Palaeontologist Thomas Halliday breaks down dinosaur films

Palaeontologist and Evolutionary Biologist Thomas Halliday looks at how the dinosaurs have been depicted in movies, including Jurassic Park, Fantasia, and Dinosaur.
Order your copy of Otherlands here: amzn.to/3sYmEQl
Otherlands is an epic, exhilarating journey into deep time, showing us the Earth as it used to exist, and the worlds that were here before ours. Travelling back in time to the dawn of complex life, and across all seven continents, award-winning young palaeobiologist Thomas Halliday gives us a mesmerizing up close encounter with eras that are normally unimaginably distant.
Halliday immerses us in a series of ancient landscapes, from the mammoth steppe in Ice Age Alaska to the lush rainforests of Eocene Antarctica, with its colonies of giant penguins, to Ediacaran Australia, where the moon is far brighter than ours today. We visit the birthplace of humanity; we hear the crashing of the highest waterfall the Earth has ever known; and we watch as life emerges again after the asteroid hits, and the age of the mammal dawns. These lost worlds seem fantastical and yet every description - whether the colour of a beetle's shell, the rhythm of pterosaurs in flight or the lingering smell of sulphur in the air - is grounded in the fossil record.
Otherlands is a staggering imaginative feat: an emotional narrative that underscores the tenacity of life - yet also the fragility of seemingly permanent ecosystems, including our own. To read it is to see the last 500 million years not as an endless expanse of unfathomable time, but as a series of worlds, simultaneously fabulous and familiar.
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[@pyaesonehtun4234]

As someone from Myanmar, it's very grateful for the issues we are having to be acknowledged by someone whom I didn't expect. Thank you, Thomas Halliday!!

[@9domi99]

I'm not from Myanmar and also don't have a lot of knowledge about amber in general, but therefore I am especially glad that he picked up such an important topic of the real world today in that context! The main thing I frequently heard of in paleontology are the stolen fossils from Brazil, but that of course is not as severe in terms of human life and wellbeing.

[@andrewjoyce9038]

Where???

[@capsaicining]

You might know it by its previous name, Burma. Its a country in south east Asia between Bangladesh and Thailand. ​@@andrewjoyce9038

[@heyspeckle8782]

I love that you brought Thomas Halliday back! I love his passion for palaeontology 🦕and how incredibly well spoken he is. Could listen to him all day :D

[@seanwebb605]

I had never heard of him before and couldn't stop watching. Often I'll click on videos like this and open up more tabs to browse other things. Stop, pause play shuffle off to other things. The guy was just captivating. And he didn't seem to have disdain for popular fictional portrayals of the subject. There wasn't a snobbery or sense of superiority. He was charitable even when critical of what was put before him. All while letting the viewer no how much the fiction strayed from reality.

[@erickvillegas8327]

My thoughts exactly. Thomas shows such genuine passion for the field of paleontology that I find myself watching the video without a moment of boredom or disinterest and before you know it the video is over.

[@Strandjutter]

Fully agree!

[@mattmobily1975]

This is what KZbin should be used for.

[@M4sp74]

They rly didn’t bring him back since he’s in the exact same outfit as last time I’m sure it was filmed on the same day they just released it now lol

[@cnut4563a]

This guy is great. He's the sort of person I imagine meeting at a wedding, have a lovely conversation, then never seeing again.

[@Henchman.24]

Don't be so hard on yourself, he might find you interesting and want to stay in contact 😊

[@TaurusWitch29]

​@@Henchman.24 I'd for sure find him interesting, but probably not be reciprocated lol. He'd be talking dinosaurs and I'd be talking meteorology. But you never know 😂

[@rickwilliams967]

That last part is my favorite

[@primaryone3468]

"If you're a paleontologist interested in studying them you have to recognize in doing so, you are implicitly supporting a serious human rights issue." So refreshing to see someone actually acknowledge ethical issues instead of the usual sheer intentional blindness so many academics engage in, thank you!

[@gabriellex3098]

Sheer intentional blindness is such an accurate description

[@rickwilliams967]

Dude's talking about pretend dinosaurs bud. Maybe take a break from the internet for a while.

[@daisyray2953]

@@rickwilliams967he also touched on a serious human rights violation for a second. maybe watch the full video before responding to comments

[@simonuhrick7674]

@@rickwilliams967do you understand what the purpose of this style of video is?

