We may earn a commission from links on this page.Gentle giants, cuddly friends, vicious monsters, deadly dragons: Even the earliest film depictions of dinosaurs evidence our complicated relationship with Earth’s prehistoric thunder lizards. Windsor McCay’s puckish Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) might be stubborn, but she’s unlikely to eat you, and might even dance if you ask politely.D.W. Griffith’s Brute Force, also from 1914, doesn’t bother with the distinction between the age of the dinosaurs and the age of humans—which is a recurring bit of willful ignorance. Who doesn’t kinda want to ride a dinosaur? Buster Keaton’s Three Ages introduced more cave-people into the world of dinosaurs, while 1925's The Lost World truly brought them to onscreen life. (The latter drew a distinction between the friendlier-seeming vegetarian dinosaurs and their carnivorous cousins, a conceit that’s held up through Jurassic Park and beyond.)There’s lots of variety in the dinosaurs-on-film genre, with movies featuring dinosaur cops, robot dinosaurs, and any number of entirely made-up dinosaur-ish creatures. Before the release of Jurassic World Rebirth, the 7th movie movie in the definitely not extinct franchise, let's consider other cinematic depictions of dinos that don't have the word "Jurassic" in the title.The Lost World (1925) Not the first dinosaur movie in cinema history, but the first totally stun in terms of story and special effects, with stop motion animation from Willis O’Brien, who’d go on to work even greater magic on King Kong eight years later. Closely following the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who has a cameo), the film sees Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery) and company travel to a South American plateau that’s been cut off from the rest of the world and the advance of time, preserving an broad range of dinosaurs from the cretaceous and Jurassic periods (Pteranodons, Brontosauruses, T-Rexes, Allosauruses, and a Triceratops or two coexist the on the all-but-inaccessible plateau alongside ancient human species). As with Kong, the real trouble starts when the scientists attempt to bring a specimen back to a modern city; London, in this case. You can stream the 1925 version of The Lost World on Tubi, Kanopy, and MGM+ or rent it from Prime Video. The Lost World (1925) at Tubi Learn More Learn More at Tubi Walking With Dinosaurs (1999, 2025) Even 25 years later, the original Walking with Dinosaurs remains the gold standard in dino-themed documentaries, its primary innovation being that it relies on the formula established for live-action nature shows, allowing us to observe the long-extinct (computer generated) creatures in the wild. Though much of the science has been superseded (and some of it was speculative even at the time), the series remains watchable for the way it crafts narratives around individual dinosaurs. (Take the second episode, which follows the life of a female diplodocus from hatching.) The result is something more immersive and compelling than the average dino documentary, with expensive visual effects that hold up reasonably well. The 2025 reboot uses a similar format, but splits time between digital reenactments and modern-day segments with paleontologists. The results are mixed: it's nice to see actual scientists get screen time, but the back-and-forth between past and present pulls you right out of the narrative. Still, advances in technology since 1999 make the living dinosaur segments that much more stunning. You can buy the original Walking with Dinosaurs on Prime Video here, and find the new series here. Walking With Dinosaurs (2025) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Land Before Time (1988) The emphasis in Don Bluth’s gorgeously animated journey to the time of the dinosaurs isn’t in striking terror or even generating awe, but instead in reimagining a prehistoric world from a child’s point of view. Sweet, but not without moments of tragedy, it’s a brisk and charming trip to the past. The quality of the series (with 13 sequels and a short-lived TV show) falls off rather quickly, so you could be forgiven for just watching this one and calling it a day. You can rent The Land Before Time from Prime Video. The Land Before Time (1988) Learn More Learn More Prehistoric Planet (2022 – 2023, ten parts) The indefatigable David Attenborough (96 when this was produced) hasn’t slowed down even a little bit—he's got two movies out so far this year and is working on a new Blue Planet series. The natural historian’s late brother, actor/director Richard Attenborough, is probably best known to modern audiences as John Hammond of the Jurassic Park series, lending David’s dinosaur-themed projects an added bit of poignance, especially as Jurassic Park/World returns to cinemas yet again. He’s in top form in this Apple TV+ effects-heavy, narrating a series of vignettes related to the creatures (large, and slightly less large) living on Earth in the Late Cretaceous period, around 66 million years ago. It was the first major dinosaur-themed series from the BBC in