We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story

We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a 1993 British-American animated adventure comedy film directed by Dick Zondag, Ralph Zondag, Phil Nibbelink, and Simon Wells from a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley. Based on the 1987 Hudson Talbott children's book of the same name, it tells the story of three dinosaurs and one pterosaur who travel to the present day and become intelligent by eating a "Brain Grain" cereal invented by scientist Captain Neweyes. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation studio and features the voices of John Goodman, Felicity Kendal, Charles Fleischer, Walter Cronkite, Jay Leno, Julia Child, Kenneth Mars, Yeardley Smith, and Martin Short. We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story was released by Universal Pictures on November 24, 1993; it was marketed as the more family-friendly equivalent of Spielberg's Jurassic Park, which was released in the same year. The film became a box-office bomb, grossing only $9.3 million worldwide, and received mixed reviews from critics: while its animation, score, and voice performances were praised, most criticisms targeted its story, pacing, and lack of character development. Plot In 1993 New York City, a young bluebird named Buster runs away from his siblings and meets an intelligent orange Tyrannosaurus named Rex, who is playing golf. He explains to Buster that he was once a ravaging dinosaur, and proceeds to tell his personal story. A long time ago, Rex was chasing a small Thescelosaurus. Then, a scientist, Captain Neweyes, wants children of the present day to see real dinosaurs from the Mesozoic era. He and his alien assistant Vorb go back in time to collect dinosaurs, give them the cereal 'Brain Grain' to bestow them sentience, and send them to the present day. The dinosaurs Neweyes has collected include Rex, a blue Triceratops named Woog, a purple Pteranodon named Elsa, and a green Parasaurolophus named Dweeb. Neweyes welcomes them aboard his ship, explains his plan to take them to Dr. Julia Bleeb, who will guide them to the Museum of Natural History, and warns them to avoid Professor Screweyes, his unhinged brother who causes mischief after having lost his left eye to a crow, several years ago.