We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story/YMMV


 * Idiot Plot: Seriously, think about it. A scientist from the future goes back in time and collects dinosaurs, force evolves their brains so they're just smart enough to be able to speak and reason on a fourth grade level (expect poor Dweeb, who's basically left functionally retarded), brings them to modern day New York and then just drops them off in the city with very vague instructions of finding a fellow scientist without any training or understanding of how modern life functions. Then a good chunk of the plot revolves around the dinos stumbling into trouble, being chased by the authorities and then trying to rescue two kids who stupidly signed a contract with an obviously creepy old man. If anybody in the movie put more than three seconds of thought into their actions, it would be a pretty short story.
 * Narm: "Let no bad happen!" and Louie's speech about guys who run the way the world should be.
 * Nightmare Fuel: Dr. Screweye's death
 * Part of the reason it's one of the creepiest things in the movie is that it's left rather vague as to what actually happens to him. The crows land on him but don't move afterward until they fly away, leaving only the possessed screw. It doesn't seem like they eat him (again, no movement from the crows, and Screweyes vanishes flesh, bone, clothing and all) but it's obvious that the crows are, somehow, responsible for his vanishing. The scene can leave you suspicious of crows for some time, that's for sure.
 * A deleted scene gaves us delightful information about Screweyes; as a kid, a crow pecked his eye out, which is why he has his metal eye now (which is really just a screw thrust into his socket). He's now a cynic who believes that the world makes no sense and acts accordingly, scaring other people; he also admits that he is, understandably, afraid of crows, and keeps them for company as means to master his fear. One has to wonder about the state of his mind.
 * Romantic Plot Tumor: The whole romance thing with Louie and Cecilia. Which doesn't really go anywhere.
 * Toy Ship: Louie and Cecilia.
 * What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: As noted above, the tagline for this movie was, seriously, "Steven Spielberg Presents a Dinosaur Movie for the Whole Family!" Note that Jurassic Park is pretty dark from the start so there is informed consent going in, while the Circus of Fear sequence in this film comes way the eff out of nowhere.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: According to a deleted scene, Screweyes got his eye violently pecked off by a corvid as a kid, which started his spiral into nihilism.