’90s Kids: Remember This Dino Transformers Anime?

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Exploring the forgotten cracks of time, you uncover a wealth of lost media from the late 90s and early 2000s animation era. This was an unusual phase in American television where anime ruled the airwaves and CGI animation was on the rise as an industry. Titles like Dragon Ball and Pokémon were becoming common household names, while series such as ReBoot and Beast Wars: Transformers demonstrated that a continuous CGI television series was possible. Sensing a trend, Bandai collaborated with the company behind Gundam, Sunrise Studio, to produce a hybrid of 3D and 2D animation. With the assistance of a well-known brand, this partnership brought Dinozaurs, or as it’s also known, DinoZone, to American audiences – a series focusing on prehistoric dinosaurs transforming into knights to protect the planet from the threat of evil aliens known as Dragozaurs.

In the television series “Dinozaurs,” the dinosaur characters were created using computer-generated imagery (CGI), while the backgrounds, human characters, and other elements were two-dimensionally animated. The appearance of these CGI dinosaurs was reminiscent of the Maximals and Predacons from “Beast Wars,” with their ability to transform serving as a striking similarity. Essentially, “Dinozaurs” could be described as a contemporary take on “Beast Wars,” featuring human companions. The series first debuted as an original video animation (OVA) from 1999 to 2000, later expanding into a full-length, 26-episode anime in 2000. Saban Entertainment, the company behind “Power Rangers” and “Digimon,” held the rights to air the show on Fox Kids.

Was Dinozaurs Ahead of Its Time or Dated?

In its initial run, the show “Dinosaur” debuted when computer-generated imagery (CGI) in television was relatively new, giving it an endearing appeal. The early implementation of CGI in “Digimon,” particularly the CGI warp Digivolution scene in “Digimon Adventure,” stood out notably. Compared to this, the approach of blending CGI figures within a 2D setting in “Dinosaur” was novel and intriguing at the time. However, over the years, the visual effects have significantly deteriorated. The models appeared stiff and metallic, with characters moving without much weight or character. Additionally, the designs seemed too reminiscent of and derivative from “Beast Wars,” making them less distinctive.

Despite North America having already established a business in CGI animation, Japan was not fully proficient with this technology when the show “Dinozaurs” initially aired. Some anime enthusiasts argue that Japanese companies are still struggling to master 3D animation, as high-quality 3D animes remain scarce. However, studios like Polygon Pictures persist in creating CGI shows, demonstrating Japan’s progress with this technology. “Dinozaurs” served as a trial run for Sunrise Studio’s future “Gundam” series. The company experimented with CGI in their earlier work like “The Vision of Escaflowne,” which incorporated minimal 3D animation. Sunrise would later frequently use CGI animation to create large robot models within 2D environments, notably when animating “Gundam Unicorn.” This technique has since become common for Sunrise to create the illusion of mass and depth in their mecha, but they were relatively new to it during “Dinozaurs.” Despite the series’ flaws, it proved to be an essential learning tool for the “Gundam” dynasty.

Dinozaurs Led the way to 3D and 2D Hybrids

In a sense, “Beast Wars” served as an early version or contemporaneously running show to the more well-known series about dinosaurs. However, due to its older computer-generated imagery (CGI), some contemporary viewers find “Beast Wars” less appealing. Yet, it’s essential to remember that “Beast Wars” was innovative for its time and boasted excellent writing, a strong voice cast, and characters with expressive facial expressions and realistic animal movements. In contrast, the 3D models used in the dinosaur show appear awkward and overly reflective. The “Transformers” franchise would later adopt the blend of 2D and 3D animation style seen in “Beast Wars” and “Transformers Energon,” produced by Japanese studios Actas and Studio A-Cat in 2004. Unfortunately, “Energon” suffered from the same issues as “Dinozaurs,” with stiff 3D animation and unnatural movement.

The Transformers series initially thrived with the blend of 3D and 2D animation, specifically incorporating the world of Cybertron, before transitioning fully into CGI with Prime. Today, many animated productions employ this mix of 2D and 3D animation techniques, resulting in a visually appealing blend. Despite Dinozaurs appearing somewhat outdated when compared to modern uses of the same style, it retains an odd charm that keeps it relevant. The series was supported by a vast toyline, but neither the show nor the toys could maintain the brand’s success, causing it to fade into obscurity. Dinozaurs, with its quirky 3D models and potential for nostalgic appeal, is worth revisiting. There’s something unique about the way animation was done back in 2000 that still draws viewers today.

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2025-04-14 19:10