ABC | Release Date: November 28, 2002
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
5
Negative:
15
70
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Catherine Dawson MarchJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: Dinotopia sucked as a sweeping miniseries; it works much better as an hourly adventure. [23 Nov 2002]
67
Dallas Morning NewsManuel MendozaJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: An inoffensive live- action cartoon for the younger set. [28 Nov 2002]
67
Houston ChronicleAnn HodgesJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: The emphasis in this series opener is on action. What's missing is the more gentle humor and fantasy that marked the miniseries as a family treat. [26 Nov 2002]
60
NewsdayDiane WertsJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: This fantasy adventure is actually tolerable now for adults who found ABC's May "Dinotopia" miniseries such an endless festival of special effects with little redeeming dramatic value. [28 Nov 2002]
50
Boston HeraldJohn RuchJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: It's an appealing premise that quickly bores with bad writing. [28 Nov 2002]
50
The Detroit NewsTom LongJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: If "Dinotopia" doesn't come up with something else for our heroes to do other than rescue gentle folk from mean dinosaurs, the show is going to get repetitious fast. [28 Nov 2002]
37
USA TodayRobert BiancoJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: The special effects, which had been the show's only saving grace, are now more flat and more obviously computer-generated. The dialogue, which had been laden with goofy, new-age aphorisms, is now just goofy. Oh, and the cast, which had been glaringly weak, has now been replaced with a new set of actors. Unfortunately, the new cast is even worse than the first crowd, and is even less capable of conveying a normal human emotional response. [27 Nov 2002]
37
Chicago Sun-TimesPhil RosenthalJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: True, people always love a good dinosaur story. They even love a mediocre dinosaur story. This sometimes laughable, yawn-inducing, convoluted effort would have to improve to be written off as mediocre. [26 Nov 2002]
30
Deseret NewsScott D. PierceJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: "Dinotopia" is all style and little substance. The effects are good -- especially for TV -- but far too little attention was paid to developing scripts and characters. [27 Nov 2002]
30
Newark Star-LedgerMatt Zoller SeitzJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: It's a cheesy-looking, indifferently plotted, repetitious piece of work. ... The creature effects don't pass muster in the Spielberg era, the pacing is slack, the dialogue is dull, and the whole thing looks washed out and feels rushed and poorly thought out. [28 Nov 2002]
30
Washington PostTom ShalesJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: The wondrousness of the art direction and the oomph in the computer-generated illusions can hold one's attention just so long. Then the pitiful plodding plotlessness of the thing becomes all too painfully apparent. What we're left with is essentially "Dinotopia, the Bore." [28 Nov 2002]
30
San Diego Union-TribunePreston TureganoJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: "Dinotopia" still has computer-generated dinosaurs hardly on a par with the creatures in the "Jurassic Park" movies; an annoying continuous faux classical music score; big, absurd sets; bizarre costumes; and an overall washed-out pastel look. [24 Nov 2002]
25
Miami HeraldGlenn GarvinJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: What made a quirky, fun six-hour miniseries in May has turned to monotonous stupidity in the conversion to weekly series. [28 Nov 2002]
25
New York Daily NewsDavid BianculliJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: The acting and special effects are equally unconvincing. The human beings in the story don't look remotely real, and the dinosaurs can't act. [27 Nov 2002]
10
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertJul 18, 2014
Season 1 Review: As slow and plodding as an arthritic T. Rex on painkillers. [28 Nov 2002]