Dinotopia: Difference between revisions
Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0
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The tale of a mythical [[Lost World|lost continent]]. It is an idealistic [[Utopia|Utopian]] society ruled over by [[Intellectual Animal|Intellectual Animals]]. As the title suggests, many of the animals are dinosaurs who are [[Old Master|very wise]] and very vague about how they survived the [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies|Cretaceous extinction]]. Other species, including humans, were marooned on the island over time. Once there, they are taught the ways of pacifism and vegetarianism by the other animals and are integrated into society.
And as goofy as the premise may sound, it works. This is largely thanks to the insanely detailed, gorgeous illustrations of [https://web.archive.org/web/20130905152614/http://www.dinotopia.com/ author/illustrator James Gurney], previously best known for his book covers, animation background art, and especially for his incredibly detailed illustrations of historical cultures in ''National Geographic''. Those illustrations certainly inspired the incredible amount of thought he has put into the project, which has resulted is a fantasy setting that is every bit as believable and appealing as [[The Lord of the Rings|Middle-earth]].
Like Middle-earth, the concept of Dinotopia has proven so popular that it seems as though ''everyone'' has been given a chance to play in Gurney's sandbox. It even looks like Gurney has given everyone an open invite, as the three (thus far) Gurney-written illustrated novels have since been spun-off into (get some Burdock tea and a comfortable seat): A series of novels by various genre-fiction authors. A fourth Gurney-written/illustrated book packaged with a board game that serves as a prequel. A series of children's novels, also by various genre fiction authors. A made-for-TV movie. A computer game. A [[Stillborn Franchise|short-lived television series]] based, in turn, upon the tv movie. A made-for-video animated film. And, [[The Problem with Licensed Games|inevitably]], a video game. (Note that these spin-offs are roughly listed in the order of closeness to the source material and, perhaps not coincidentally, of how much fans like them.)
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{{quote|Will Denison: Is it magic?
Arthur Denison: No, I believe it is science, but an ancient, strange science, quite unknown in Europe or America. }}
* [[Creator Cameo]] - ''Dinotopia'' (the first book) has one of these ''in addition'' to the [[Author Avatar]] noted above. He's a minor figure in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20111007061730/http://www.dinotopia.com/art_dinosaur_boulevard.html street scene] in Pooktook, the man standing to the right of the centrosaurus with the drink-dispensing panniers. He has a child riding on his shoulders, curly-toed shoes on his feet, and the most detailed facial features on that particular spread, especially considering that there are other passers-by standing closer to the foreground.
** It's justified, though. In ''Imaginative Realism'', Gurney reveals that he often has to act as his own actor/model when there's none handy.
* [[Cut Short]]: The TV series (after the miniseries) ended with the Wizard's magic portal back to the real world mysteriously stolen. To which we ask, "What the hell book did the writers of the show read?"
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