldn't have the power to lead anyone that why most of the time only one fights the predator

[@AgresteEscorial]

i still have the vhs on my parents house. i was obsesed with this vhs and beautifull draws. i was a dino kid and drawing them pausing this movie was one of many joys of that era.

[@mikehalo6786]

Omg nostalgia just hit me like a truck on a high way

[@andreasstavrinou6219]

still to this day love that Stego/Cerato fight scene.

[@ernovincze2900]

6:33 - did they do the same thing as Amazing Dinoworld, and gave Pachyrhinosaurus a giant keratinous horn?

[@PestilentAllosaurus]

Yeah, unfortunately back then we didn't have the information to know better, or if there was knowledge, it wasn't widespread enough.

[@satch4684]

It was much cooler when it had a big horn. Anyways thats what they thought it had back then

[@surgeonsergio6839]

We need to make an animated dino doc like this again!

[@Ranald1999]

WHAT??

[@Ranald1999]

YOU CAN'T BE TALKING...

[@Ranald1999]

YOU DON'T POST ANYTHING AT ALL

[@Ranald1999]

WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT THIS VIDEO??

[@PestilentAllosaurus]

I absolutely agree! With how much we've improved and better understand these prehistoric animals, I'd love to see a animated updated version!

[@Unclebubba8883]

I remember recording this when it aired on PBS in 92 when I was 6. Just barley smart enough to hit record on ye Ole VHS....have no idea what I recorded over. I just know it was totally worth it.

[@jamescastilho7720]

Wow so cool! I had never seen this documentary but I already knew Peter Melnick's soundtrack.

[@paleoph6168]

Well, generally speaking it is outdated, but it still holds up pretty well today, and the hand-drawn animations (as featured here) are wonderful. Recommended for those who want nostalgia and a quality made documentary from a special time when we loved dinosaurs - the Dinosaur Renaissance.

[@lionelpeller589]

Wow! I watched this documentary so much as a child. Such nostalgia. Thank you so much!

[@douglaspiresdasilva76]

This animated segment is very awesome, my 3 most favorite dinosaurs of the whole dinosaur media are Stegosaurus, Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex🦖

[@jabbarmuhammad]

One of the best best dinosaur animations I've ever seen

[@ChristopherEvrard]

OMG ! I watched this documentary (in french, i'm from belgium, it was dubbed) SO_MANY_FREAKING_TIMES when i was a kid. It honestly brings tears to my eyes. Thank you for this upload.

[@riderpsychopate]

pareil !

[@thegreatestnewb614]

We've come a long way in are understanding of these lifeforms.

[@paleoph6168]

True.

[@Irodeapentaceratopstoragnorok]

Thanks for this complication! I know other people have commented similarly but wow, parts of these have aged pretty well. Sure a lot of the dinosaurs are a little shrink wrapped (some more than others) but they’re still depicted as animals just living their lives. Also pretty cool to see that the theropods have lips. It’s also worth mentioning how great these animations are on an artistic level. The atmosphere is very ominous- the synth score really contributes to that as well.

[@blossomlovesyou-eb1zr]

There is also a new documentary on Netflix coming out, after scientists believe that large theropods have lips also somewhat like that of sqaumates, such as komodo dragons.

[@blossomlovesyou-eb1zr]

Since 2022.

[@-Kaijuuman.productions-]

This is my childhood film when I was a kid

[@firegator6853]

this feels nostalgic despite never watching this as a kid

[@BathrobeKeck]

core memory unlocked

[@thegermthatlivesinsideyour9328]

The theme song goes so hard

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

List of other media that used clips from PBS' The Dinosaurs! (including the Prehistoric Beast and Dinosaur! (1985) stock footages): Microsoft's Dinosaurs Eyewitness - "Dinosaur" (Prehistoric Beast and Dinosaur! stock footages only) Really Wild Animals - "Dinosaurs and Other Creature Features" (Prehistoric Beast and Dinosaur! stock footages only) Bonehead: Detectives of the Paleoworld Public computers for visitors at the Swedish Museum of Natural History

[@imortal333]

I saw these for the first time in the Magic School Bus dinosaur computer game! I always wondered where they came from!

[@Oinker-Sploinker]

I remember watching these on a 20 ton box computer

[@starsandbeyond5848]

The angles and points of view in these animations is just beautiful, because they were hand drawn and tremendous effort was put into them.