[@Ezullof]

It's not just sheer intentional blindness. When you say it's that, it puts the blame on the individuals. The issue is that currently, science is a competitive race. If you don't study that unethically obtained material, someone else will and will publish more articles than you, and be invited to more conferences than you. And it would still be wrong to just blacklist people who do that. The issue is with how science itself is structured and promotes tribalism, elitism and cruelty.

[@mickynguyen1655]

HE’S BACK!!!!Thomas Halliday is the best guest you have on this channel. His enthusiasm for everything paleontology is EVERYTHING.

[@asummerphoenix]

Thomas needs his own channel because I’d never leave it

[@kevinnorwood8782]

Interestingly regarding Disney's Dinosaur, they originally DID try animating Aladar and the other Iguanodons' mouths with their natural mouths, which have a beak at the front, but they really did not like the results. "They looked like two coconut halves clacking together". So what they did instead is they put lips OVER the actual beak.

[@MikaMoonlight]

That does explain why they look so odd!

[@tyokabina2829]

So that looked weird to them but this is apparently ok? They should have involved pixar, those guys can make fishes emote.

[@luftim]

If that astroid was that close as depicted in the carton, they would have died when they saw the flash. I even think they would have started cooking when the astroid hit the atmosphere.

[@Matt_History]

​​@@tyokabina2829 they did that by.... Also violating the biology of the fish, they'd have done the exact same thing

[@tyokabina2829]

@@Matt_History hmm, it has been a while since I have seen anything related to either. Oh well, atleast they didn't give anything human lips.

[@robertoprestigiacomo253]

I liked how he randomly brought up a detailed human right violation matter that made sense in his argument.

[@2hot4u68]

Completely irrelevant. We're talking dinosaurs here.

[@matthewstubbs4413]

I like how he said they had this organs in this place when all you get from fossils is bones ?

[@matthewstubbs4413]

And before and before you say he know where the organs were cause reptiles today would have organs there , but were dinosaurs bird or reptile and organs are different places so he's just guessing with his knowledge of other people who never saw or now him saying they got some things wrong , it's just a circle of rubbish put in expensive books for a degree saying you know something when what real evidence you know besides some bones not even full or half a skeleton of a dinosaurs it's 5% of a skeleton and they make the rest up

[@ThomasHallidayPalaeo]

​@@2hot4u68 No, actually, we're not really talking about dinosaurs. Or rather, I'm not. I'm talking about the way in which filmmakers use and portray dinosaurs. Jurassic Park (at least, the original) uses dinosaurs to explore questions about scientific ethics, and uses as its central conceit data from Cretaceous amber. It's the most relevant thing there is!

[@2hot4u68]

@@ThomasHallidayPalaeo ethics are for the weak.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

Jurassic Park has been reacted to and talked bout by so many people but he still manages to have his own spin on it which is really nice. So enthusiastic about his profession its amazing

[@expressrobkill]

As a lover of natural history and film jurassic park is amazing, probably slightly underrated as its often considered just and action film but the work it did for cgi animation, palaeontology, horror films, great characters and story telling in big budget blockbusters, is kinda amazing.

[@Heller103085]

@@expressrobkillif you ever read the book, its insane how much depth into the science they go into…i read it when i was younger but i just listen to audiobooks and its so relaxing in the beginning of the JP book lol

[@clearmelody6252]

I like how he assumes that the scene from Dinosaur was towards the end (Given that, realistically, they WOULDN'T have survived that) when in actuality it's basically the beginning. XD

[@TheConGaminator]

can you imagine the same movie, with the exception of this sequence being at the end like that. what a grim ending for all of our characters

[@RobGalo]

@@TheConGaminator Jim Henson's "Dinosaurs" actually ends with them going extinct, though it's played out as by climate change via industrialization rather than the scientifically accurate asteroid.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

@@TheConGaminator that was the original idea by Phil Tippett and Paul Verhoeven. They would follow a bunch of silent dinosaurs who flee the destruction and eventually all die, except the small mammal. In this case either the Disney execs decided to ignore the real magnitude of the asteroid or they maybe just left it ambiguous and this is some random unrelated smaller asteroid that hit earth.

