I thought I would leave Walking with Dinosaurs having had some kind of epiphany, some Earth-shattering moment of clarity. And it was frustrating, because every time I would almost get there, the show’s narrator would make a bad joke and I’d be brought back to reality. But first, here’s what was amazing about the show: the dinosaurs.
Along with everyone else at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, I was transfixed when the dinosaurs were wandering around. The craftsmanship put into these were amazing. The skin… I wanted to touch the skin so bad. These things look incredible.
And the movements are even more amazing. This event is a pretty once-in-a-lifetime thing; how often do you get to see in person what a dinosaur may have actually looked like in motion? Phenomenal.
What wasn’t phenomenal was the aforementioned narration. Now, call me a stick in the mud, but the breathtaking dinosaurs and the hugeness of what we were experiencing deserves more than eye-rolling jokes about hungry uncles and scaly politicians. This show would benefit way more from a serious tone and an upswing of drama. I only got goosebumps once (the entry of the t-rex is, in a word, awesome), and I wanted to be covered for the entire show.
I had questions: The advertisements outside the arena showed a pterodactyl, which I anxiously awaited for; did he take a wrong turn at Ogden Point? Why would there be an 20-minute intermission in a show that is only approximately 80 minutes? Fine by me, but it seemed to really kill the momentum of the event, which was just starting to pick up.
But, man, the dinosaurs. Despite its storytelling and delivery shortcomings, the behemoths we were all there to see delivered. And, mission accomplished: I found myself drifting off to sleep last night in complete awe of the fact that these things actually once walked the Earth. You get desensitized to it after a while, but a show like this helps keep their legacy, and our awe, alive. And somehow, as I was walking to work this morning, still thinking about what it would be like if a dinosaur just appeared from behind a house or around a corner, keeping that awe alive struck me as being of such extreme importance I could barely comprehend it. So, cheers to the crew of this show for doing just that.
The event, which also runs at the arena this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 7 pm each night, is worth it to rekindle everyone’s sense of childlike wonder at such magnificent, beautiful, and awe-inspiring creatures.
Plus, there’s a funny dino-poop bit that had everyone laughing out loud. Some humour always works.