Good start, but then it gets ruined

Boring, long, and too preachy.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

My family watched this movie together and enjoyed it a lot. For the budget they had I give the effort a solid 10. The special effects and CGI are actually pretty good (again for the budget level). The acting is kids TV show level, but hey what do you expect? The kids in the movie have fun with it and do a decent job. The dinosaurs were creatively modeled and decorated, a nice departure from the usual rendering of dinosaurs in most movies. There was always some interesting action going on and the story was actually quite creative. My wife and I discussed the movie after wards and agreed that there was more story and creativity here than top-tier movies like Jurassic World and Avatar. I was surprised by the number of 1 star reviews, but those people are obviously comparing it to big Hollywood films. If you can get past unrealistic expectations you'll actually have fun with this movie.

WARNING: SPOILERS Many have complained about the quality of the special effects and the acting. Others have defended these elements because the film is clearly for small children and clearly low budget. My problem is a belief that the movie could have been much better and more appropriate for a wider audience without adding much the the bill. This movie needed maybe 6 more 2 or 3 minute scenes. But none of these scenes would have required much if anything in the way of post production, because for the most part they would have been completely expository. First, whose house was that they visited at the beginning of the film, and why was there a crystal there? I think some questions could have been answered that would not have given away the ending, but could have made the ending a "Oh, I get it moment" instead of a "What the heck?" moment. Then a scene explaining the tribe. Have these people lived on the island forever? Or did there ship crash here? Why are they all children except the guy in the cage? Why the newspaper from the future? And would Lucas really show NO INTEREST in a newspaper from his future? It seems like Kate never tried to find a way off the island before. She should have been able to say to Lucas that she'd tried everything (in order to try and convince him to stay.) Why do these planes and ships not have people on them? Again, I don't necessarily need an answer, just some indication that somebody have GIVEN IT SOME THOUGHT! There are other little things that would have helped me too. Lucas was covered in man-eating-plant goo. Then suddenly he was clean and dry. How long had Kate been on the island? Yet her clothes were immaculate? And speaking of Kate, how did she even come to BE on the island? All this time she'd been studying flora and fauna but never once WONDERED about the island itself? I mean, it's an island UNTETHERED IN TIME. I would WONDER about that. Oh, I guess there is one place where I might have spent some money on CGI. Lucas had been on the island for one day. I think he would have been curious about the island. Yes, he would have wanted to get back home, but maybe the writer could have let him spend a couple of weeks there. If for no other reason than giving Kate and Lucas time to bond. To become friends instead of acquaintances. Then I would have put them in peril. Made it life or death that they get off this island. An earthquake could have destroyed their shelter? The natives could have found their shelter and threatened them? The volcano could have been about to explode? The exploding volcano could have probably helped with other problems too. I'm just saying this movie could have been SO MUCH BETTER without costing much more money. All it needed was another pass at the script. Even my eight year old niece was confused when it was over.

I bought this for my kids to have over the Easter Holidays and they just love this film. We saw it at the cinema in the Blue Mountains where it was the number 1 film for weeks. The kids begged me to get them the DVD as soon as it came out. It really is a lovely film. The kids adore the bird character, "Mimos" and all the other creatures in the film. Its nice that everything is so colourful and the story although simple has some lovely themes consistent with a good family movie. Although it is targeted towards young audiences the adults in our home enjoyed the quick pace and great visual effects. We looove the fuzzy t-rex and the music is just beautiful. Lovely to hear the Aussie accents in a kids film for a change and I think the acting wasn't too bad. I have read the negative reviews on this site and they clearly are incorrect. This movie should be in every families DVD collection. Cute story and cute characters - it doesn't need to win an Acadamy Award, it just needs to entertain and it has certainly done that.

An unexpected gem! I stumbled across this movie as I had seen no previews or advertising. I wasn't expecting a great deal however the story was interesting and the special effects were brilliant. The dinosaurs just looked so life like and there was interesting information offered about them. The children I took were captivated and there was very little noise from any of the many children in the cinema. Lovely to see a strong female lead with knowledge and sense of adventure. The acting was a bit scratchy in parts and the story got a little confusing but overall well worth the effort. The movie looked and felt like a real labour of love. Theme song by well known Australian artist. A really nice movie to take the children to.