[@Wolfie54545]

@@TheConGaminatorThe ride

[@kwonsettmi555]

I'm from Myanmar and didn't expect at all for him to speak up the human rights issues here! Thank you, Thomas Halliday!

[@cathalroche3713]

Great to see Thomas back!! His last video was superb - and made me purchase his book "Otherlands". 10/10 work , would love to share a whiskey and talk about the past with this guy 👏👏

[@bkjeong4302]

Otherlands isn’t without its errors: for example, he repeats the common claim borophagine canids were outcompeted into exticntion by felids arriving from Asia, which is a hypothesis that was NEVER supported by the fossil record; borophagines became a successful group of predators in the Late Miocene, AFTER cats invaded North America from Asia (which was during the Middle Miocene). IIRC he also perpetuated the myth of South American animals being “inferior” and being outcompeted by North American animals during the GABI, even though most South American lineages were already in decline or nearly/completely extinct (especially the large predators) by the time the GABI happened and their “superior” rivals actually showed up, and those that weren’t already gone or in decline actually thrived even after the GABI (xenarthrans being a good example).

[@cathalroche3713]

@@bkjeong4302 Good insights! He'd be great to have a drink with, all the same

[@wizcorn9958]

Just wondering if you and Thomas have shared a whiskey yet?

[@cathalroche3713]

@@wizcorn9958 unfortunately not - but Thomas feel free to reach out any time!

[@trilobite3120]

​@@bkjeong4302 There's also the mention of Mason creek beetles, presumably Adiphlebia, which was found to have likely not been a beetle as the trait that identified it as a beetle was found to actually be clumps of mud. It's still overall a very good book, both in terms of accuracy and in terms of portraying the prehistoric in terms of individual ecosystems as opposed to time periods. Interestingly, I was already aware of the whole "North American animals being superior" thing being a myth when reading that chapter and I thought he actually portrayed it pretty well, although perhaps my recollection isn't the most accurate.

[@lovefromshirley]

This man is what Ross Geller thought he was. I could listen to him talk for hours

[@squeegiebeckenheim8476]

I was searching for this comment. 😂 why is it more interesting

[@lovefromshirley]

@@squeegiebeckenheim8476 because he's kind and excited about it and not an elitist jerk like Ross 😂

[@One.Zero.One101]

But Ross has unagi, a state of total awareness. Only by achieving true unagi can you be prepared for any danger that may befall you.

[@natashabenjamin4222]

I am glad he brought up not only the human rights issue but also the “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” argument. I keep seeing articles about possibly bringing back dinosaurs and me telling my husband “ have these scientists not seen Jurassic Park?”

[@kimberleysmith818]

Yes exactly. I saw something last year that said about it and I said to my husband that there are at least 6 films to show why this a terrible idea!

[@royalexodus2666]

I mean aside ethical matters, they don't even think about the result that either encaging or freeing into the enviroment said creatures would have in our global ecosystem.

[@dovidstaples9985]

You must be reading sensationalist drivel because bringing them back isn't possible. And if it were we'd be focusing on other things like recently extinct creatures

[@marga8732]

It's like what I said to my college professor (she's an environmental scientist btw) about AI, "I don't want this to end up like Terminator!"

[@sawanna508]

Why is it always dinosaurs they want to recreated? Why not some animal that got more recetly extinct by human fault like the Dodo?

[@kingmj87]

I really like this guy and I just want to keep hearing him ramble about dinosaurs. Thank you.

[@sock2828]

Something I've always wondered about Jurassic Park is how they resurrected the extinct plant.

[@Freshie207]

I've always assumed Pollen Grains in the Amber, since in reality we find way more of those in Fossil tree sap than bugs. And if the DNA of Dinosaurs is still intact enough after the mosquitos digestion, then surely undigested Pollen would be even better.

[@DarkLordoftheMeme]

Another awkward question: how in the hell did they resurect the Mososaur in Jurassic world?

[@scottb3034]

Male mosquitos eat plant material. gets stuck in the sap voila.

[@scottb3034]

@@DarkLordoftheMeme preserved mosasaur in a mudpit that solidified but preserved the animal. boom.

[@polreamonn]

Dino droppings.

