Once at work I was talking with a coworker my age about old shows we liked as kids and Dinotopia came up right when and older coworker came in. She had no idea what we were talking about and I realized how niche it really is. My dad taped it on VHS and we had one pop-up book from my grandma who liked to keep up with her grandkids interests. But that's probably the only time I've talked to non family members about Dinotopia.
I remember watching tPM when it came out and noticing the similarities. I wasn't hugely impressed by the film and the thought Lucas ripped of Dinotopia was just another strike against it.
According to an old interview with Gurney (found on the Wayback archive of a Star Wars fansite called Echo Station) there was work on a Dinotopia movie in the ‘90s and ILM was going to do the effects. It fell through, but at least one storyboard artist who’d worked on it also did artwork for TPM. Apparently Lucas even called Gurney the day after Episode I released to discuss the similarities, but there didn’t seem to be any bad blood between the two.
@@DrFranklynAnderson Good to hear. Of course if there was, without direct plagiarism getting recognition/payment for copyright violation would be a very hard slog.
I loved Dinotopia as a kid. It was so big for a while I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been any revival. It's a world that deserves more exploration and I'd love to see it return in some form.
"Breath deep, seek peace" is definitely one of my top ten fictional greetings/goodbyes, up there with "I will see you in the clearing at the path's end."
I met James Gurney at a book signing in Atlanta in the mid 1990s. I was blown away by his Dinotopia book and had to meet him and tell him so. He was without a doubt one of the kindest, most gracious "celebrities" I've ever met. He even gave me his business card and wrote his phone number on the back after we'd talked about mine and my wife's illustration careers, and offered to chat if I was ever interested. I never followed up, but I'll never forget his kindness. Truly one of those situations Maya Angelou spoke of: you forget what people say or do, but you never forget how they made you feel.
If Dinotopia was ever picked up for more shows, I really think that it should be animated. And Gurney - or at least people who love the series and would keep it as faithful as possible to the source material - should be in charge of it.
@@MonkeeKnucklez2 I had exactly the same thought - I'd even argue that it could push the hand-painted look further than Arcane did, as that's such an important part of the original Gurney artwork's charm.
I just started playing "Against the Storm" and so I was just thinking this, too. A survival city-builder where you have to prepare a part of the island for an incoming hurricane would keep with the books' message about diplomacy and non-violence. Different dinosaur species would have different needs and abilities, which creates a conflict for the players to deal with. Do you plant more trees for the long necks to eat or do you chop them down to build shelters for the humans? Do you send resources to other parts of the island or keep your pterosaurs in the city to speed up fortifying large buildings? A lot could be done with such a game.
The Tomb of Annihilation hardcover adventure fits the bill pretty nicely. Just need to go a LOT heavier on the Dinosaurs, and less heavy on the Undead, which is not that hard of a tweak to make.
@@exitsexamined The actual setting itself isn't as much of a dinotopia feel, but the rules for the dinosaurs in it really work for it. The basic setting included is more of a scifi wild west with dinosaurs, several of which are sentient talking ones, but it includes everything to go for other settings that fit it as well. As a one shot adventure, one person at a local game store used it for a Land Before Time game...
50+ years old and still have the books on my shelf. The fantasy, the characters and the art are magical together. Admittedly I loathed the movie attempt.
I think Dinotopia would do remarkably well as a BOTW style game. Just wandering around the world, bonding with your own dinosaur life partner, fulfilling quests, and ultimately uncovering a mystery of some kind. I've loved the world of Dinotopia since I was a kid and would always watch the mini series when I was home sick from school.
@@exitsexaminedI think the series is most forgotten now is that this particular genre is outdated in most people's eyes. Also, the whole nature is good, tech is bad, may feel too one sided. In my head cannon, there is another island full of dinosaurs and humans, with a balance of advancing tech and nature, with danger and action, all the while a relative utopia in the 19th century.
@@exitsexaminedbut boy am I glad I never heard of the sequels and or tv shows. That looks just awful. Squeaky clean 90s Disney shows, no thank you, I’ll rewatch Jurassic park for the 15th time if I want to feel nostalgic
God. I was obsessed with Dinotopia. To the point where I studied their written language well enough to read all the signs and writing in all the pictures in the books.
james gurney is the coolest guy. i learned to paint almost entirely from his channel, he's so so good at explaining things. fun fact that he mentioned on his channel is that when he was young he used to be friends with thomas kinkade, the "painter of light" guy, but they drifted apart pretty shortly. james was very respectful when talking about him but kinkade was apparently a pretty awful person - severe alcoholic and a violent drunk, fundamentalist, misogynist with a string of unhappy wives, predatory franchise practices with his stores and plenty of lawsuits, the list goes on - so i imagine james got the picture of him pretty quickly and moved on. i really wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a dinotopia reboot kicking around somewhere, but i think one of the reasons the franchise never had the appeal of harry potter or lotr or similar is the comparative lack of compelling human drama. there isn't really much to get emotionally invested in and alot of the characters and relationships seem kind of shallow. gurney is an incredible world-builder but not the best storyteller. and to me, one of the missed opportunities in the world-building was the mentality of the dinosaurs. gurney basically presents them as just humans in different bodies, but they're supposed to be bird-like reptiles with a much older and more sophisticated civilization than ours, so surely the way their brain works and their modes of communication would be pretty alien, and even humans who had grown up around them wouldn't be able to fully understand everything they were talking about. but i am absolutely splitting hairs here, dinotopia is still one of the best feats of world-building out there.
Many got wise about Kinkade the 'Con Artist of Blight.' Just do a google image search on 'Thomas Kinkade parody paintings' if you want a good laugh. Some of them are truly hilarious: i.somethingawful.com/inserts/articlepics/photoshop/06-09-06-kinkade/beato.jpg
Gurney's CZcams channel is a godsend and I hope more people can pay attention to that. Y'all love Bob that painter and that's ok, but James teaching more things and deserve the love while he is still alive.
This series was everything to me growing up. There's footprint language in my old math notebooks! I met James Gurney at a convention when I was fifteen - I'd carried around my copies of the first two books all day, and I was totally starstruck meeting him and asking him to sign them for me. He was so gracious and kind, and told me I had an apartment in Waterfall City. I get teary eyed thinking about that.
The original Dinotopia book is actually a bigger part of my life than I happen to know. I have a copy of the first book, which I kept for a huge chunk of my life, and got a 20th anniversary book for Christmas over a year ago. I would love to find the rest of these Dinotopia books and make myself a neat collection of them. I absolutely adore this franchise.
Absolutely LOVE the Dinotopia books. I really hope they do something with it in future. Would be nice to see an HBO level of show adapting the story of the books.
Dinotopia is amazing. I got the original book as a little kid here in Argentina and I've treasured it since. It's one of my big influeces. However as a franchise I feel the strict "No dino-violence" is a bit self-defeating and makes for a much harder pitch. It's _great_ to have a hopeful, utopic, non violence-centered dino-fiction franchise, buuut it could use a _pinch_ more grit to it, right? a little sense of danger and conflict to generate more adventure and drama. Even if it's off-screen and if it's non-graphic. The setting seem entirely too friendly and safe.
That's an extremely great and valid point. I think on one hand, it might have been interesting to see and the elements are all there already to have a more gritty and realistic approach and I don't think there's another series I can think of (aside from maybe Jurasic Pak) which is similar to that concept. On the other hand it would completely change the core identity of the series. Gurney's idea was to explore this world of Dinotopia so the books are about just that, journey and seeing how the world ticks. And also I think lately there's not been a ton of series about utopias, so it kind of helps it stands out. Still would be cool to see though!
@@exitsexamined I think some darker themes and conflicts could be worked into it without betraying it's core. Lot's of franchises start out as more kid friendly and start delving into more intense stuff as the original audience grows. I think I would always leave "fighting against dinosaurs" and horrible maulings out of it. But the severity of the dangers of nature and people being at the very least _mean_ sometimes is also an important thing to teach, which I think would complement some of core themes.
