Walking with Dinosaurs:The Arena Spectacular – Rogers Arena – Aug 26, 2010
Based on the award winning BBC-TV series, Walking With Dinosaurs truly brings the giant beasts to life right in front of you. Led by an ‘archaeologist’ / host who guides us through the eras and tells the story of the dinosaurs, flora and fauna of each passing stage of dinosaur evolution.
Although it sounds like it should be, you would be mistaken if you dismissed this show as “for kids”. Children and adults of all ages get something out of this presentation, little kids all around were screaming out the names of the dinosaurs (it’s amazing what little kids know!) and shrieking as each one lumbered and roared into the arena. Adults were learning alongside their children and many were probably revelling in a little childhood wonder as well.
This was the second year I’ve seen this show and both times I was amazed at the intricacy and realism of the dinosaur creations. Even though you can plainly see the legs of the actor working the smaller creatures or the wheeled base of the giants, it’s incredibly easy to suspend reality and believe that we are in the Cretaceous or Jurassic periods. The simplicity of the darkened set, surrounded by inflatable plants and flowers and filled with vast amounts of projections and lights allows your mind to complete the picture and take you back in time.
Although the tickets for this event can be high, depending on your city, if you can manage to I highly recommend seeing it, my description does not do it justice.
*warning for parents, younger sensitive children may find some parts of the show a bit frightening. The Dinosaurs roar quite loud, the arena is dark other than the floor/set and the first scene involve a predator dinosaur eating a newly hatched baby