[@zqxzqxzqx1]

The Jurassic Park scene where Ellie & Dr. Grant first see the dinosaurs never fails to awe me. I know I'm susceptible to the music's emotional manipulation, but I don't care. When we cut to the wide view at the watering hole, I'm on the verge of joyful tears every time. I love that about the movie.

[@ianchambers37]

It's an amazing scene for sure.

[@Geo_Babe]

I’ve watched this film for 30 years now over and over - and that scene NEVER fails me. It’s truly stunning, it’s like Dr Grant and Dr Satler are most definitely seeing them for the first time, and we are seeing them right along next to them. I get chills even thinking about it!

[@itsjustgarion]

Within the first few seconds of seeing the Brachiosaurus on screen Thomas gets this incredible gleam in his eyes. It is so cool to see him get just as in awe as they are in the film.

[@loumoon7660]

This is the most adorable scientist I’ve ever seen haha

[@morganrobinson2436]

Fantasia terrified me as a child. The score that accompanies the dinosaur confrontation really makes it even scarier.

[@FloraWest]

When that piece of music (Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring) premiered, apparently it caused if not riots, some sort of uproar. Might have been the ballet and not the music but it apparently incited a lot of strong emotion in the audience.

[@HippieHobbity]

as a kid who dreamed of being a paleontologist, disney’s dinosaur was ( and is still ) my favorite disney movie. i showed it to my partner on our second date and he couldn’t believe the movie almost opens with the impact scene. “i imagine this scene is near the end of the movie because i can’t imagine how they might survive this” tickled me senseless. this is, like… 5 minutes into the movie lol

[@glossaria2]

Thank you for addressing the ethical questions surrounding paleontology! To me, it's an argument why STEM students should have exposure to the humanities as well-- they need to be reminded that their work exists within a society that's impacted by what they create and discover. And the question of de-extinction is closer than you'd think... there are companies working on bringing back the woolly mammoth and, more recently, the dodo (with the rationale that, since humans were responsible for its extinction, humans should bring it back).

[@GREYFLWRMUSIC]

12:12 not only too slow but also much too small for Chicxulub, the asteroid that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs. When one edge of the asteroid touched the surface of the earth, the other edge would have been up 10 kilometers in the sky, higher than Mount Everest. Also, being that close to the impact zone would have basically vaporized the entire cast in seconds after the impact. That event was basically hell on earth, and everything in an approximately 500-kilometer radius was completely wiped out of existence in an instance.

[@lyrand6408]

Yes and to add to this, let's not forget the intensity / amount of the light produced by the event (luminosity). It would have been intense enough to burn organic tissue, and instantly blind any living animal looking towards the asteroid as it entered the atmosphere. If you'd been a lucky-enough animal at the time anywhere near the impact (or atmospheric entry trajectory) not to get blinded by it, you'd have been burnt to a crisp by the heat wave alone; and even if that didn't get you, the sound wave would have crushed internal organs to a pulp. And if somehow none of that got you, you'd have drowned in the following Tsunami. And if by some divine intervention you'd still be alive after all that you'd eventually burn anyway because the air and sky essentially became as hot as inside an oven and breathing any of that air would have burnt your lungs. And there's more like water becoming toxic and the entire food chain collapsing in a matter of just a day or two. I find it incredible, all things considered, that "only" 75% of all life became extinct after that impact event. It would sound more plausible to me if the estimation was closer to the 90% mark. But I guess the fossil records don't lie. There was a VERY lucky 25% of life out there around the planet during that Hell on Earth period that managed to get through. Indeed... life finds a way.

[@GREYFLWRMUSIC]

@@lyrand6408 Thanks, great edition of information! Another factor would have been the sonic boom produced by the asteroid entering the atmosphere. It's suggested this was the loudest noise ever produced on planet earth. So, if you have been too close, you'd be blind, deaf and then immediately burnt to a crisp in a matter of seconds to minutes. And I absolutely agree with you, to think that this wasn't even the worst extinction event in the history of earth is just mind-boggling.

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

I've always wondered whether the movie was actually depicting the extinction event. Because the movie really avoids any sort of real extinction by the end, and the meteor was so small, that even as a kid I was wondering why they didn't get absolutely eviscerated like most documentary depictions of the meteorite showed. I presume they thought taking the original concept from Phil Tippet/Paul Verhoeven was too dark and so they left the meteorite, never specified the date, and just gave the dinosaurs a happy ending. I presume in their minds they either ignored the fact that the meteorite would destroy all life or they imagined this was some sort of precursor asteroid or a small asteroid?