That's fair! I think that would be interesting to see especially since most of the surrounding media was for kids and young adults. Would be interesting to see a more adult take on the world. Agree that you can have mature themes without violence@@Rodrigo_Vega
If you read the other books it’s revealed that at one point in Dinotopia’s history the dinosaurs and human islanders had to defend their lands from a civilization of humans who built steampunk mechs to replace the dinosaurs. Plenty of drama in that concept!
Sadly, even Jurassic Park/World is taking this approach. The upcoming Jurassic Park Survive game? No guns or combat against dinosaurs. Luckily, there's Ferocious. Think Far Cry with dinosaurs. Definitely looks more gritty.
I found a big framed dinotopia print at a thrift store years ago. It was a limited printing and signed. I was basically homeless at the time and couldn't afford to buy it. I still regret not borrowing money from someone and figuring out a way to get it so that it could be hanging in my house today.
The two full-length novels by Alan Dean Foster are also worth a mention! I am very excited that we're getting a new Gurney Dinotopia book - Life Lessons From Dinosaurs - which is slated to be published this year.
That's true! It was hard for me to list all of the 30+ novels by name but he does deserve a mention! And I didn't realize Gurney had a book coming out this year, thanks!!
You've hit gold with this topic. I'm a guy who is very prejudicial (yeah I know bad) about ignoring video recommendations with small subscribers and views. I was so excited to hear about Dinotopia that that part of my brain didn't even kick in to prevent me from clicking your link. Great work, unique topic, well beloved. Do more related to this. I'll even throw a subscribe because you beat what I really... really... never do.
Hey! Thanks so much for the kind words. It's understandable and actually I was the same for a long time. Anyway I'm glad you gave me a shot and even happier you enjoyed! If you ever have suggestions about what you like I'm always interested but will 100% cover it again. Anyway thanks for the support!
@@exitsexamined You have an evolving investigative/semi-documentary style. Just keep at it. Do what you think is interesting but do it always with the same vigor
This is really funny to me, lol, I'm the complete opposite. I love small channels that have just found their voice, I've unsubscribed from so many channels after they blow up and lose that edge of creativity that struggling gives you. Very interesting to think about.
I appreciate the honesty, if you have subbed to me and if I ever do blow up (or even get somewhat successful - please tell me if you ever unsub for this reason!@@BouncingTribbles
It really would take someone else besides Gurney to come up with a premise. He built an incredible world, but it doesn’t have conflict, by the very nature of its design. A PREQUEL series set DURING its dystopian period, would work, IMHO. The most admirable thing about Gurney is, he’s not trying to turn it into a cash cow. He just wants to teach people how to paint. Now that I think about it, he’s closer to BOB ROSS than I ever realized!
I showed my kids this a year ago, I could no believe the nostalgia I felt. Me and my siblings loved this series growing up. We loved the terrible cgi movies the most, cause we were kids, and boy has it aged like wine in my heart. Love this so much
@@grrrrbabyverygrrr8165 It was a TV-movie that tried to spin-off a TV series with different actors, neither was really able to live up to the books in depth.
Still have my copy from childhood, almost 40 years later, had it almost as far back as I can remember. The illustrations are EVERYTHING in that book, really incredible stuff that inspires me to this day.
My favorite Dinotopia book was actually Dinotopia Lost by Alan Dean Foster. He wrote a couple novels aimed at a slightly older audience than the short novels were intended for. Dinotopia Lost, if you haven’t read it, involves a crew of pirates landing on the island and kidnapping some dinosaurs with the intention to sell them, not realizing they can’t leave Dinotopia.
They should do a remake, but with a Peter Jackson's King Kong approach: depict dinosaurs that have had 64 million years to evolve. I also think that the island of Dinotopia would make an excellent Ark map.
@@exitsexamined 1) What's an Ark map / Ark mod? 2) If Dinotopia were populated by evolved dinosaurs (which would make good sense, if they had continued to evolve after surviving the K/T Event), they would be unrecognizable, like the species in Dougal Dixon's *_The New Dinosaurs._* This would be pretty nifty, but it would require making up an entire new ecosystem, a whole new world of life forms which had evolved over this time, and we wouldn't have the educational benefit of the authentic and accurate species (well, aside from their all being sapient, that is) so lovingly depicted. 3) A visit to a parallel universe where there's an Earth inhabited by dinosaurs who have undergone millions of years of natural evolution might make for an interesting episode of a TV series. Maybe the dinosaurs on that world aren't all sapient, except for a single species, *_Dipoda apteros,_* which achieved sapience much as *_Homo sapiens_* did on our world. Maybe there's a *_Dinotopia_* series created by a member of *_D. apteros._*
@@arcadiaberger9204Ark is a dinosaur survival video game where you wash up on the shore of a strange island with a diamond shaped implant in your arm. What follows is a brief highlight of the story of the first map for the game so sorta spoilers ahead but all you really need to know is that it’s a game where you can tame dinosaurs It doesnt take long for you to find your first dinosaur but it is worth note that although they have similar real world counterparts they have distinct differences in size and shapes prompting survivors to classify them in new species. As time goes on the survivors keep finding examples of advanced tech like giant obelisks the size of skyscrapers or supply drops that mysteriously float down from the skies or strange artifacts in caves guarded by particularly strong creatures. These artifacts allowed the survivors to teleport to arenas with monstrous creatures that tested the ability of them and any tamed dino they brought with them, upon the death of each of these creatures the implant in their arm changed gaining higher clearance for a technology advanced door in the volcano at the heart of the island. Inside are the hardest challenges, from particularly tough creatures to robot replicas culminating in a fight with a overseer, a mass of nano machines that operates what the survivors find out is a satellite biosphere orbiting a desolated planet. After the defeat of the overseer the ark it’s self prompts the survivors to ascend, teleporting them to a new ark devoid of the lush jungles and open seas of the island, the sandy dunes of scorched earth
@@arcadiaberger9204 To answer your first question, ARK mods/maps refer to the game ARK: Survival Evolved, and, less often, various other games in that franchise.
I was just at my fathers house, my old childhood home. There was the book with the underground waterways (The Land Beneath, its a blue book) and I told my dad to not get rid of that book. He's going to give it to my young niece and I hope to read it with her someday! Great and interesting video!
I had that PC game that you mentioned! I spent many hours of my childhood trying to decipher all of its riddles and games. I was too little to get a 100% grasp of it, but I remember being totally enthralled by the stunning illustrations you would get on loading screens and menus, the actual gameplay had somewhat simple animations.
I'm glad you brought up the Dinotopia Activity Center game. I tried out the Sky Back game, then bought a copy, at Disneyland. They had it on display at Innoventions West in Tomorrowland. There was a game where you matched eggs and one to decipher the footprints, but that's all I remember
I’m not sure if you know this, but there are actually two full length novels in the Dinotopia world by Alan Dean Foster, called Dinotopia Lost and the Hand of Dinotopia. The former focuses on Will Denison and his encounter with a group of Pirates who wash up on Dinotopia, the latter that has him journey out to discover a fabled secret safe passage to the outside world. I’m sure you might have come across them in your research, but in case you haven’t, be sure to try them out, they are really fun.
Hey thanks! I was aware and grouped them with the dinotopia digest novels (wikipedia does the same) - good point though in hindisght I should have made a slight distinction between them and Alan Dead Foster's books because those are less pre-teen oriented. Appreciate the heads up hough!
I loved Dinotopia so much. I still have the first book and remember enjoying the tv show. somehow i never knew there were so many books and video games of it.
I bet a game today would be amazing since graphics has advanced to the point where it can do this setting justice. I'm not sure what the game would be about but anything that just gives you a chance to walk around in this world would be great.
