Featured TV on DVD Review: Dinosaur Train: Dinosaurs in the Snow

October 25, 2010

Dinosaur Train: Dinosaurs in the Snow - Buy from Amazon

Dinosaur Train is a PBS Kids show that features the adventures of three Pteranodon siblings and their adopted Tyrannosaurus brother. The four of them travel with their mother on the Dinosaur Train, a special train that can travel all over the world and throughout time, taking them to different dinosaurs, which they learn about. Like the last release I reviewed, Dinosaurs in the Snow has eight shorts (with two shorts making an episode) starting with...

The Show

  1. Dinosaurs in the Snow
    The gang travels up to the north pole to meet a Northern Troodon and play in the snow and on the ice. And of course, if you are up north, you have to play hockey.
  2. Cretaceous Conifer
    We travel to Troodon Town to celebrate the winter solstice and part of the celebration is decorating a giant conifer tree. It reminds mother Pteranodon of her childhood, so she gets really, really excited.
  3. Night Train
    Mr. Conductor takes Tiny, Buddy, and Dad out on the night train, where he shows them how nocturnal animals use their senses at night. Plus he keeps trying to scare them.
  4. Fossil Fred
    Buddy, Don, and Tiny are pretending to be detectives looking for treasure, but when they find a strange tooth, that's very heavy, they ask Mr. Conductor what it is. He then tells them about fossils and they go hunting for more.
  5. King Cryolophosaurus
    The Cryolophosaurus is a type of crested dinosaur, like the Parasaurolophus or the Hadrosaurs. Its crest looks something like a pompadour, a hair style worn by Elvis for a while. King Cryolophosaurus. Elvis was known as The King. Yes, it's Elvis in Dinosaur form.
  6. Dinosaur Block Party
    The Pteranodon family invites their new neighbors, the Lambeosaurus family, to a block party to make them feel welcome, and all the other neighbors come over as well. With so many different species coming over, they decide to make it a potluck.
  7. Surprise Party
    It's Buddy's birthday... yes, all four kids share the same birthday, they do mention that fact. But Tiny, Shiny, and Don decide to throw Buddy a surprise birthday party aboard the Dinosaur Train and invite all of his friends.
  8. Flowers for Mom
    Tiny, Shiny, Don, and Buddy go to the big pond to look for gifts to give to their mother, because it's Mother's Day. Along the way they learn about flowers and bees and how they rely on each other to survive.

The Extras

There are a couple DVD-Rom features on the DVD (a game and some coloring pages).

The Verdict

Like most of the rest of the PBS Kids lineup, Dinosaur Train is a more overtly educational program, but it should also entertain kids while it teaches them about dinosaurs. Dinosaurs in the Snow has eight shorts with a total running time of about 100 minutes, making it a solid value for the money.


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