[@gergopiroska5749]

Iguanodon didn't live to the k/t extinction tho

[@oliveb5768]

I honestly thought the writers were just being fast and loose with the details, it’s pretty much inaccurate the whole way through, and I don’t think that was a concern for the writers lol

[@crapparc]

GQ, Vanity Fair, Penguin Books, Insider, I don't actually care who makes these kinds of videos. I just love watching them and absorbing all the knowledge they contain. Thank you Penguin Books for this amazing video and lecturer.

[@wintyrqueen]

The artists told Walt that T-rex only had two fingers, he told them to draw it with three because it looked better 😅

[@ce1834]

Glad to see Thomas back! :) - his enthusiasm for paleontology is very infectious haha

[@Kookie-zv4bu]

petition for Thomas to start his own channel. I’m in love with him

[@ThePhantomSephiroth]

Watching the dinosaur part of Fantasia makes you realize how far our understanding as come.

[@char391]

Hooray! He's back! i checked out his book specifically after seeing his last video. The book was really beautifully written which I wasn't expecting for a scientific focused book.

[@PerfektFilms]

So happy to see Thomas back! Such a great chap to listen to. I love this video format, learning something and great entertainment value.

[@syd6964]

after the last video thomas did, I took his book out from the library and absolutely loved it!! One of my favourite books of all time and I'm thinking of buying it to reread :D

[@valeriaragonese4202]

You should definitely bring Thomas Halliday again! It's an absolute delight to watch and listen to.

[@agusmartinez3639]

Dinosaur was my favourite movie! I hope he can watch it again haha. That meteor scene was at the beginning of the movie, it wasnt the one that cause mass extinction!

[@Freshie207]

It'd still get the Fantasia score, as none of the Dinosaurs present in that film would have interacted All from different times and continents Like most Dinosaur films, it's more an impression of the Age of Reptiles than anything

[@scottb3034]

I mean technically it COULD be the mass extinction meteor (not all non-bird dinosaurs died immediately) but since it is a Disney picture they aren't going to completely present the reality. Unless they said it wasn't said meteor in special features or something.

[@1301595]

gurlll he can get it! intelligent AND passionate.

[@simplythebestgirl]

Agreed 👍.

[@rieskimo]

I appreciate that he leaves room for fun

[@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc]

I'm a big dino fan, and have watched tons of videos like this with paleontologists commenting on dinosaur fiction and art, yet the majority of this info was new to me. Stellar job, Thomas Halliday and Penguin Books UK!

[@tmclaug90]

Little dinosaurs are pretty fascinating too. Don't limit yourself.

[@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc]

@@tmclaug90 Not sure if that was a joke or not, but I meant "I am quite the dino fan", not "I'm specifically a fan of _big_ dinos".

[@tmclaug90]

@@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc lol, it was definitely a joke. I understood.

[@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc]

@@tmclaug90 Got it. Yes, I'm a fan of compys, Yi qis, *_birds,_* and so on...

[@Gmabonoski]

I studied ecology over a decade ago, and I have to say, thomas’s Otherlands reignited my love of trying to understand the natural world. Such an amazing book that draws you into the ecosystems he is discussing. Really worthwhile read

[@Tarmachan]

Glad to see Thomas again. I could watch an entire series of him breaking down paleontology-related things!

[@littlemissladykake5728]

Please have him back soon! I love listening to him talk!

[@WhiteDaemond]

came for the thumbnail, stayed for the well-informed and enthused presentation!

[@psychachu]

I loved the powerful bit about the amber mines, and this guy's quite fun to watch, too.

[@lillyblack5619]

I just love his way of explaining everything. No unnecessary informations that would make us lose focus and just an overall relevancy when it comes to his remarks, additional observations and humour. It is so genuinely good to be able to enjoy such quality content here on KZbin, rendered possible by an actual scholar studying the past but not so lost in it that he can't adress the present and make much needed connections.

[@umifabian]

This guy should host a Dinosaur Show on his own.