I still have my original copies of the first 2 books on my bookshelf. I fell in love with this series the moment I laid eyes on the covers. The art is just absolutely stunning, and the writing style is actually what got me into eventually getting my degree in Anthropology
With the current wave of popular survival/crafting games and "cozy games," now really would be a good time to revisit the Dinotopia world with a good game development team.
These were some of my most cherished books, And Fire and Ice was one of my favorite movies as a child as well !! I had no idea he drew for that! I am so happy to have learned this I'm subscribing just for that reason alone
I was in high school when I first heard of Dinotopia. I remember at Montgomery Ward, there was a little display area tucked away in the toy section, with a whole bunch of copies of the book. I remembered the commercial, and was curious about what this was. I opened the book, and I FELL. IN. LOVE. I collected all the main Dinotopia books, but lost a couple of them in a hurricane several years ago. I'll be getting those back soon enough, though. Thanks for this overview of something that I've come to cherish so much.
great video! have never heard of this particular series before this video but it sounds beautifully and carefully crafted. (commenting specifically to boost engagement!)
Hey thank you so much for the support! So happy to share the series with someone. Really appreciate that this resonated with you and the comment as I get the channel going ✨
I saw the 13 episode series. Unfortunately for me, this was my first encounter with cliffhanger cancellation. That means the season concludes on a to-be-continued moment (presumably to set up the next story arc) and then the series is cancelled, leaving the story incomplete.
My mom worked at Borders and we got This and Finn McCool on CD-ROM read along. This is the one I remember and that had an impact on my life. Thank you much for covering this absolute gem! Dinotopia deserves to be enjoyed by all.
I discovered James Gurney yt channel while trying to learn gouache painting. He has great library of tutorials and process videos and he always is so positive and inspiring. I never knew about those books, I don't even know if they were published in my country, glad yt algorithm decided to guide me here, learned something new about this awesome artists
Honestly, the big thing with Dinotopia is that modern hollywood wouldn't touch it because it's so anti-violence and utopian. It challenges the current social order, and therefore... well, there is no place for it in the increasingly dystopian production pipeline.
I don't think it's that malicious, people just don't know what story there could be if there's no conflict. What stakes are even possible when you know from the start that everything is going to be fine? The problem of utopian stories is very difficult to solve.
It's true - I'd be really interested to see how something like that would perform - I mean it seems like people are finding the same old dystopia / rebel thing stale so might be interesting to see how a utopia would do
Oh hey! I actually looked at some of your video analysis as part of the research for this video! Great stuff, would highly rec to anyone interested in the shows!
@@exitsexamined Aww no way! That's great to hear! I need to get back to making those analysis videos, the problem is they take so long to record and edit and don't get the views to warrant me spending all the time on them. Which is a real shame because they're some of my favourite videos to make 😭If they did as well as this video has done for you, I'd be laughing 😅
I hear you, my first channel was 2 hour long analysis into games and it can be so exhausting. It's great though that there's so much love for dinotopia on YT though!@@CasualPrince8
The adventure game wasn't bad for what it was! But agree that a modern game would have to have a different approach - maybe something about building or exploration
Still have my signed copy of the orignal! I wrote a letter to James when I was a kid, becuase I really loved Dinosaurs and was drawing them all the time. I really appreciated his work. He actually wrote me back to thank me and told me to keep my imagination running. He's such a humble and wonderful person so seeing other people here saying the same makes sense to me.
I have all three of Gurney's Dinotopia books in my personal library. My computer desktop of choice is always a scene from the books. Once when I worked in an office, one of my co-workers saw the iconic parade scene and asked about it. When I explained the premise, she said: "I want to live there!" I wish they'd bring back Dinotopia merchandise like they did in the '90s.
Great video on Dinotopia! I wonder if there is a connection between Dinotopia and The Magic The Gathering Set: Rivals of Ixalan and the recent sequel the Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Or at least the is some heavy inspiration of Dinotopia in the creation of the plan of Ixalan.
I still have the Dinotopia mini series on DVD. I remember getting it for Christmas when I think I was six. While my cousins and brother were playing with the Foosball table we got I was glued to the TV while sitting on the floor watching it. Still watch it now and then.
When I was eleven, this was my most treasured book. I took it with me everywhere, even when the pages started falling out from reading it so often. I still have the first two original books, and a handful of the YA novels. They all hold a very special place in my heart and influenced my creativity permanently.
It's so amazing to find other people out there who appreciated this series as much as a kid as I did. I think it influenced a ton of people, and it's amazing to see it still hold such a special place in so many peoples hearts. Props to you for still having the original book, even with the pages falling out!
Many years ago in the mid-nineties, I went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta with my family, and by sheer coincidence they were running a massive Dinotopia exhibit. They actually had the original paintings from the first Dinotopia book on display, and I was blown away since I was already a huge Dinotopia fan at the time. Ever since, I have been petitioning the museum to bring the exhibit back in some form (since I only live a few hours away). I fear that since Dinotopia has mostly faded from the public consciousness it will never happen, but I still feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced it at the peak of its popularity.
Oh I remember that when I was very young man! I've tried to explain it to people too and they were clueless to what I was on about! Thanks for this man 👍🏻
My little brothers introduced me to dinotopia years ago (my dad had bought the entire TV series after it got cancelled) and I absolutely fell in love with it. I remember seeing the books in my local library at school, but never got around to reading them. Definitely had no idea there were massive art books too, gonna add these to my list of books to buy.
My only contact with Dinotopia was the Tv show, which I liked for its weirdness. Recently (2016ish) I got a secret Santa gift and it was The Dinossaur Knights, by Victor Millán and even though it's a very different vibe, a more gritty and violent story, the way people interact with dinossaurs on that novel reminded me of Dinotopia enough to think that maybe it was somehow inspired by it. Unfortunatelly Victor Millán passed away, so there's no way of knowing for sure, I do recommend the book anyway, even if the trilogy will be forever incomplete.
I’m 27. When I was really little I used to see my Dad watching this cool show with talking dinosaurs. I never figured out what it was. Just random memories on it. You explained it and made me remember it. Thank you.
The first Dinotopia book is one of those that shaped me into who I am no doubt about that. There is so much magic in those paintings! I need to find my old copy.
I loved Dinotopia as a kid. I remember reading through the original book in the mid 90's as a 9-10 year old. It makes me a little sad to see such a richly realized world go dormant.
I should have a Dinotopia book somewhere. I remember being drawn in by some TV ads for it, and begging my dad to get it for me, and then... it was just far beyond me, and I never really read it. I need to fix that error at some point.
I worked for the company that had the rights to the books in Australia. I believe there were plans to build a dinotopia world theme park in Australia at some stage but obviously it never happened.
Dinotopia is such a formative and influential book for me. I was lucky enough to attend a painting demo 13 years ago with Gurney and he signed my childhood copy. I took up studying art and sometimes see him in passing at an annual art convention I attend. I’m happy that his work continues to be a presence in my life
Like many others here, I had never heard anyone else talk about Dinotopia. As a kid I would go to the school library and check out the first book (as it was the only one of the series the school had) and read it over and over. At some point my father found reruns of the TV series (not the miniseries with Wentworth) so we watched that as well. Suffice to say I had nightmares reoccurring for several months about a rex stalking me outside the house and watching me through the windows. Even so, I am so glad that no one has really touched it in today's era, as I don't know of anyone that really could do it justice.
Feel the same way, the setting was amazing. What type of show would you want though? I feel like there could be so many different ways they could take it
My introduction to Dinotopia was through the TV movie and the show--I remember playing that platformer and getting stuck on one of the submarine levels because you're not allowed to progress unless you collect all the eggs. Was very excited when I discovered the book series--I remember waking up on Saturdays when I was going to my first college and heading for the commons and the library looking for the one Dinotopia book they had, checking it out, and then just digesting the illustrations over breakfast. And then catching the fourth book at a book sale? Natch. I do have some of the novels but I agree on the world really needing the visuals to help sell it. ^^; Now to find Mr. Gurney's video blog....