[@user-wv9wl9zf8l]

Может графика и относительно старенькая и некоторая информация устарела, но это так классно нарисовано. Захотелось увидеть полноценный анимированный сериал или полнометражку в такой стилистике.

[@Ranald1999]

BRUH

[@CaptainCretaceous91]

I still have the VHS tapes, and these were always my favorite part of the mini series. My compliments to the animators.

[@BD12]

22:23 when I get my lasagna out of the microwave

[@paleoph6168]

Wonderful! Thank you for making this compilation.

[@myotherchannel2469]

You're welcome! Thank you for watching!

[@rehanimus]

PBS was my jam growing up. I remember the stegasaurus segment being used in their channel promotion ads

[@nostalgicgaming9336]

I saw this documentary in an Amusement park way back in 1999 india...it was like bits and pieces and it was converted into 3D

[@bubbles46853-ep9if]

Sounds interesting!

[@GojiGuy]

Shout out to Magic School Bus Dinosaurs!

[@paleoph6168]

Oh yeah that program also used clips from this documentary.

[@katarinajonsson3336]

Oh god i remember this one. Oh sweet dino nostalgia

[@burtonmoore996]

I remember these, what a great show.

[@davidklop5779]

Anyone else notice that the designs for the dinosaurs are identical to those that could be found in the dinosaur section on the Encyclopedia Britannica disc?

[@paleoph6168]

That's because the animations were done by Encyclopaedia Britannica, directed by David Alexovich. One of the animators (I assume), John Griffin, posted a video of his works here on KZbin: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKbKn5uBgdaaetU

[@davidklop5779]

@@paleoph6168 Very cool!

[@marnea1]

It's a very unique look I was very young when I saw these specials on PBS and these designs still stick with me even though I know they aren't very accurate today. For example T-Rex is holding his arms wrong for a theropod. They still look very nice detailed but also stylish.

[@samuelmbila5583]

This is really nostalgic for me. Thanks for posting!

[@ProHero86]

I had the entire set on VHS man, thank you this brings back so many memories

[@QuickStrikes84]

Thanks for posting this. I loved these as a child. The anatomy and animation was very good for its time.

[@Deathsex22]

wow this brings me back...

[@franciscoivanoff2821]

I always wanted to watch all the anime from that series. Thanks for uploading them.

[@777media_id]

That's why JP (1993) had the more accurate dinosaurs' morhpology better than the dinosaur movies decades before.

[@michaelrobertson4896]

Thanks for posting this, it really brings back memories 😊🥰

[@myotherchannel2469]

Thanks for watching!

[@briansanders8122]

Does anyone else mostly remember these from that one Magic School Bus game and 3D Dinosaur Adventure?

[@IaMaPh1991]

Yes those games were my childhood

[@paleoph6168]

These animations were also used in Microsoft Dinosaurs.

[@goku-san]

I remember seeing this documentary in school when I was a kid. This brings back memories.

[@Mr_Tea_Rexx]

loved this as a kid, all my class mates were watching me cause i hardly blinked while watching it 😂

[@CavallOve]

Oh wow, thanks. So many good rememberings from my childhood (as a French i had the French dubbing on a vhs from a tv recording).

[@jiado6893]

I remember these clips from "The Magic School Bus Explores in the Age of Dinosaurs."

[@tyrannotherium7873]

Probably my favorite early 90s dinosaur documentary and I remember watching it on VHS that I got from the library many years ago. Luckily I have a VHS collection of it. I highly recommend it the music on the dinosaurs look very awesome and accurate for their time.

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

Still better than anime

[@robwalsh9843]

Those laughing bird-like calls that the Herrerasaurus makes are really creepy and sort of more plausible than the usual growling and snarling.

[@jeremybickham2842]

If only they thought about getting this PBS classic on DVD....that would be quite neat!

[@doomslayer3829]

10:56 This the scene that is part of my childhood

[@CheesusMyLord]

I put this CD on my mocrosoft computer at work, and when i came back from getting raisins, my coworkers had broken it into little pieces and cut me up, all over my body...

[@DryptosaurusDavid]

The stegosaurus looks like what we know of what the Sophie specimen showed is what stegosaurus looked like.

[@tinytanks]

PBS was probably so proud of this until a year later when Jurassic Park completely ate its lunch.

[@DaltonBridges]

Now we can watch the good parts

[@Embracing01]

This series was shown on the Discovery Channel in the UK in the early-mid 90s. The UK version was voiced by a British female narrator, though there is no mention of this person on IMDB for this series, no idea why. I always thought that the UK voiceover was the original voice over for the series and that the series dated from the 80s.

