Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet 3D

Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet 3D is a 2014 documentary edit of the 2013 family film Walking with Dinosaurs. The film is part of BBC Earth's Walking with Dinosaurs brand and is screened exclusively in IMAX theatres and museums. This version edits out the prologue and epilogue scenes, trims the film down to a 45 minutes runtime, removes the character names, and replaces the voiceovers with narration by Benedict Cumberbatch. It was co-produced by BBC Earth, Reliance Entertainment, IM Global, and Evergreen Studios and released by Giant Screen Films on 20 September 2014.

Plot
Young pachyrhinosaurs grow up and establish themselves in the prehistoric world.

Why it presents an Amazing Prehistoric Planet

 * 1) Most of the problems that plagued the original film are removed:
 * 2) * The cringeworthy voiceovers are replaced by narration.
 * 3) * As a result of the dialogue being removed, the terrible jokes are also gone.
 * 4) * Instead of kids reading out the dinosaur names when the title cards pop up, the narrator takes the role of doing that.
 * 5) * Patchi is a far better protagonist in this version.
 * 6) * Alex is also a lot less annoying.
 * 7) * The forced love story between Patchi and Juniper is toned down significantly.
 * 8) * Scowler gets a lot less screen time and is slightly more tolerable.
 * 9) Benedict Cumberbatch is a great narrator.
 * 10) * The script actually feels like it's taken from the original BBC miniseries.
 * 11) Everything that was good about the original movie is still amazing:
 * 12) * Elephant in the room; the animation of the dinosaurs is still realistic and groundbreaking. It still looks like the animals are actually there.
 * 13) * The scenes with the hatchlings are still adorable, only they aren't ruined by dialogue.
 * 14) * Paul Leonard-Morgan's score is still beautiful.
 * 15) ** In fact, his music for the Edmontosaurus scene is used in this version, whereas the original version replaced it with Tusk by Fleetwood Mac.
 * 16) * The plot feels more realistic and believable than the original film rather than some generic kids movie.
 * 17) * Bulldust, Gorgon, and Patchi’s mom are still likeable characters.
 * 18) The ankylosaur is this time referred by it's actual name, Edmontonia. The pterosaur is also given it’s real name, Quetzalcoatlus.
 * 19) The paleontological accuracy is still realistic, and some of it is improved from the original film.
 * 20) * The Gorgosaurus is this time referred as Nanuqsaurus, as it was discovered that the Alaskan tyrannosaur at the time was actually the latter, while the former was only found in Canada.
 * 21) The story has some memorable moments, like the forest fire scene and the introduction to Nanuqsaurus.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Even though the editing made the movie significantly better, some problems still remain; example, the scene where an Edmontonia poops on Patchi.
 * 2) The film hasn’t been released on any home video format, making it hard to find. However, it can be watched on some educational websites.
 * 3) The film is way too short and finishes pretty quickly.

Reception
Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet 3D was viewed by many as a huge improvement over the original film. Imuplse Gamer gave it 4/5 stars and described it as a "is an engaging and wondrous adventure".

In his review for Victoria Times Colonist, Micheal D. Reid said: “Ostensibly inspired by the BBC documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs, this 40-minute blast from the past is both pure edutainment and a colourful creature-feature.”

However, some were critical on the film. Steve Ramsie of Mr. Movie's Film Blog gave the film 2.5/5, saying: "Look, there’s enough factual information and action beats in this one to inspire excited conversations with children, which could work as a decent prelude or epilogue to exploring the dinosaur exhibits at the museum next door. For everyone else though, this is probably a pass with the time better spent re-watching the original television show."

Trivia

 * The title "Prehistoric Planet" was previously used for a Discovery Channel series that edits Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Beasts to be appealing to children.
 * It would later be used for an Apple TV+ documentary series Prehistoric Planet.
 * Director Richard Dale previously directed Walking with Cavemen. He also directed Last Day of the Dinosaurs.