Wow. I can't remember where I even got the book but I remember one time that my Dad had to work late at the office and took me with him and I got lost in the book for hours. What a memory. Cool video.
FINALLY i know the name of this. I had these books when i was young but i did not remember the name. Thank you going to have to go through this again. These books have been in my mind randomly at times for years.
Okay on the topic of dinosaurs you should do an episode on Land Before Time. Love that you put a positive spin even on stuff that may not be the best quality.
Yes! I loved looking at these books in my 3rd grade library, but after a move I lost access and would LOVE to deep dive the lore as an adult. Thanks for helping me remember this childhood treasure.
i rem the mini series as a little kid and thinking the premis was so cool and wanted a much longer series i didnt even know this was anything more than the miniseries man you brought back alot of memories with this..seems this has alot of potential fingers crossed for some good tv show or something i will have to check out the books thanks for the video
Thank you. I had completely forgotten about this franchise, but i never would have guessed that it was so vast of a franchise at one point. I had only seen the animated kid's movie and read the short novel, dinotopia: the lost city as a kid.
Wow, I didn't know most of all that! I only have the one book, Dinotopia. It's one of those books you look thru to stimulate your own creativity (I dabble with watercolor).
The artwork fascinated me as a kid and it still does as an adult. The amount of small details including in the pictures and their descriptions really made the world feel real.
I never thought I would get to see a CZcams recommendation of one of my favourite franchises from my childhood. I recall the tv series was broadcasted back in 2004 or 2006 in Sri Lanka. I remember I was so hooked with the series, it had the elements of mystery and wonder that a 10 year old would have liked back then. Sadly it did not have a lasting impression on my classmates back in the day and the series faded into obscurity.
Dinotopia is my favourite universe. The peace, hope, and tranquility of the life on the island is something I want lol. I bought every single book and dvds
This is the first time I've ever seen anyone outside of my immediate family even utter the word "Dinotopia"
Right? I actually had never even had a single real conversation about it before, but yeah it's great seeing so many people here who appreciate it!
I bought several of the DVD's, none reach the original film, but glad I have that one too. Even wat hed some with friends, so you are not alone ..
Once at work I was talking with a coworker my age about old shows we liked as kids and Dinotopia came up right when and older coworker came in. She had no idea what we were talking about and I realized how niche it really is. My dad taped it on VHS and we had one pop-up book from my grandma who liked to keep up with her grandkids interests. But that's probably the only time I've talked to non family members about Dinotopia.
I loved that series
We exist
Fun Fact: the inspiration for Theed, Naboo's capital in Star Wars, is directly derived from Waterfall City.
I can believe that since the parade was apparently taken as well. Did George Lucas confirm that or is that from a behind the scenes?
@exitsexamined I don't remember exactly, but I do believe that it was confirmed at some point.
I remember watching tPM when it came out and noticing the similarities. I wasn't hugely impressed by the film and the thought Lucas ripped of Dinotopia was just another strike against it.
According to an old interview with Gurney (found on the Wayback archive of a Star Wars fansite called Echo Station) there was work on a Dinotopia movie in the ‘90s and ILM was going to do the effects. It fell through, but at least one storyboard artist who’d worked on it also did artwork for TPM. Apparently Lucas even called Gurney the day after Episode I released to discuss the similarities, but there didn’t seem to be any bad blood between the two.
@@DrFranklynAnderson Good to hear. Of course if there was, without direct plagiarism getting recognition/payment for copyright violation would be a very hard slog.
I loved Dinotopia as a kid. It was so big for a while I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been any revival. It's a world that deserves more exploration and I'd love to see it return in some form.
Feel the exact same way and was a huge reason I wanted to do the video! Glad someone else out there feels the same!
Try building it in Ark: Survival Evolved.
@@Thoralmir haha that would be an amazing mod
There were revivals, aside from the original books discussed here, there was a movie and a TV series.
With all the horrid mishandling of older IPs in the past decade or so I'd rather some things just remain dead and fondly remembered.
If Perter Jackson made a Dinotopia movie in the same level of detail and scale as LOTR , I would be so happy.
Have you seen the tv movie they made? I always loved it. The dvd version of the movie ended up being like 6-7 hours long ❤❤
Oh my goodness, YES.
It would turn out like the hobbit movies unfortunately.
Same
Peter Jackson first needs to make Tintin 2 as he promised!!
"Breath deep, seek peace" is definitely one of my top ten fictional greetings/goodbyes, up there with "I will see you in the clearing at the path's end."
Both great quotes, both great messages
Is the paths end one by Stephen King?
My favorite is "Fly high, seek peace
I met James Gurney at a book signing in Atlanta in the mid 1990s. I was blown away by his Dinotopia book and had to meet him and tell him so. He was without a doubt one of the kindest, most gracious "celebrities" I've ever met. He even gave me his business card and wrote his phone number on the back after we'd talked about mine and my wife's illustration careers, and offered to chat if I was ever interested. I never followed up, but I'll never forget his kindness. Truly one of those situations Maya Angelou spoke of: you forget what people say or do, but you never forget how they made you feel.
I got a post card from him and it was a huge deal to me. I’m glad you got to meet him.
My favourite Artist ❤
If Dinotopia was ever picked up for more shows, I really think that it should be animated. And Gurney - or at least people who love the series and would keep it as faithful as possible to the source material - should be in charge of it.
The style of Arcane would fit this like a glove
@@MonkeeKnucklez2 I had exactly the same thought - I'd even argue that it could push the hand-painted look further than Arcane did, as that's such an important part of the original Gurney artwork's charm.
I think the animation aspect would help, the kid's version was interesting but a more adult oriented one would be cool to see
@@exitsexamined Quick question, have you ever seen Primal?
I have not! I did a quick search the 2019 one? Looks interesting!@@swedums1483
This series is a prime candidate for a city builder game. Like a cross between Ceasar and Dino Tycoon.
Like Frostpunk but cheerful rather than grim
I just started playing "Against the Storm" and so I was just thinking this, too. A survival city-builder where you have to prepare a part of the island for an incoming hurricane would keep with the books' message about diplomacy and non-violence. Different dinosaur species would have different needs and abilities, which creates a conflict for the players to deal with. Do you plant more trees for the long necks to eat or do you chop them down to build shelters for the humans? Do you send resources to other parts of the island or keep your pterosaurs in the city to speed up fortifying large buildings? A lot could be done with such a game.
I'm imagining a mod for CK3
Loved Dinotopia. I was actually planning sort of a D&D game based around the idea of Dinotopia. It was kind of a great setting for a campaign.
if you ever do it, please let me know. I'd love to join - not sure which caste I'd go with though hm
The Tomb of Annihilation hardcover adventure fits the bill pretty nicely.
Just need to go a LOT heavier on the Dinosaurs, and less heavy on the Undead, which is not that hard of a tweak to make.
You might want to consider looking at the Broncosaurus Rex setting that Goodman Games did for D&D 3.5/D20 Modern
I hadn't heard, but will check it out! Cheers!@@AzraelThanatos
@@exitsexamined The actual setting itself isn't as much of a dinotopia feel, but the rules for the dinosaurs in it really work for it.
The basic setting included is more of a scifi wild west with dinosaurs, several of which are sentient talking ones, but it includes everything to go for other settings that fit it as well.
As a one shot adventure, one person at a local game store used it for a Land Before Time game...
50+ years old and still have the books on my shelf. The fantasy, the characters and the art are magical together. Admittedly I loathed the movie attempt.
haha I don't think you're the only one...