over a decade, and provides a very welcome update in both modern science (check out those feathered Velociraptors) and visual effects. You can stream Prehistoric Planet on Apple TV+. Prehistoric Planet (2022 – 2023) at Apple TV+ Learn More Learn More at Apple TV+ The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) Moving just about as far away from documentary as possible, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms stars a Rhedosaurus, an entirely fictional dinosaur born almost entirely from the imagination of the great special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen. Based on a Ray Bradbury short story, its success helped to inspire waves of 1950s monster movies, but Beast is (for all its city-stomping action) quite a bit more serious than most of its later imitators, at least making nods toward scientific accuracy and treating its atomic-blast origin story as more than just perfunctory. You can rent The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms from Prime Video. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Planet Dinosaur (2011, six parts) Though mostly focused on the Late Cretaceous period, Planet Dinosaur jumps around a bit in time (what’s 75 million years, give or take, when dealing with dinosaurs), spotlighting ancient life on different parts of the globe and creating a sense of place by examining the different dinosaurs living at different locations on the Earth and their (very roughly) modern-day equivalents. Dozens of species take the screen, with segments focused on locations as far-reaching as Egypt, Madagascar, Svalbard, and Oklahoma. You can buy Planet Dinosaur from Prime Video. Planet Dinosaur (2011) Learn More Learn More The Good Dinosaur (2015) The film opens with the asteroid that would have formed the Chicxulub crater and ushered in the end of the era of dinosaurs passing safely by the Earth. From there, an alternate history unfolds, imagining a world in which the terrestrial dinosaurs stuck around, telling the story of an Apatosaurus named Arlo, who meets a human friend on his journey back home. The beautiful Pixar animation and photorealistic settings are highlights, but the real joy is in exploring the idea of humans and dinosaurs interacting—one of the great what ifs of geologic history and the whole raison d’être of the Jurassic Park/World series. It’s far from the best film in the Pixar canon, but it’s far better than its reputation as the studio’s first flop. You can stream The Good Dinosaur on Disney+ or rent it from Prime Video. The Good Dinosaur (2015) at Disney+ Learn More Learn More at Disney+ Dinosaur 13 (2014) The novelty of Dinosaur 13 is that it eschews the big picture, as it were, in favor of a focus on one particular fossil: in this case, “Sue,” the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil up to the time of its discovery in 1990 in the South Dakota Badlands. Unlike that earlier doc, 13 is more interested in the complexities of archaeological research, and not just the scientific aspects: The fossil was seized by the federal government shortly after its discovery, leading to a decade-long battle that involved the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the FBI, and the owner of the land on which Sue was found. It’s a fascinating look at the point where scientific discovery runs up against politics and culture. You can stream Dinosaur 13 on Tubi and Prime Video with Ads. Dinosaur 13 (2014) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Valley of Gwangi (1969) This weird western finds the crew of a struggling, circa-1900 rodeo show led by T.J. (Gila Golan) hoping for a break; they find one, sort of, when they come across a tiny horse that a paleontologist, rather conveniently encountered, confirms to be a long (long) extinct species: Eohippus, to be precise, having been thought wiped out since the Early Eocene, some 50 million years ago. Deciding that there might be more such wonders in a mysterious valley, T.J. and company head off in search of wonders, encountering a Cretaceous Pteranodon and a Styracosaurus, among others, as well as Gwangi himself, a vicious Jurassic Allosaurus. It’s all incredibly silly, but very entertaining, and Ray Harryhausen is at the peak of his powers in animating the dinosaurs. You can stream The Valley of Gwangi on Prime Video. The Valley of Gwangi (1969) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Nova: Dinosaur Apocalypse (2022) Another David Attenborough joint, the Nova special examines the events surrounding the asteroid impact that (probably) helped to wipe out the dinosaurs. This very recent special (from just last month) incorporates the latest in scientific research focused on well-preserved fossils that speak directly to the impact and provide new clues about one of the most fateful days in Earth’s history. You can stream Dinosaur Apocalypse on PBS or buy it from Prime Video. Nova: Dinosaur Apocalypse (2022) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955) A charming travelogue from legendary Czech director Karel Zeman, this film blends life-sized models with puppetry and stop-motion animation to tell a about several kids who take a trip on a literal “river of time,” sending them back through natural history until, eventually, they encounter (and are endangered by) various dinosaurs, including a Stegosaurus and a very impressive terror bird, the Phorusrhacos (please do not ask me to pronounce it). The film was meant to be educational as well as entertaining, and makes use of the best science of the time. There’s a re-dubbed, partly re-shot American version available on YouTube, but it’s not nearly as good as the original cut. You can stream Journey to the Beginning of Time on The Criterion Channel. Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955) at The Criterion Channel Learn More Learn More at The Criterion Channel Dinosaur (2000) Its story of an orphaned Iguanodon adopted by lemurs is fairly stock Disney, and its blend of tragedy and cuteness often jars, but Dinosaur is still an impressively animated adventure that vividly imagines the world of the late Cretaceous populated by friendly Ankylosaurs, Styracosaurs, and Brachiosaurs, all of them hunted by fearsome Carnotaurs and our old friends the Velociraptors. Disney was expecting big things from this one, but Walking With Dinosaurs beat it to the punch by a year, and it wound up only eking out a profit after it was released on DVD. You can stream Dinoaur on Disney+ or rent it from Prime Video. Dinosaur (2000) at Disney+ Learn More Learn More at Disney+ Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) The 1959 version is fine, but this slightly schmaltzy Brendan Fraser remake is rather delightful, all the more so because it’s explicitly aimed at kids. Fraser stars as volcanologist Trevor Anderson, who winds up stuck watching his nephew (Josh Hutcherson) while researching the idea that Verne’s famous novel wasn’t a work of fiction so much a travelogue of the author’s journey into a hollow earth. It’s all bright, colorful action from there on out, but with the surprisingly sweet center that Fraser brings to these types of movies. Plus, the climactic confrontation does T-Rex movies one better by spotlighting the even larger, more recently discovered Giganotosaurus. You can rent Journey to the Center of the Earth from Prime Video. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Lost World (2001) Another adaption of Arthur Conan Doyle adventure (there have been several, not including the unrelated Jurassic Park sequel), this family-friendly BBC take is generally faithful to Doyle's story about a modern(-ish) expedition to an isolated plateau that hosts an isolated community of creatures that've long-since gone extinct elsewhere. The long film (it was sometimes aired as a miniseries) fleshes out its characters fairly well, includes some genuinely exciting sequences, and smartly expands upon Doyle's thesis that we should, to whatever extent possible, leave nature to do its thing without human interference. The great Bob Hoskins plays Professor Challenger, and he's joined by James Fox, Peter Falk, Matthew Rhys, Tom Ward, and Elaine Cassidy. You can stream The Lost World on Prime Video. The Lost World (2001) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Life on Our Planet (2023) Steven Spielberg produced this high-end nature series narrated by Morgan Freeman and covering the history of life on Earth from the very beginning using a blend of CGI and live-action. It's not all dinosaurs, of course, but, given their long reign, it's not surprising that they take up a lot of space here: out of eight episodes, they feature prominently in half, their coming dominance first teased in episode three. As in many of these prestige projects, scientific rigor yields to a general sense of awe—but it's very effective on those terms, and the live-action footage blends nearly flawlessly with the digital recreations. You can stream Life on Our Planet on Netflix. Life on Our Planet (2023) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix Tammy and the T-Rex (1994) Is Tammy and the T-Rex a cinematic masterpiece? Uh, no. But does it include dinosaurs? ...also no, not technically. It is a campy cult horror comedy about a giant robotic Tyrannosaurus rex that was made because writer/director Stewart Raffill had access to an animatronic dinosaur for a couple of weeks. Denise Crosby plays cheerleader Tammy whose new boyfriend, Michael (Paul Walker in his first major role) has issues with bullies—to the extent that they toss him into a literal lion's den at an animal park, where he's promptly mauled. Enter Terry Kiser as mad scientist Dr. Gunther Wachenstein who, like the director of the film we're watching, has an impressive robot T-Rex (for some reason) that needs a brain. Once Michael has a dino-body, he goes on a bloody rampage, only to be saved by the power of love and a well-timed striptease. I'm not sure that any of this is terribly scientific, but the title dinosaur is pretty impressive, especially given the film's very low budget. You can stream Tammy and the T-Rex on Peacock and Kanopy. Tammy and the T-Rex (1994) at Peacock Learn More Learn More at Peacock