[@Rakunz419]

My heart beats for Thomas Halliday

[@Adrian-xw6vi]

You all have to read his book Otherlands: a world in the making. It's awesome and it changes the perception we have towards nature. 10/10 recommended

[@agentbarton8972]

I'm pretty surprised that considering he highlighted how Stegosaurus and T-Rex never lived alongside one another, he didn't pick up on the fact there was an entire troupe of lemurs just chilling alongside an Iguanodon in the Dinosaur clip. I kind of thought it would have been the first thing he mentioned XD that said, his book was great, would highly recommend!

[@ChocoKid26]

Yes! Great to have Thomas back. I have rewatched his other video many times so its amazing to have something new.

[@Cirenz]

Thomas Halliday is absolutely phenomenal, I really appreciate that you've brought him back

[@hillarystyles3121]

I’m living student life, so I’ve been waiting for Otherlands at the library. Started 7th in line when I placed the hold, now 3rd! Only about 12 weeks to go before it’s my turn 😂 I’m so excited to read it. Can’t wait.

[@heatherjones6647]

After learning about the years of nightmare existence and death full of suffering and horror that these creatures experienced further away from the impact zone, I feel so sorry for them and it is hard to celebrate the ones that made it through. Glad they did, though!

[@sofiyu507]

We want to see him again. It’s fascinating everything he says.

[@horrorandanime1990]

This reminded me, I actually saw the Jurassic world experience a little while back and I will admit that seeing those robotic animals in person was amazing. I couldn’t believe how real they looked

[@malta071]

Every time I see this guy, I think of Sid from ice age. Love every video he has been in!

[@r4mar89]

When did Asa Butterfield get a degree in palaeontology?

[@ijustamthem]

An excellent teacher! Makes me want to quit teaching and go back to school for paleontology:) well edited, too!

[@ignagalindo]

We love you, Thomas!

[@MementoMori-g9b]

Just bought your book, Otherlands. Can't wait to start it.

[@erincurwood8019]

please bring thomas back again! cant get enough for his joy and enthusiam!

[@mojavih3027]

Love that ethics was brought up. Remember reading about Alexis St. Martin (human gastrointestinal experiment).

[@kellylyons1038]

I was so happy they showed Fantasia, I loved that movie as a kid. Would have watched him do the whole part but ah well 😅

[@brennaleigh3]

I love these video, but I wish he had watched the opening scene of Dinosaur where the egg is being passed around a lot of different species. That would have been fun!

[@jurawild]

his explanation is great, cant stop listening to him

[@amwm97]

I wish I had a friend like Thomas, I could listen to him for hours ❤

[@seeing8spots]

This guy's is so great to listen to, he's so passionate ❤ he also looks like David tenant's brother lol Also, im genuinely sad he hasn't seen the movie Dinosaur. It was one I really enjoyed as a kid. And actually this is the beginning of the movie 😅 I believe the dino is called an allasaur? Or something like that in the movie.

[@TheStarBrightt]

He's so passionate and enthusiastic. I could happily listen to him for hours talking about these things!

[@djalixer]

He’s great. Thanks for bringing him back

[@shaniblack9697]

Love your work Halliday. Very interesting to hear about the amber situation - had absolutely no idea about that

[@anask7668]

I think Thomas is my favorite ever expert that has been called to this show

[@horrorandanime1990]

I’m a paleontologist myself as well dude. I have loved dinosaurs since I was little. As well as all other prehistoric creatures

[@byronic-heroine]

How did I go this long in life not knowing that dinosaurs were warm-blooded? I am ashamed. 😔

[@fransthefox9682]

You didn't watch enough paleo content.

[@Bollalillo]

i love paleontologists

[@Optimisticvoid]

I LOVE his flower shirt!! Great taste in speaking points and wardrobe :)

[@sammkjones]

It’s so great watching someone talk about what they love. Just him discussing stegosaurus vs T. rex is awesome. So casual, so knowledgeable. Love it

[@gcmatters]

Please keep on bringing Thomas back!!!

[@billielarson3282]

I love love love how passionate this guy is about paleontology

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Actually depiction of iguanodon in Disney's Dinosaur is actually surprisingly pretty accurate (besides lips).

[@lucycecil5682]

off topic lol but i love his shirt it's got such a lovely pattern on it

[@Catitalaratoncita]

I need him back, I adore him ❤️

[@SophieTheBagel1984]

I loved how he got super excited about a dicynodont.