Me too am almost 60 😊
I often enjoy movies of books I never read but readers hate them. I loved all the D&D movies but players hate it . I only ever played twice .
@@aleximalmgren5301 I can relate to most of that. I liked the first D&D film and the last one.
I think Dinotopia would do remarkably well as a BOTW style game. Just wandering around the world, bonding with your own dinosaur life partner, fulfilling quests, and ultimately uncovering a mystery of some kind.
I've loved the world of Dinotopia since I was a kid and would always watch the mini series when I was home sick from school.
I would 100% get behind that idea
I emailed the author years ago and he actually responded to me, he was very appreciative
James Gurney seems like. an incredible human - I gained so much respect for him after researching for this video
@@exitsexaminedI think the series is most forgotten now is that this particular genre is outdated in most people's eyes.
Also, the whole nature is good, tech is bad, may feel too one sided.
In my head cannon, there is another island full of dinosaurs and humans, with a balance of advancing tech and nature, with danger and action, all the while a relative utopia in the 19th century.
Oh man. I have that book. I almost forgot this world existed. I lost hours just looking at all the amazing art trying to recreate the Dino letters
That's why I do this channel! And I was the exact same way as a kid, hours well spent!
@@exitsexaminedbut boy am I glad I never heard of the sequels and or tv shows. That looks just awful. Squeaky clean 90s Disney shows, no thank you, I’ll rewatch Jurassic park for the 15th time if I want to feel nostalgic
Fair enough! what we got with the mainline series is good enough as it is! @@MrJimheeren
Dinotopian is just one of the many fantasy languages young me taught himself lol, I had whole journals and letters written in it!
I got to see the original paintings at the Smithsonian one time. It was pretty awesome! He totally deserves to be in such a prestigious museum.
Wow! I used to live nearby, I would have loved to see. They must have been amazing in person!
I didn't know they were there before now; I'm totally going to keep an eye out when I next get a chance to go.
@DracoInduperator this was many years ago. Don't know if they are still on display unfortunately
God. I was obsessed with Dinotopia. To the point where I studied their written language well enough to read all the signs and writing in all the pictures in the books.
Now that's soldiering!
Oh the footprint writing!
SAME. I used to write my journal entries in footprint, although to an outsider they probably looked like arrows
james gurney is the coolest guy. i learned to paint almost entirely from his channel, he's so so good at explaining things. fun fact that he mentioned on his channel is that when he was young he used to be friends with thomas kinkade, the "painter of light" guy, but they drifted apart pretty shortly. james was very respectful when talking about him but kinkade was apparently a pretty awful person - severe alcoholic and a violent drunk, fundamentalist, misogynist with a string of unhappy wives, predatory franchise practices with his stores and plenty of lawsuits, the list goes on - so i imagine james got the picture of him pretty quickly and moved on.
i really wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a dinotopia reboot kicking around somewhere, but i think one of the reasons the franchise never had the appeal of harry potter or lotr or similar is the comparative lack of compelling human drama. there isn't really much to get emotionally invested in and alot of the characters and relationships seem kind of shallow. gurney is an incredible world-builder but not the best storyteller. and to me, one of the missed opportunities in the world-building was the mentality of the dinosaurs. gurney basically presents them as just humans in different bodies, but they're supposed to be bird-like reptiles with a much older and more sophisticated civilization than ours, so surely the way their brain works and their modes of communication would be pretty alien, and even humans who had grown up around them wouldn't be able to fully understand everything they were talking about. but i am absolutely splitting hairs here, dinotopia is still one of the best feats of world-building out there.
If I remember correctly, he and Kinkade both worked on Fire & Ice.
Many got wise about Kinkade the 'Con Artist of Blight.' Just do a google image search on 'Thomas Kinkade parody paintings'
if you want a good laugh. Some of them are truly hilarious: i.somethingawful.com/inserts/articlepics/photoshop/06-09-06-kinkade/beato.jpg
Could be an idea to have a story about the struggle of a predatory dinosaur who doesn't like fish and feels drawn to the Rexes ...
Have to agree on the human drama. It’s why it could only ever be a children’s series.
Gurney's CZcams channel is a godsend and I hope more people can pay attention to that. Y'all love Bob that painter and that's ok, but James teaching more things and deserve the love while he is still alive.
This series was everything to me growing up. There's footprint language in my old math notebooks! I met James Gurney at a convention when I was fifteen - I'd carried around my copies of the first two books all day, and I was totally starstruck meeting him and asking him to sign them for me. He was so gracious and kind, and told me I had an apartment in Waterfall City. I get teary eyed thinking about that.
The original Dinotopia book is actually a bigger part of my life than I happen to know. I have a copy of the first book, which I kept for a huge chunk of my life, and got a 20th anniversary book for Christmas over a year ago.
I would love to find the rest of these Dinotopia books and make myself a neat collection of them. I absolutely adore this franchise.
Having the set would be good! The third and fourth are great but I think my favorite is the second!
Social media is becoming scary. I had this exact question on my mind 3 days ago and now this video is the first one to come up on my suggestions.
Scary! But glad I could answer your question haha
I literally found out Dinotopia existed an hour ago and then this video pops up 😅 yeah, technology is unnerving.
Same. I was just randomly recalling the clever protoceratops a few days ago. Haven't thought of the book for decades.
@@roddo1955 that's the thing. I only *thought* about it. I didn't talk about it or something to be picked up by the phone.
Absolutely LOVE the Dinotopia books. I really hope they do something with it in future. Would be nice to see an HBO level of show adapting the story of the books.
agree it would be great if the next installement had some thoguht and weight behind it!
That Dinotopia pop up book was my life for like 3 years straight. I carried that thing with me yo as many places as i could. Man. Nostalgia.
Whoa, I would have killed for that. asa kid!
Dinotopia is amazing. I got the original book as a little kid here in Argentina and I've treasured it since. It's one of my big influeces. However as a franchise I feel the strict "No dino-violence" is a bit self-defeating and makes for a much harder pitch.
It's _great_ to have a hopeful, utopic, non violence-centered dino-fiction franchise, buuut it could use a _pinch_ more grit to it, right? a little sense of danger and conflict to generate more adventure and drama. Even if it's off-screen and if it's non-graphic. The setting seem entirely too friendly and safe.
That's an extremely great and valid point. I think on one hand, it might have been interesting to see and the elements are all there already to have a more gritty and realistic approach and I don't think there's another series I can think of (aside from maybe Jurasic Pak) which is similar to that concept. On the other hand it would completely change the core identity of the series. Gurney's idea was to explore this world of Dinotopia so the books are about just that, journey and seeing how the world ticks. And also I think lately there's not been a ton of series about utopias, so it kind of helps it stands out. Still would be cool to see though!
@@exitsexamined I think some darker themes and conflicts could be worked into it without betraying it's core. Lot's of franchises start out as more kid friendly and start delving into more intense stuff as the original audience grows. I think I would always leave "fighting against dinosaurs" and horrible maulings out of it. But the severity of the dangers of nature and people being at the very least _mean_ sometimes is also an important thing to teach, which I think would complement some of core themes.
That's fair! I think that would be interesting to see especially since most of the surrounding media was for kids and young adults. Would be interesting to see a more adult take on the world. Agree that you can have mature themes without violence@@Rodrigo_Vega
If you read the other books it’s revealed that at one point in Dinotopia’s history the dinosaurs and human islanders had to defend their lands from a civilization of humans who built steampunk mechs to replace the dinosaurs. Plenty of drama in that concept!
Sadly, even Jurassic Park/World is taking this approach. The upcoming Jurassic Park Survive game? No guns or combat against dinosaurs.
Luckily, there's Ferocious. Think Far Cry with dinosaurs. Definitely looks more gritty.
I found a big framed dinotopia print at a thrift store years ago. It was a limited printing and signed. I was basically homeless at the time and couldn't afford to buy it. I still regret not borrowing money from someone and figuring out a way to get it so that it could be hanging in my house today.
