Inspired by the movie Jurassic Park, producer Tim Haines wanted to create a wildlife documentary with a difference.
While appearing to be a David Attenborough-style fly-on-the-wall nature series with a narrative, it used animatronics and computer animation alongside real locations to create a visual and factual tour de force that enthralled audiences all over the world.
The show consulted more than a hundred scientists to ensure it was as accurate as possible, delving into little-explored areas, such as how dinosaurs urinated and mated. Haines said: “None of these stories is testable – we will never know 100% whether they are right – but we were absolutely determined that nothing would be provably wrong.”
The series started in the Triassic period with Coelophysis and ended with the Tyrannosaurus of the Cretaceous period, and the extinction of the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago.
Not only did it deal with the history of the dinosaurs themselves, but also with the world they inhabited, from the supercontinent of Pangea to landmasses resembling today’s continents.
The innovative “fake documentary” style has inspired other series, such as the sister shows Walking with Beasts and Walking with Monsters, and, more recently, the BBC’s Planet Dinosaur.
While ongoing research may eventually invalidate some details of Walking with Dinosaurs, it remains a stunning work and a superb overview of the Age of Reptiles.
Narrator
Kenneth Branagh
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While appearing to be a David Attenborough-style fly-on-the-wall nature series with a narrative, it used animatronics and computer animation alongside real locations to create a visual and factual tour de force that enthralled audiences all over the world.
