Netflix’s Bad Dinosaurs Is Its First Great Kids Show

It’s easy to miss the hidden fact that Netflix has a dedicated animation department. Even though the first title made in this subgenre was for the adult audience (The Midnight Gospel) and featured psychedelic-like space travel, the streaming giant then widened the category to cater to audiences of all ages. Released within the same year, Trash Truck centers around a little boy named Hank and his favorite talking vehicle. The Irish-made Puffin Rock teaches young children about the exotic animals living off the Irish coast. Going strong for over four years now, Netflix Animation has proven to be a worthwhile competitor to mainstream cable channels that everybody should check out. With that being said, the newest children’s series (which was released on Mar. 28) has quickly amassed four million views and is ranked to be one of their greatest children’s hits ever.

Inspired by the Latin translation of dinosaur, which means “terrible lizard,” creator Joel Veitch created the idea for Bad Dinosaurs in 2014. With four shorts originally being crafted to help conceptualize the idea, the new show is produced by Dan Dixon and Paul Schleicher. It is the first major project by film production company Snafu Pictures in London, England. In this eight-episode first season, viewers are thrust into a dynamic and colorful prehistoric world where a mother Tyrannosaurus rex and her three adventurous children traverse a world full of other dinosaurs who all have zany but memorable personality traits.

An Adorable T. Rex Family in Bad Dinosaurs

Even though these are humongous creatures that are inherently terrifying, Bad Dinosaurs brings these big behemoths down a notch by not only making them physically adorable but also by giving them problems that we all face. Thus, the show ends up teaching life lessons. Another interesting aspect is found in its dialogue – there is none. Instead, we hear all sorts of sounds, such as whimpers, groans, growls, and sighs, that make up for the lack of language. Even with these quick descriptions giving you a sense of what this show is all about, let’s take a more inside look at Bad Dinosaurs and find out why it’s standing out on the streaming platform.

As aforementioned, this new children-themed offering from Netflix revolves around a family of T-rex’s that are going about their daily lives and interacting with other creatures that roamed the earth at that time. Throughout the first season’s entries, we quickly learn that these characters – even though they may be much bigger and stronger than us – share the same needs and wants as us. The mother protects her three kids at all costs, tries her best to keep a tidy home, and always finds food for them to eat. There’s even an episode where she is wooed by a vulture but then backtracks on the relationship when the bird almost gets into a tussle with the children. As you can already see, all the moms out there will quickly identify with the maternal guardian presented on this show. This family dynamic becomes a highlight when disaster strikes in the climax in the form of a gigantic spewing volcano.

Lessons and Morals Are a Big Part of Bad Dinosaurs

When it comes to the primary audience for this show, the younger demographic will certainly be humored by the potty jokes. There is enough flatulence coming from these dinosaurs to last a lifetime. But look past that for a moment, and you’ll see that Mama’s three little ones are the perfect balance between loveable and chaotic.

The little one always gets into trouble while trying to prove his maturity (either by clumsily trying to hunt bigger prey to prove his worth or getting into trouble some other way that usually involves playing too wildly). On the other hand, the older brother and sister always feud with each other over food or resources (as you’ll see, one of them likes to collect rocks and seashells – a little too much!) Even though Bad Dinosaurs is set in the Mesozoic Era, these characters easily become archetypes that fit into the modern world. Even though there is no speaking, anybody can see they have real and valid feelings, just like the rest of us.

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Vietch’s new show also has a lot of important themes hidden just behind its slapstick, primitive vibe. In an early episode, the youngest of the trio learns that the best way to live is by letting others live as well. In another, one of the older siblings reveals that appearances don’t mean everything.

Acceptance is another moral that comes up when Mama Rex and the entire family suddenly find themselves in a hidden utopia where the others don’t particularly like their specific species. For a show that only has eight episodes thus far, there are not only characters that relate to both children and adults but also a wide array of messages sprinkled throughout that inspire the young ones to expand their minds. Oh, and don’t forget a good dose of hilarious hijinks. The first season of Bad Dinosaurs is now available to stream on Netflix.