[@davidhowlett7567]

The series was screened as "Dinosaur Footprints" here, and the narrator was the late Jill Dando; as you say, there seems to be zero record of the show on IMDB or elsewhere online under that name, and the show is not listed under Dando's credits.

[@Embracing01]

@@davidhowlett7567 So the woman doing the voice over for the UK/British narrated version of this series was Jill Dando? I never knew that, are you sure it's her as it doesn't sound Jill Dando to me, and rather strange she would be doing a voice over for a dinosaur TV series when she would've been busy working for the BBC at the time (probably pre Crimewatch), I think she presented an holiday series, but that was later on I think. If it is her then, like you say, it's strange there's no mention of her under name associated with this series, but I have noticed this with other presenters and TV personalities where they have done other work but there's no mention of it on IMDB, for instance, Chris Packham presented a short children's series on CITV called the Great Dinosaur Trail, but there's no mention of it on his IMDB page. Also I remember a Loch Ness doc in the mid 90s where Mark Halliley narrated it, but there's no mention of this Loch Ness documentary on his IMDB page or even on his own website under the work he's done.

[@davidhowlett7567]

Very sure - I still have it recorded on a deteriorating VHS tape somewhere in my attic, which until I realised the show had a different title in the USA and found recordings on KZbin was my only means of re-watching it, and she was listed in the credits. When I originally watched and recorded the series, it was shown on Channel 4 (as opposed to Discovery Channel, which I never had access to) and aired immediately after the coverage of the 1994 Tour de France, so it must have been screened twice in the UK. I doubt they'd have dubbed it twice for satellite and terrestrial TV, but you never know.

[@presbyornis]

23:42 that opossum at the end omg

[@wichpasgangate854]

WOW Finally I see this again. Good old memories. I have VDO for this

[@kmfdm5]

i still have this video taped

[@paintitpurple0]

It's Perfect Chaos at the very beginning

[@shrympcryptid]

It's so interesting to watch this in recent times, where we have more information on dinosaurs than ever, and are still discovering more... Though we're still debating if spino could swim or not lmao

[@dexterjones2201]

2:27 - 2:52 That clip, I remember seeing it at the cincinnati zoo in the bird house before they changed it.

[@chilledtea6614]

WOW THANK YOU

[@DecepticonScout]

I remember this. But I was born way after that.

[@sciencerocks6703]

😂 I still have this CD!

[@user-roninwolf1981]

It was the Jurassic segment of this show that led me to believe that Allosaurus had a nasal horn, along with the lacrimal crests. It was much later that I realized that the theropod I saw in this show was actually Ceratosaurus and not Allosaurus.

[@ChaosCrash13]

Забавно. Жаль, в свое время, у нас эту серию не переводили.

[@Emperor_Oshron]

i don't think i ever saw this video (series?) when i was a kid, but i remember these clips from some other things--i particularly remember the point-and-click _Magic School Bus_ dinosaur game on PC :)

[@DinoAnaProt-NZ]

Giganotosaurus Is My Favourite Dinosaur

[@vaya-dragon1998]

It’s like Walking With Dinosaurs 1999 but much better

[@messiahmatrix]

Scientists now know a lot more, for example they are sure dinosaurs were warmblooded, T-Rex was still pretty slow runner but he was built like a distant runner. ( or a distant power walker )

[@DreadEnder]

The old stegosaurus model is cool.

[@thebookkeeper8551]

I'd choose dino week over shark week any time, I just hate how it is given more priority when dinosaurs are much cooler.

[@tyrannotherium7873]

It’s actually implied that rhinos can run up to 40 mph cording to my neighbor who does Safari tours

[@Kenany1985]

1992? I was watching this few years after 1992 can't remember exact year I was watching.

[@themellonman8909]

The animation is nice

[@Alex-y1c]

Anyone know where I could buy a copy of this?

[@Tricky943]

EBay

[@areallyshortbrontothere]

Definitely reminds me of gsp

[@GokuMcDuck]

Take me back please.

[@tm43977]

Look like an Adult cartoon mixed Documentary before Primal (2019)

[@user-wk5js2wr4f]

I wish to know who made the Designs of these ancient creatures

[@lihoffman8157]

Who did the animation

[@paleoph6168]

Encyclopaedia Britannica, directed by David Alexovich. As for the stop motion: Phil Tippett.