Honestly if you email Gurney he'll probably send it himself - he seems like a really nice person
The two full-length novels by Alan Dean Foster are also worth a mention!
I am very excited that we're getting a new Gurney Dinotopia book - Life Lessons From Dinosaurs - which is slated to be published this year.
That's true! It was hard for me to list all of the 30+ novels by name but he does deserve a mention! And I didn't realize Gurney had a book coming out this year, thanks!!
I never knew there was a world such as Dinotopia. You've peaked my interest and I'm definitely going to check it out some more.
Cheers! Looking forward to watching your channel grow!
I peeked at this video and it piqued my interest so much that my interest has peaked!
@Strideo1 😂 I put the wrong one! I'll try better next time Casey, I suck at English 🙃
@@iamsphrz Nah, don't worry it's a common mistake and I'm just having some fun. I've made that mistake myself too before I was reminded by someone.
Tolkien would be proud of the worldbuilding, and the art is truly beautiful.
You've hit gold with this topic. I'm a guy who is very prejudicial (yeah I know bad) about ignoring video recommendations with small subscribers and views. I was so excited to hear about Dinotopia that that part of my brain didn't even kick in to prevent me from clicking your link. Great work, unique topic, well beloved. Do more related to this. I'll even throw a subscribe because you beat what I really... really... never do.
Hey! Thanks so much for the kind words. It's understandable and actually I was the same for a long time. Anyway I'm glad you gave me a shot and even happier you enjoyed! If you ever have suggestions about what you like I'm always interested but will 100% cover it again. Anyway thanks for the support!
@@exitsexamined You have an evolving investigative/semi-documentary style. Just keep at it. Do what you think is interesting but do it always with the same vigor
I have never thought about that in my life. Interesting perspective.
This is really funny to me, lol, I'm the complete opposite. I love small channels that have just found their voice, I've unsubscribed from so many channels after they blow up and lose that edge of creativity that struggling gives you. Very interesting to think about.
I appreciate the honesty, if you have subbed to me and if I ever do blow up (or even get somewhat successful - please tell me if you ever unsub for this reason!@@BouncingTribbles
Imagine a Dinotopia game in the vein of Animal Crossing
That's honestly such a great idea, I would 100% get behind that. Now I'm thinking of a Dinotopia sim city mod 🤣
It would be an interesting tabletop RPG setting as well. Not all of them are combat focused. A more story based one would work well :)
That would be an excellent idea!@@threadsandpurrs
It really would take someone else besides Gurney to come up with a premise. He built an incredible world, but it doesn’t have conflict, by the very nature of its design. A PREQUEL series set DURING its dystopian period, would work, IMHO. The most admirable thing about Gurney is, he’s not trying to turn it into a cash cow. He just wants to teach people how to paint. Now that I think about it, he’s closer to BOB ROSS than I ever realized!
Interesting! I think he explored the prequel idea in the third book!@@joeycoe85
I showed my kids this a year ago, I could no believe the nostalgia I felt. Me and my siblings loved this series growing up. We loved the terrible cgi movies the most, cause we were kids, and boy has it aged like wine in my heart. Love this so much
Glad that there are others out there in the world who feel the same way
This would be the purfect table top rpg game.
Honestly such a great idea. Would be so cool to see the different regions of the map
I don’t know, it’s not got a lot of opportunity for combat! Like they said it’s a rather pacifist society
Could have a game that doesn't focus on combat!@@83croissant
Overcoming obstacles, puzzles, and exploring the old temples where predators lurk..
We need a Dinotopia series with the same people who made prehistoric planet
There was a series if I remember.
I'll have to check that out, thanks for the suggestion!
@exitsexamined it was a movie I think. Weird thing is, that I seem to remember it being a TV show. Odd.
Just make a TV series where David Attenborough walks around Dinotopia and explains it like a documentary.
@@grrrrbabyverygrrr8165 It was a TV-movie that tried to spin-off a TV series with different actors, neither was really able to live up to the books in depth.
Still have my copy from childhood, almost 40 years later, had it almost as far back as I can remember. The illustrations are EVERYTHING in that book, really incredible stuff that inspires me to this day.
Totally agree, the illustrations were amazing as a kid and amazing still as an adult. Timeless stuff
My favorite Dinotopia book was actually Dinotopia Lost by Alan Dean Foster. He wrote a couple novels aimed at a slightly older audience than the short novels were intended for.
Dinotopia Lost, if you haven’t read it, involves a crew of pirates landing on the island and kidnapping some dinosaurs with the intention to sell them, not realizing they can’t leave Dinotopia.
They should do a remake, but with a Peter Jackson's King Kong approach: depict dinosaurs that have had 64 million years to evolve.
I also think that the island of Dinotopia would make an excellent Ark map.
Big upvote for the Ark mod!
@@exitsexamined 1) What's an Ark map / Ark mod?
2) If Dinotopia were populated by evolved dinosaurs (which would make good sense, if they had continued to evolve after surviving the K/T Event), they would be unrecognizable, like the species in Dougal Dixon's *_The New Dinosaurs._* This would be pretty nifty, but it would require making up an entire new ecosystem, a whole new world of life forms which had evolved over this time, and we wouldn't have the educational benefit of the authentic and accurate species (well, aside from their all being sapient, that is) so lovingly depicted.
3) A visit to a parallel universe where there's an Earth inhabited by dinosaurs who have undergone millions of years of natural evolution might make for an interesting episode of a TV series. Maybe the dinosaurs on that world aren't all sapient, except for a single species, *_Dipoda apteros,_* which achieved sapience much as *_Homo sapiens_* did on our world. Maybe there's a *_Dinotopia_* series created by a member of *_D. apteros._*
@@arcadiaberger9204Ark is a dinosaur survival video game where you wash up on the shore of a strange island with a diamond shaped implant in your arm. What follows is a brief highlight of the story of the first map for the game so sorta spoilers ahead but all you really need to know is that it’s a game where you can tame dinosaurs
It doesnt take long for you to find your first dinosaur but it is worth note that although they have similar real world counterparts they have distinct differences in size and shapes prompting survivors to classify them in new species. As time goes on the survivors keep finding examples of advanced tech like giant obelisks the size of skyscrapers or supply drops that mysteriously float down from the skies or strange artifacts in caves guarded by particularly strong creatures. These artifacts allowed the survivors to teleport to arenas with monstrous creatures that tested the ability of them and any tamed dino they brought with them, upon the death of each of these creatures the implant in their arm changed gaining higher clearance for a technology advanced door in the volcano at the heart of the island. Inside are the hardest challenges, from particularly tough creatures to robot replicas culminating in a fight with a overseer, a mass of nano machines that operates what the survivors find out is a satellite biosphere orbiting a desolated planet. After the defeat of the overseer the ark it’s self prompts the survivors to ascend, teleporting them to a new ark devoid of the lush jungles and open seas of the island, the sandy dunes of scorched earth
@@arcadiaberger9204
To answer your first question, ARK mods/maps refer to the game ARK: Survival Evolved, and, less often, various other games in that franchise.
I think it was kinda ripped off to create "How to Train Your Dragon"
I was in love with dinotopia as a child. I hope it will have a revival in the near future.
Wow, I had completely forgotten about this series! Loved it though, great work as always btw ✨
Thanks as always! And glad to remind you of such a gem!
I was just at my fathers house, my old childhood home. There was the book with the underground waterways (The Land Beneath, its a blue book) and I told my dad to not get rid of that book. He's going to give it to my young niece and I hope to read it with her someday! Great and interesting video!
Great that you can pass this gem down to your family, Land Beneath might have been my favorite as a kid
I just can't get over how I never heard about Dinotopia until my 30s, I would have loved it as a child...sigh...
Hey, better late than not at all right?
