The Irelanders' Adventures of Dinosaur
The Irelanders' Adventures of Dinosaur is a new film.
Plot[edit | edit source]
A Carnotaurus ambushes and pursues an infant Parasaurolophus, triggering a stampede which forces an Iguanodon mother to abandon her nest. The large theropod then succeeds in killing a Pachyrhinosaurus. The one surviving egg journeys through several predicaments including being carried off via the flight of a Pteranodon, before ending up on a far away island populated by lemurs. One of the lemurs, Plio (Alfre Woodard), names the hatched baby Aladar and raises him despite her father, Yar's (Ossie Davis) original objections. Years later, an adult Aladar (D. B. Sweeney) and the lemurs take part in the mating ritual, where Aladar's friend, Zini (Max Casella), goes without a mate. Moments after the ritual ends, a giant meteor shower strikes and destroys the island, spreading destruction in its wake. Aladar, Plio, Zini, Yar and Plio's daughter, Suri (Hayden Panettiere), jump into the sea and flee to the mainland. They mourn for their losses before moving on.
While crossing the deserted wastelands, they are ambushed by a pack of hungry Velociraptors. After escaping, the family comes across a remaining multi-species herd of dinosaurs led by Kron (Samuel E. Wright) and his second-in-command, Bruton (Peter Siragusa), who are on a journey to reach the "Nesting Grounds", a valley said to be untouched by the meteor. As Aladar and the lemurs befriend a trio of elderly dinosaurs Brachiosaurus Baylene (Joan Plowright), Styracosaurus Eema (Della Reese) and doglike Euoplocephalus Url, Kron permits them to follow the herd. Together, they migrate across the desert to a lake they have relied on for past trips. Though it has seemingly dried up, Aladar and Zini discover the buried water beneath the surface and Baylene is able to bring it up, saving the herd from dehydration despite Kron claiming it for himself. Impressed by Aladar's compassionate ways, Kron's younger sister Neera (Julianna Margulies) begins to fall in love with him.
Meanwhile, two Carnotaurus pick up the herd's trail and begin stalking them for food. Bruton and an Iguanodon scout are sent by Kron to search for water, but are attacked by the Carnotaurus. Bruton escapes badly wounded, while the scout is eaten by one of the Carnotaurus. Bruton returns to the herd and warns Kron that they are being followed, putting the entire herd in a state of panic. Kron picks up the pace and quickly evacuates the herd, leaving Aladar (whom he threatens with execution after trying to slow the herd down), the lemurs, the elder dinosaurs and Bruton behind, while the Carnotaurus are in pursuit. During a rainstorm, the stragglers spend the night in the cave, where Plio heals Bruton, and the Carnotaurus find and attack them. Bruton saves the others by causing a cave-in to kill one of the Carnotaurus, sacrificing himself in the process. As the rest of the group venture deeper through the cave, the other Carnotaurus, having survived, leaves and vengefully resumes searching for the herd.
Aladar loses hope when they reach a dead end, but the others convince him to keep going, relating how he inspired them to do the same. After they break through the dead end together and successfully find the Nesting Grounds on the other side, Eema sees a large wall of rocks blocking the original entryway to the valley. Knowing that the herd will die attempting to climb over it, Aladar rushes off alone to find them, pursued by the surviving Carnotaurus. As Aladar catches up with the herd and suggests the safer way to the valley, a stubborn Kron furiously tries to kill him until Neera stops them, silently disowning her brother and denouncing his leadership of the herd. The herd decides to abandon Kron and takes Aladar as their new leader. As they prepare to leave, the Carnotaurus confronts them. Aladar rallies the herd to stand together, and they bellow their way past the predator. The Carnotaurus pursues Kron on the ledge and, after a brief struggle, fatally bites him on the back. Aladar and Neera fight against the Carnotaurus until it is knocked into the ravine, where it plummets to its death. The two are relieved, but their joy is short-lived when they find that Kron has succumbed to his wounds.
In the aftermath, the herd are led along the new route to the Nesting Grounds, which becomes their new home. A new generation of dinosaurs hatch sometime later, including Aladar and Neera's children. The lemurs find more of their kind, and soon they begin embarking on a new life together.