Film
The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs
A fifty-minute glimpse into the making of the groundbreaking BBC dinosaur series. Watch animators, sculptors, and palaeontologists collaborate using cutting-edge CGI and animatronics to bring prehistory to life. Essential for anyone who loved the original series, or fascinated by how documentary magic happens behind the curtain.
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Life on Earth1979
David Attenborough's revolutionary documentary series that pioneered the grand-scale natural history format. Seeing how they shot life on location before CGI existed will deepen your appreciation for what the Walking with Dinosaurs team achieved with technology.
But Slower pacing and no dinosaurs. The visuals, while stunning, lack the dramatic recreation that makes prehistoric sequences thrilling.
Cosmos1980
Carl Sagan guides you through deep time and evolution with the same sense of wonder that Walking with Dinosaurs captures. A philosophical companion piece that makes you feel the scale of geological history.
But More about science communication than behind-the-scenes craft. No special effects breakdowns or technical detail.
The Blue Planet2001
Released just after Walking with Dinosaurs, this BBC series uses similar documentary techniques to explore ocean life. Watch how the same creative team applied their innovations to a different natural world.
But It's modern nature, not prehistoric. Some viewers find the slower observational style less gripping than recreated action.
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The Lost World1925
The great-grandfather of all dinosaur documentaries and films. Understanding O'Brien's pioneering work shows how Walking with Dinosaurs inherited and perfected techniques from cinema's earliest experiments.
A silent film that pioneered stop-motion dinosaur sequences using Willis O'Brien's revolutionary techniques. Watching this reveals that the impulse to bring dinosaurs to life is nearly 100 years old—Walking with Dinosaurs is the culmination of a lineage, not an invention.
But Silent, slow, and the dinosaurs look nothing like modern reconstructions. The artifact quality can feel quaint rather than engaging unless you're historically minded.
More like this (5)
Walking with Beasts2001
The spiritual successor to Walking with Dinosaurs, using refined versions of the same animatronic and CGI techniques. A direct evolution of the methods you'll see being developed in the making-of documentary.
But Mammals are less visually spectacular than dinosaurs. The novelty factor diminishes when you know the tricks already.
Prehistoric Planet2022
Modern CGI has made dinosaur recreation photorealistic. Comparing this to the 2000 techniques shows how far the technology has advanced, and how impressive the original achievement was with primitive tools.
But Too slick, too perfect. Loses some of the tactile charm of practical animatronics and the visible craft that makes the original special.
Planet Earth2006
Another benchmark BBC series showcasing evolved documentary filmmaking. Watching side-by-side with Walking with Dinosaurs techniques highlights how rapidly production methods were changing in the early 2000s.
But Focuses on current ecosystems rather than extinct ones. The behind-the-scenes filmmaking is less central than in Walking with Dinosaurs.
The Abyss1989
James Cameron pushed underwater filming and early CGI to their limits. A technical masterpiece that influenced how filmmakers thought about combining practical and digital effects—relevant context for what BBC animators attempted.
But A sci-fi thriller, not a documentary. The aesthetic and purpose are completely different from what you're interested in.
Creature Comforts1989
A stop-motion short that shows alternative animation techniques to the CGI approach in Walking with Dinosaurs. Demonstrates how different technologies can achieve similar storytelling goals in nature documentaries.
But It's comedic and tongue-in-cheek. The tone is playful rather than earnest, which might feel flippant if you want serious palaeontology.
People
Cast
Kenneth BranaghNarrator
Directing
- Jasper JamesDirector