@@exitsexamined true that!
I had that PC game that you mentioned! I spent many hours of my childhood trying to decipher all of its riddles and games. I was too little to get a 100% grasp of it, but I remember being totally enthralled by the stunning illustrations you would get on loading screens and menus, the actual gameplay had somewhat simple animations.
A live action remake with a massive budget and the right producers would absolutely BANG
I'm on board haha
@@exitsexamined anything with dinosaurs I will be there no matter what
I'm glad you brought up the Dinotopia Activity Center game. I tried out the Sky Back game, then bought a copy, at Disneyland. They had it on display at Innoventions West in Tomorrowland. There was a game where you matched eggs and one to decipher the footprints, but that's all I remember
I’m not sure if you know this, but there are actually two full length novels in the Dinotopia world by Alan Dean Foster, called Dinotopia Lost and the Hand of Dinotopia. The former focuses on Will Denison and his encounter with a group of Pirates who wash up on Dinotopia, the latter that has him journey out to discover a fabled secret safe passage to the outside world. I’m sure you might have come across them in your research, but in case you haven’t, be sure to try them out, they are really fun.
Hey thanks! I was aware and grouped them with the dinotopia digest novels (wikipedia does the same) - good point though in hindisght I should have made a slight distinction between them and Alan Dead Foster's books because those are less pre-teen oriented. Appreciate the heads up hough!
I loved Dinotopia so much.
I still have the first book and remember enjoying the tv show. somehow i never knew there were so many books and video games of it.
Same, it's surprising just how many of the novels I had no idea existed prior to this!
I bet a game today would be amazing since graphics has advanced to the point where it can do this setting justice. I'm not sure what the game would be about but anything that just gives you a chance to walk around in this world would be great.
Totally agree. Would be great to see the world realized in modern graphics
Collecting eggs back from evil people while riding various dinosaurs in set piece moments
I still have my original copies of the first 2 books on my bookshelf. I fell in love with this series the moment I laid eyes on the covers. The art is just absolutely stunning, and the writing style is actually what got me into eventually getting my degree in Anthropology
With the current wave of popular survival/crafting games and "cozy games," now really would be a good time to revisit the Dinotopia world with a good game development team.
I had no idea there was dinotopia lost media! That's incredible
honestly same! I was surprised just how much there was actually!
These were some of my most cherished books,
And Fire and Ice was one of my favorite movies as a child as well !!
I had no idea he drew for that! I am so happy to have learned this I'm subscribing just for that reason alone
Thank you so much! Maybe your brain somehow made the connection between F&I subconsciously haha
I was in high school when I first heard of Dinotopia. I remember at Montgomery Ward, there was a little display area tucked away in the toy section, with a whole bunch of copies of the book. I remembered the commercial, and was curious about what this was. I opened the book, and I FELL. IN. LOVE. I collected all the main Dinotopia books, but lost a couple of them in a hurricane several years ago. I'll be getting those back soon enough, though. Thanks for this overview of something that I've come to cherish so much.
Not enough pictures in the books as you read along.
I honestly can't really remember, but this was awesome as a child.
Totally agree, nothing was better on a winter day then curling up in bed with one of these books!
great video! have never heard of this particular series before this video but it sounds beautifully and carefully crafted.
(commenting specifically to boost engagement!)
Hey thank you so much for the support! So happy to share the series with someone. Really appreciate that this resonated with you and the comment as I get the channel going ✨
I only know about this from the TV miniseries they made in the early 2000s. I thought these had been picture books.
So interesting! I didn't even realize there would be people who were introduced to the IP through the miniseries haha, makes sense though. Welcome!
I saw the 13 episode series.
Unfortunately for me, this was my first encounter with cliffhanger cancellation.
That means the season concludes on a to-be-continued moment (presumably to set up the next story arc) and then the series is cancelled, leaving the story incomplete.
My mom worked at Borders and we got This and Finn McCool on CD-ROM read along. This is the one I remember and that had an impact on my life. Thank you much for covering this absolute gem! Dinotopia deserves to be enjoyed by all.
She sounds like an awesome mom. Thanks so much for the comment and checking out the vid
I discovered James Gurney yt channel while trying to learn gouache painting. He has great library of tutorials and process videos and he always is so positive and inspiring. I never knew about those books, I don't even know if they were published in my country, glad yt algorithm decided to guide me here, learned something new about this awesome artists
Glad it guided you here too and glad you enjoyed! Gurney's channel is a gem, we're so lucky to have the man!
Honestly, the big thing with Dinotopia is that modern hollywood wouldn't touch it because it's so anti-violence and utopian. It challenges the current social order, and therefore... well, there is no place for it in the increasingly dystopian production pipeline.
I don't think it's that malicious, people just don't know what story there could be if there's no conflict. What stakes are even possible when you know from the start that everything is going to be fine?
The problem of utopian stories is very difficult to solve.
Yeah there isn't baked in conflict like the jurassic park series even so yeah when the only conflict is with those with money and power...
It's true - I'd be really interested to see how something like that would perform - I mean it seems like people are finding the same old dystopia / rebel thing stale so might be interesting to see how a utopia would do
Companies don't care what messages the media they sell says as long as it sells.
True, but it takes innovation and experimentation to see what sells!@@ithrilzyne4542
Good to know I'm not the only one making Dinotopia videos these days!
Oh hey! I actually looked at some of your video analysis as part of the research for this video! Great stuff, would highly rec to anyone interested in the shows!
@@exitsexamined Aww no way! That's great to hear! I need to get back to making those analysis videos, the problem is they take so long to record and edit and don't get the views to warrant me spending all the time on them. Which is a real shame because they're some of my favourite videos to make 😭If they did as well as this video has done for you, I'd be laughing 😅
I hear you, my first channel was 2 hour long analysis into games and it can be so exhausting. It's great though that there's so much love for dinotopia on YT though!@@CasualPrince8
I still miss Dinotopia. I hope they get a new series or movie. It would also be a good fit for an RPG game
Would love an RPG in that universe!
Thing is, Dinotopia is an utopia. Very cool, but no bad guys to move the plot along. The video games tried and failed.
There was a bad guy: that Professor Crab guy.
You can make games that don't involve conflict.
The adventure game wasn't bad for what it was! But agree that a modern game would have to have a different approach - maybe something about building or exploration
There were bad guys in both the tv movie and show. Adding bad guys is easy, especially if it is set during modern times.
So I guess that makes alllllll the books boring? Nope!
I loved these books. I honestly feel like this would make a good roleplay-heavy setting for D&D.
My older brother loved the show!
Cool! I had never watched it until this video but they seemed fun!
Still have my signed copy of the orignal! I wrote a letter to James when I was a kid, becuase I really loved Dinosaurs and was drawing them all the time. I really appreciated his work. He actually wrote me back to thank me and told me to keep my imagination running. He's such a humble and wonderful person so seeing other people here saying the same makes sense to me.
I have all three of Gurney's Dinotopia books in my personal library. My computer desktop of choice is always a scene from the books. Once when I worked in an office, one of my co-workers saw the iconic parade scene and asked about it. When I explained the premise, she said: "I want to live there!" I wish they'd bring back Dinotopia merchandise like they did in the '90s.
Great video on Dinotopia!
I wonder if there is a connection between Dinotopia and The Magic The Gathering Set: Rivals of Ixalan and the recent sequel the Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
Or at least the is some heavy inspiration of Dinotopia in the creation of the plan of Ixalan.
LCI leans more on the native american than the dinosaur side, but there is definitely some inspiration going on in the first Ixalan set
Interesting connection! I think it's 100% possible since they were popular around the same time. And thanks!
I still have the Dinotopia mini series on DVD. I remember getting it for Christmas when I think I was six. While my cousins and brother were playing with the Foosball table we got I was glued to the TV while sitting on the floor watching it. Still watch it now and then.