[@janetunchained]

I'm currently reading your brilliant book Otherlands after watching you here and the prehistoric films episode Would love to see/hear a long form series with you talking about palaeontology

[@PickledPotato]

just discovered this channel after reading his book. Love this stuff! keep it going!

[@MelissaCapulet]

This guy should have a show!

[@kennywilkinson913]

1:18 That film was so good, he still looks in awe at that scene.

[@watsonsophie23]

Yay he's back! My favourite!

[@Deadpikachu666]

Interestingly, Mark Loewen did also review the Fantasia scene for Vanity Fair but went straight for an Allosaurus fighting the Stegosaurus, noting they were mortal ennemies - living in the same era =)

[@WombatMan64]

Quite possible, considering also the Allosaurus did have three claws. In the scene though you do see a Triceratops watching the fight, and I'm not sure if there were any similar looking analogues at that time. I'm not sure when timeframes for these dinos were established, so maybe it falls under Dr Halliday's "judge it by what they knew at the time" comment. Interestingly on that note, this movie was also made long before the meteor impact hypothesis (Alverez in 1980??) was first postulated, hence why the extinction sequence is a slow death caused by increased solar activity, they simply didn't know at the time.

[@АнастасияЙорданова-д6и]

Love to see a person that enthusiastic about what they do. It makes you genuinely interested in the topic

[@hans.z7217]

❤ sO very winning, the way you're explaining and smiling and knowing at the same time. I simply lOve it!

[@Rayan40000]

Glad to see he's still wearing that flower shirt, that thing's beautiful

[@Burning_Dwarf]

How did i miss this video for 2 weeks Glad he's back

[@aishas4818]

Omgg he's back and just as awesome as ever!!!

[@roguishfox1204]

We need more from him!

[@warnado5007]

I am now a fan of Thomas Halliday

[@pinkpandamiranda]

Thomas is incredibly charming. This video was so fun!

[@themensoguidetowar]

Thank you so much for talking about ethical questions. Ethics are so important in science!

[@chloetry206]

I have so much love and respect for this man. Also he looks exactly like Syd the sloth.

[@corbingross919]

I am in love with this man

[@petematthews9346]

Great discussion! I agree, the best part of Jurassic Park was the focus on the ecosystem (and not reimagined Japanese monster movies as were the remainder of the JP franchise). However, I think you're a bit off on the Fantasia segment. The theropod is an Allosaurus, not a Tyrannosaurus. I spent 24 years working at the Denver Museum of Natural History as an education volunteer in the Mesozoic portion of Prehistoric Journey. The Mesozoic portion of the exhibit was designed by Ken Carpenter who expressly said he recreated the Fantasia's dinosaur scene. (Fantasia was Carpenter's inspiration as a young person to pursue a paleontology career.) Given the scene is a Jurassic scene, the three-fingered hand is wholely appropriate.

[@ThomasHallidayPalaeo]

Ken Carpenter may have been inspired by Fantasia, but the existing documentation is very clear that it's meant to be a Tyrannosaurus. Disney himself is said to have said "it looks better with three fingers" despite suspicion that Tyrannosaurus would have been two-fingered. No Tyrannosaurus hand was discovered until 1989. And the scene isn't Jurassic, it's a continual flow through time that acts like the classic 'Age of Reptiles' diorama. There are Parasaurolophus that look up as the Tyrannosaurus appears, and Triceratops that flee from it.

[@ThomasHallidayPalaeo]

I mean mural, not diorama...

[@petematthews9346]

@@ThomasHallidayPalaeo Cool! Learn something new every day! Thanks. 1989 would have been very close to the publication of Jurassic Park, right? I'd forgotten the movie followed a flow of time rather than depicting an explicit period. I have the DVD-I really should pull it out and watch it again.

[@demo2823]

What you said about the plants, I totally get it because I got to see the last living member of a specific species of cycad in a botanical garden. A plant whose leaves used to be a staple for some dinosaurs. But I do think them bringing back extinct plants breaks the laws of their own science fiction!

[@pancake_ghosty]

I had completely forgotten about the movie Dinosaur. I loved it so much as a kid

[@peteracton2246]

Otherlands, Thomas's book - to be read. Time travel. Brilliant and original.