My Pet Dinosaur

My Pet Dinosaur
Directed by Matt Drummond
Produced by Matt Drummond
Megan Williams
Written by Matt Drummond
Starring Jordan Dulieu
Annabel Wolfe
Tom Rooney
Sam Winspear-Schillings
Harrison Saunders
Chris Gabardi
Scott Irwin
Rowland Holmes
Beth Champion
Music by Chris Wright
Production
company
Little Monster Productions
Distributed by

Empress Road Pictures

Pinnacle Films
Release date
  • 22 April 2017 (2017-04-22)
Country Australia

My Pet Dinosaur is a 2017 Australian, adventure, family film written and directed by Matt Drummond, and produced by Megan Williams.

Synopsis

In an experiment gone wrong, a young boy named Jake makes a new friend and his troubled hometown is plunged into chaos. With the creature rapidly evolving every day, Jake finds it increasingly difficult to keep his new pet secret. Jake's friends and new girl Abbie realize that they are not the only ones interested in this strange, mischievous little dinosaur.

Cast

  • Jordan Dulieu
  • Annabel Wolfe
  • Rowland Holmes
  • Christopher Gabardi
  • Beth Champion
  • Scott Irwin[1]
  • Harrison Saunders
  • Tom Rooney
  • Sam Winspear-Schillings[2]
  • Darius Williams[3]

Joanne Samuel, Tiriel Mora and David Roberts make cameo appearances in the film.

Development

Matt Drummond began writing the script to My Pet Monster in early 2015 after the success of his debut feature,[4] Dinosaur Island.[5] The international rights were acquired at the American Film Market by Faisal Toor from Empress Road Pictures for its newly formed Selects Division.

Rehearsals began December 2015. Principal photography commenced in 6 January 2016 in Australia, with Drummond directing. Live-action filming locations included Lithgow, Katoomba, Rydal and Portland, while CGI was done at Hive Studios International in Leura, 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, Dinosaur Island (2014). Sound mix was completed by the Academy Award winning Peter Purcell,[6] known for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

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

Locations

Release

The theatrical trailer was released exclusively via Hollywood Reporter on 13 January 2017 to positive reviews, with commentary from Dread Central stating, My Pet Dinosaur was "...The best movie Spielberg never made..."[7] and HR billing it as, "E.T. meets Pixar."[8]

The film was distributed widely in Australian cinemas on 22 April 2017[9] and upon its debut at the Chinese box office took the number seven position grossing $870,000 USD on its first day of release sitting alongside Hollywood Blockbusters such as Solo: A Star Wars Story, Avengers: Infinity War and A Quiet Place. After its initial release, the film continued to hold its top 10 position.[10] My Pet Dinosaur will release in the US via Digital on October 2 and DVD November 6.[11]

Foreign box office figures to date are noted at 1.49M USD[12]

Critical Response

Upon its Australian release, My Pet Dinosaur has received mixed yet positive reviews. Richard Gray from The Reel Bits gave the film a positive review, rewarding four out of five stars. He stated "My Pet Dinosaur is an amazing achievement, proving that a combination of story-first genre filmmaking can be accomplished using local resources. Delightful and heartwarming, it's also a great indicator of where independent filmmaking is headed in Australia at the moment.[13] Alaisdair Leith from Novastream Networks gave the film five out of five stars describing the film as visually stunning, 'the CG work on Magnus (particularly baby Magnus) is Hollywood standard and for an Australian production provides the best visual effects used in an Australian film to date."[14]

The Movie Critic next door awarded the film four out of five stars citing My Pet Dinosaur is a film that hearkens back to the beloved Spielberg classics of the 80's – yes, like E.T., but also The Goonies or even the Spielberg-produced Super 8 ...but the kids' efforts are outrageously fun and heartwarming to watch. Magnus is amazingly real, the villains perfectly villainous, and the young actors manage to carry the movie, though it's often Mike who steals the show. And it's a show worth stealing, four out of five stars' worth. The editing is a bit off, with some of the scene changes a bit confusing, but overall it's a nostalgic and wonderful romp."[15]

Jacki McTaggart from The Spotlight Report gave 3.5 stars out of 5 stars and describes the film as "a family friendly science fiction movie that creates an imaginative story, full of heart that will take audiences to a place where anyone can be a child with a magical creature at their side."[16] Mike McLelland from FlickeringMyth.com rewarded it a mixed review with two out of five stars. But in response to the central CGI character states "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, and his arc is dynamic and will be particularly exciting for younger viewers, though the proceedings do get a bit violent for tiny tots.[17] Jarod Walker from Filmink reviewed the film with a 10 out of 20 rating stating My Pet Dinosaur is a "Spielbergian adventure that will amuse the kids but adults will find it under budget and highly derivative."[18]

Soundtrack

My Pet Dinosaur is a soundtrack album for the live-action film of the same name.

The album features the original score composed by Chris Wright, and includes the end credit track "Only Human"[19] written and performed by Muma Megs featuring Eirie released on 6 September 2017 and reached Number 1 on the Children's Music, Australian iTunes charts. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on Australian iTunes 20 August 2017 and reached Number 20 on the Soundtrack charts.

References

  1. ↑ "Scott Irwin's back kicking goals". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "EFM 2017: Behold My Pet Dinosaur!". Dread Central. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Dinosaur Island's T-Rex Visits the Three Sisters". Blue Mountains Australia. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Worldwide sales for feathered dino pic". if.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Dinosaurs hit the Blue Mountains!". Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Mix Presents Sound for Film: And the Award Goes To… MAD MAX: FURY ROAD | Mixonline". Mix (magazine). Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "My Pet Dinosaur Archives – Dread Central". Dread Central. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  8. ↑ "'My Pet Dinosaur' Trailer Shows Off an Endearing and Unlikely Friendship (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Lodderhose, Diana (13 February 2017). "Matt Drummond's 'My Pet Dinosaur' Heads Down Under For Pinnacle Films & Hoyts – Berlin". Deadline. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "My Pet Dinosaur roars into Chinese box office top 10 | FilmInk". www.filmink.com.au. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  11. ↑ "MY PET DINOSAUR To Get U.S. Release". HEAVY Music & Film Magazine. 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  12. ↑ "My Pet Dinosaur". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  13. ↑ Gray, Richard (21 April 2017). "Review: My Pet Dinosaur". The Reel Bits. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  14. ↑ "Review : My Pet Dinosaur – Novastream". Novastream. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "My Pet Dinosaur | The Movie Critic Next Door". moviecriticnextdoor.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "'My Pet Dinosaur' Movie Review". Spotlight Report "The Best Entertainment Website in Oz". Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  17. ↑ "Movie Review – My Pet Dinosaur (2017)". Flickering Myth. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  18. ↑ "My Pet Dinosaur". filmink.com.au. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  19. ↑ Desk, BWW News. "LOVE CHILD Actress Records Theme Song to New Australian Film MY PET DINOSAUR". Retrieved 8 April 2017.
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