By Megan
Link to Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vej2H3bvpg8
Link to Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVeVMYuvDs0
Link to Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpD5itVWlM
Available until: Unknown
Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish is a play in three parts, based on a picture book by Michael Foreman which was published fifty years ago. It is an adventure story for children and it’s a lot of fun but it also teaches children about the importance of science and caring about the environment.
Not everything is completely true (or not as far as we know) but Dinosaurs is important because it encourages you to be curious about the world and aware of the ways you can hurt it without meaning to.
It starts off with a man who’s fascinated by a star and he wants to learn more about it. He tries different ways of reaching it and his successes and his failures teach us more about the world and how it works.
Some of the story is narrated but most of it is acted out. The actors are a lot of fun to watch and they play a lot of different roles and I really love their characters. It is very funny and it’s fun for adults too. I think it’s really important to create children’s stories which adults like too because the adults might end up having to read the same stories and watch the same TV programmes hundreds of times!
But it takes all the important issues very seriously. Some parts of the story are sad and they’re written very honestly but not usually in a way that is likely to upset or frighten children. There’s one bit with the dinosaurs and fire which is quite upsetting but it all turns out okay.
There are also some really amazing special effects including water and fire, which are really impressive and magical. There are rockets that fly, trees that grow and dinosaurs that roar and jump around all over the planet. I think the whole series will make children want to learn more about things like animals and history, as well as science. Some might be more curious about the technology than the environment but that is good too. The world is a fascinating and wonderful place and it all needs to be explored, enjoyed and improved.
The director is Toby Hulse and he has created so many brilliant and original ways of bringing the story to life. Robin Hemmings and Shaelee Rooke perform the characters with warmth, humour and lots of character. Mr Hemmings is also the composer and the music is really good to listen to, perfect for the story and a lot of fun with some lovely choreography by Alice Massey which is easy enough for children to join in with if they want to. Will Monks’ genius animations make this story even more special and Oliver Wareham’s sound design is very clever and also adds so much to the production by bringing the story even more to life and giving us all a reason to smile.
Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish is a lovely series
for children to sit down and watch – and maybe the best thing of all is that
when we’ve finished watching, it will inspire us to explore the world and
create stories of our own.
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