Well done, Sir.
❤ thanks so much so cool people are still into this
I remember growing up with Dinotopia... it was a really wonderful and beautiful series that has definitely inspired me to no end.
When I was eleven, this was my most treasured book. I took it with me everywhere, even when the pages started falling out from reading it so often. I still have the first two original books, and a handful of the YA novels. They all hold a very special place in my heart and influenced my creativity permanently.
It's so amazing to find other people out there who appreciated this series as much as a kid as I did. I think it influenced a ton of people, and it's amazing to see it still hold such a special place in so many peoples hearts. Props to you for still having the original book, even with the pages falling out!
Many years ago in the mid-nineties, I went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta with my family, and by sheer coincidence they were running a massive Dinotopia exhibit. They actually had the original paintings from the first Dinotopia book on display, and I was blown away since I was already a huge Dinotopia fan at the time.
Ever since, I have been petitioning the museum to bring the exhibit back in some form (since I only live a few hours away). I fear that since Dinotopia has mostly faded from the public consciousness it will never happen, but I still feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced it at the peak of its popularity.
I remember watching the live action series as a kid and loving it. I haven’t picked up the books, but I think I might want to
You really should!
Oh I remember that when I was very young man! I've tried to explain it to people too and they were clueless to what I was on about!
Thanks for this man 👍🏻
Anytime! It was good of you to try to explain this amazing series to people!
My little brothers introduced me to dinotopia years ago (my dad had bought the entire TV series after it got cancelled) and I absolutely fell in love with it. I remember seeing the books in my local library at school, but never got around to reading them. Definitely had no idea there were massive art books too, gonna add these to my list of books to buy.
Wow. 13 minutes ago I sincerely thought there was only that first book which I loved as a kid. Now that's a surprise!
Glad I could teach you! I had no idea about most of the media either until this video!
@@exitsexamined Thanks a lot! Now I'll have to go for the other three original books. ;-)
You just reminded me of a part of my childhood that I had honestly completely forgotten.
That's what this channel is all about - glad to remind you!
For years, I have been trying to get my kids into this series. I don't understand how they aren't fascinated by it.
Just give time, leave the book on a table, one day they'll pick it up!
My only contact with Dinotopia was the Tv show, which I liked for its weirdness. Recently (2016ish) I got a secret Santa gift and it was The Dinossaur Knights, by Victor Millán and even though it's a very different vibe, a more gritty and violent story, the way people interact with dinossaurs on that novel reminded me of Dinotopia enough to think that maybe it was somehow inspired by it. Unfortunatelly Victor Millán passed away, so there's no way of knowing for sure, I do recommend the book anyway, even if the trilogy will be forever incomplete.
Thanks for the rec! I had not heard of it but I will check it out!
This is a well thought out and executed video. I'm gonna have to watch the others.
Thank you so much for that. I still feel like I'm getting a handle on video creation but I appreciate the words!
I’m 27. When I was really little I used to see my Dad watching this cool show with talking dinosaurs. I never figured out what it was. Just random memories on it. You explained it and made me remember it. Thank you.
The first Dinotopia book is one of those that shaped me into who I am no doubt about that. There is so much magic in those paintings! I need to find my old copy.
I loved Dinotopia as a kid. I remember reading through the original book in the mid 90's as a 9-10 year old. It makes me a little sad to see such a richly realized world go dormant.
I should have a Dinotopia book somewhere. I remember being drawn in by some TV ads for it, and begging my dad to get it for me, and then... it was just far beyond me, and I never really read it.
I need to fix that error at some point.
Never too late to start!
I remember watching the mini-series and tv series on DVD. I might stil have them. Maybe fun to revisit.
I worked for the company that had the rights to the books in Australia. I believe there were plans to build a dinotopia world theme park in Australia at some stage but obviously it never happened.
Dinotopia is why I played Ark. both are amazing concepts
Need that Dinotopia Ark mod
Dinotopia is such a formative and influential book for me. I was lucky enough to attend a painting demo 13 years ago with Gurney and he signed my childhood copy. I took up studying art and sometimes see him in passing at an annual art convention I attend. I’m happy that his work continues to be a presence in my life
Like many others here, I had never heard anyone else talk about Dinotopia. As a kid I would go to the school library and check out the first book (as it was the only one of the series the school had) and read it over and over. At some point my father found reruns of the TV series (not the miniseries with Wentworth) so we watched that as well. Suffice to say I had nightmares reoccurring for several months about a rex stalking me outside the house and watching me through the windows. Even so, I am so glad that no one has really touched it in today's era, as I don't know of anyone that really could do it justice.
If we got a beautiful, well written, Dinotopia show I would cry. It’s such a cool setting.
Feel the same way, the setting was amazing. What type of show would you want though? I feel like there could be so many different ways they could take it
My introduction to Dinotopia was through the TV movie and the show--I remember playing that platformer and getting stuck on one of the submarine levels because you're not allowed to progress unless you collect all the eggs. Was very excited when I discovered the book series--I remember waking up on Saturdays when I was going to my first college and heading for the commons and the library looking for the one Dinotopia book they had, checking it out, and then just digesting the illustrations over breakfast. And then catching the fourth book at a book sale? Natch.
I do have some of the novels but I agree on the world really needing the visuals to help sell it. ^^; Now to find Mr. Gurney's video blog....
Wow. I can't remember where I even got the book but I remember one time that my Dad had to work late at the office and took me with him and I got lost in the book for hours. What a memory. Cool video.
FINALLY i know the name of this.
I had these books when i was young but i did not remember the name. Thank you going to have to go through this again.
These books have been in my mind randomly at times for years.
Okay on the topic of dinosaurs you should do an episode on Land Before Time. Love that you put a positive spin even on stuff that may not be the best quality.
Yes! I loved looking at these books in my 3rd grade library, but after a move I lost access and would LOVE to deep dive the lore as an adult. Thanks for helping me remember this childhood treasure.
i rem the mini series as a little kid and thinking the premis was so cool and wanted a much longer series i didnt even know this was anything more than the miniseries man you brought back alot of memories with this..seems this has alot of potential fingers crossed for some good tv show or something i will have to check out the books thanks for the video
I knew Dinotopia as a small kid, haven't thought about it in years upon years. The art is amazing.
Thank you. I had completely forgotten about this franchise, but i never would have guessed that it was so vast of a franchise at one point.
I had only seen the animated kid's movie and read the short novel, dinotopia: the lost city as a kid.
Would highly rec the books! They are incredible
Dude, the nostalgia hits different. I was genuinely starting to think I just dreamt about Dinotopia, and it never actually existed.
Glad we can all have this collective dream together haha
Wow, I didn't know most of all that!
I only have the one book, Dinotopia. It's one of those books you look thru to stimulate your own creativity (I dabble with watercolor).
The artwork fascinated me as a kid and it still does as an adult. The amount of small details including in the pictures and their descriptions really made the world feel real.
The first Dinotopia book was a childhood favorite; I remember commercials for it and can recite it almost word-for-word.
I never realized there were commercials for the books! I would have loved to included them in the video!
@exitsexamined It's on YT, believe it or not. ;)
I never thought I would get to see a CZcams recommendation of one of my favourite franchises from my childhood. I recall the tv series was broadcasted back in 2004 or 2006 in Sri Lanka. I remember I was so hooked with the series, it had the elements of mystery and wonder that a 10 year old would have liked back then. Sadly it did not have a lasting impression on my classmates back in the day and the series faded into obscurity.
Hey thank you so much for the kind comment, It's so cool to see how people all over the world resonated with this amazing series
I loved this series as a kid. I would even write out messages at school in the dinosaur footprint language.
haha that would be the coolest bathroom graffiti
Dinotopia is my favourite universe. The peace, hope, and tranquility of the life on the island is something I want lol. I bought every single book and dvds