Dinotopia & Journey to the Center of the Earth - Fantasy Double Feature

Two Fantasy Miniseries
It seems that lavish television mini-series is a thing of the past, except for the occasional western or period miniseries on cable. As a kid I look forward to watching them, normally airing during the sweep months on February or May. Mill Creek Entertainment has recently released the three-part Dinotopia and the two-part Journey to the Center of the Earth in a 2 disc set. Both miniseries were produced by Hallmark Entertainment (now known as Sonar Entertainment).

Dinotopia is based on the children books by James Gurney. It aired on the Wonderful World of Disney in 2002 and later spawned a short-lived spin-off series. The miniseries drops the books' steampunk atmosphere and focuses on two half-brothers, Karl and David Scott, who finds themselves stranded on the strange land of Dinotopia after their plane crashes into the sea with their father. They meet a mysterious man, Cyrus Crabb, who leads them to the capital of Dinotopia, Waterfall City. David wants to try and learn the...

Family-Oriented Fantasies
This two-disc set collects two different "Lost World"-type miniseries that are largely forgotten today. It's a shame they're forgotten because both of them are mostly fun, decently budgeted family-oriented entertainment of the type we just don't get much anymore. Kids like straightforward fantasy that doesn't simultaneously ridicule itself, and these films are long on earnestness and devoid of irony and sarcasm.

"Dinotopia" is the better of the two miniseries, and well-worth the modest asking price. It's a very gentle, benign story about two teenaged boys who find themselves trapped on an island where benevolent dinosaurs and humans have mutually crafted a peaceful utopia. The first of the three episodes is admittedly on the dull side due to an odd lack of suspense, but the second and third episodes are much, much better. The series uses a setting based on James Gurney's gorgeously illustrated 'Dinotopia' books, which is why they are strong on visuals and a fairly placid...

Good family movie
I loved dinotopia and so did my children. It was a great buy for a combo pack. Journey to the center of the earth was a bit slow for them, they didn't really get into it.

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