''My Pet Dinosaur'' is a 2017 Australian adventure

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are ...

written and directed by

Matt Drummond Matthew Simon Drummond is an Australian film director, screenwriter and visual effects supervisor. Personal Matthew Drummond is the eldest child of musician Pat Drummond and the brother of Pete Drummond from the Australasian band Dragon. ...

, and produced by Megan Williams.

Synopsis

A young boy befriends a dinosaur and discovers a mysterious conspiracy which could have a major impact on his small town.

Cast

* Jordan Dulieu * Annabel Wolfe * George Moses * Rowland Holmes *

Christopher Gabardi Christopher Gabardi (born 25 July 1969) is an Australian actor. He attended Wesley College, Melbourne (was School Captain in 1987) prior to graduating from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (A ...

* Beth Champion * Scott Irwin * Harrison Saunders * Tom Rooney * Sam Winspear-Schillings * Darius Williams

Joanne Samuel Joanne Samuel (born 5 August 1957) is an Australian film and television actress, who is best known for her role as the screen wife of Mel Gibson's title character in the 1979 film ''Mad Max''. Biography and career Samuel was born in Camperdow ...

Tiriel Mora Tiriel Mora (born 19 October 1958) is an Australian television and film actor. Early life He is a son of the late Melbourne artist Mirka Mora and Georges Mora, German-born Australian entrepreneur, art dealer, patron, connoisseur and restaur ...

and

David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...

make cameo appearances in the film.

Development

began writing the script to ''My Pet Monster'' in early 2015 after the success of his debut feature,

Dinosaur Island ''The War that Time Forgot'' was a comic book feature published by DC Comics beginning in 1960 in the title '' Star Spangled War Stories'', created by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. It ran for eight years, ending in 1968 and retu ...

. The international rights were acquired at the

American Film Market The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held each year in early November. Historically, more than 7,000 people attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance and acquire films. Participants come from more than ...

by Faisal Toor from Empress Road Pictures for its newly formed ''Selects'' Division. Rehearsals began December 2015. Principal photography commenced on 6 January 2016 in Australia, with Drummond directing. Live-action filming locations included Lithgow, Katoomba, Rydal and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, while CGI was done at Hive Studios International in

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

, New South Wales. Additional filming took place around the Lithgow area before transferring to Portland. Principal photography was completed on 15 February 2016. The film is scored by Chris Wright, who also composed the score for Drummond's debut feature,

. Visual effects were completed by Hive Studios International, with Drummond acting as

Visual effects supervisor In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director or producers through the use of visual effects. While it is a creative role, most supervisors possess a st ...

Locations

* Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park * Mt Wilson Cathedral of Ferns * The Old Bank Brasserie * Wentworth Falls Lake * The Zig Zag Railway * La Salle Academy * Lithgow Council Chambers *

Lithgow Small Arms Factory The Lithgow Small Arms Factory, or Lithgow Arms, is an Australian small arms manufacturing factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales. It was created by the Australian Government in 1912 to ease reliance on the British for the sup ...

Release

The theatrical trailer was released on January 13, 2017. ''My Pet Dinosaur'' was distributed widely in Australian cinemas on 22 April 2017 and upon its debut at the Chinese box office took the number seven position grossing US$870,000 on its first day. After its initial release, the film continued to hold its top 10 position. ''My Pet Dinosaur'' was released in the US on digital platforms. The film's total box office intake was approximately US$1.4 million.

Critical response

Upon its Australian release, ''My Pet Dinosaur'' has received mixed reviews. Richard Gray from The Reel Bits gave the film a positive review, praising the use of local Australian resources. Alaisdair Leith from Novastream Networks gave the film five out of five stars describing the film as visually stunning. The Movie Critic next door was impressed with the film's nostalgic qualities, stating that it was a film that "hearkens back to the beloved Spielberg classics of the 80's", whilst criticising the film's editing. Mike McLelland from FlickeringMyth.com rewarded it a mixed review, but was impressed with the central CGI character, stating that "Magnus is a lovely central creature, cute and curious at the beginning and later imposing and magnificent. Though there were obvious budget constraints, Magnus remains interesting and believable throughout" Jarod Walker from Filmink also gave a mixed review, stating that it was a film which "will amuse the kids, but adults will find it under budget and highly derivative." Luiz H. C. of Bloody Disgusting awarded it a negative review of 2.5 out of five, saying the film was ‘missing a Creative Spark’ and that it had a ‘formulaic approach to storytelling’.

Soundtrack

''My Pet Dinosaur'' is a soundtrack album featuring music from the film. The album features the original score composed by Chris Wright, and includes the end credit track "Only Human" written and performed by Muma Megs featuring Eirie. The album was released on iTunes in Australian on August 20, 2017, and reached Number 20 on the Soundtrack charts.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 6055082 2010s adventure films 2010s children's films 2017 films Australian science fiction adventure films Australian children's adventure films Films about dinosaurs Films about pets Films shot in New South Wales 2010s English-language films