Dinotopia

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Dinotopia: Land Apart From Time by James Gurney

Dinotopia is a fictional utopian place created by author and illustrator James Gurney. It is the setting for the book series with which it shares a name. Dinotopia is an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and sentient dinosaurs who have learned to coexist peacefully as a single symbiotic society.

Since its original publication, over twenty Dinotopia books (including three more by Gurney himself) have been published by various authors to expand the series. Several video games, a mini series, and a TV series have also been released.

A fourth Dinotopia book by James Gurney, Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, was published in October, 2007.[1]

Contents

[edit] The Name

The name "Dinotopia" is a portmanteau of "dinosaur" and "utopia". Ironically, Dinotopia means (in Greek) "terrible place", "dinosaur" meaning "terrible lizard" (dino-saur) and "utopia" meaning "good place" (eu-topia) or "no place" (ou-topia) The disillusioned character Lee Crabb mentions this discrepancy, claiming that humans on the island are slaves to dinosaurs.

[edit] The Island

Upon the hidden island of Dinotopia humans and dinosaurs live and work together in harmony with one another and with the Earth itself (save for the few predators who roam the jungle interior of the island). It is a place of beauty and wonder lost to the rest of the world. The island itself is surrounded by a storm system and dangerous reefs that prevent safe travel to or from the island.

Aside from a highly diverse ecosystem ranging from deserts to mountains to swamps, Dinotopia also has an extensive system of natural and man-made caves.

The dinosaurs, according to their own legends, have inhabited the island for millions of years, having sought shelter there during the climate changes that caused the extinction of dinosaurs elsewhere on the planet.

The human population, on the other hand, consists of shipwrecked travelers called Dolphinbacks (who are often rescued and brought to shore by dolphins) and the descendants of such arrivals.

Dinosaurs are not the only prehistoric creatures on the island. In the higher regions of the Forbidden Mountains (a Himalaya-like mountain chain), woolly mammoths, giant ground sloths, chalicotheres, and other prehistoric mammals can be found. At least one Lystrosaurus and one Edaphosaurus can be found in the city of Pooktook. Pterosaurs are also common, especially the Quetzalcoatlus skybax, which serve as steeds for the skybax riders.

Both halves of the society share responsibility equally and live under a common set of laws known as the Code of Dinotopia. The society is highly communal, lacking a monetary system or even a concrete concept of ownership. Individuals are educated from youth to be compassionate, co-operative, and generally conscious of others' needs. For example, food on the island is provided at no cost, but citizens take only what they need and leave the rest for others.

[edit] Species featured

[edit] Series Overview

Dinotopia began as an illustrated children's book called Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time. It was a huge cross-over success (meaning it appealed to both children and adult readers) which led James Gurney to write and illustrate three more books called Dinotopia: The World Beneath, Dinotopia: First Flight and most recently Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara. They all deal with the adventures of Arthur and Will Denison to one degree or another. All are illustrated and authored directly by James Gurney. These are considered the main books of the series and establish the fictional world in which the others are set.

A children's flip-up version of Dinotopia was also issued.

The Dinotopia Digest series consists of sixteen young adult novels penned by several different authors. These books feature other characters who are not specifically involved with the events of the main books.

Two full-length adult fantasy novels were also issued with Gurney's authority, written by Alan Dean Foster: Dinotopia Lost and Hand of Dinotopia.

Several video games, as well as a miniseries, a TV series, and a children’s movie, were also produced. These are also set in the Dinotopia universe, but do not tie in directly with the main series.

[edit] Main Books

The plot of the main Dinotopia books concerns Arthur Denison and his son, Will, and the various people they meet in their travels in Dinotopia. The book is written as if it were Arthur's journal, with Gurney going so far as to explain in the introduction how he happened to come across the old, waterlogged volume.

In Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time, the Denisons are shipwrecked near Dinotopia and, after making it ashore, are found by the people of the Hatchery. The Hatchery is a place where dinosaurs are born, tended by both dinosaurs and humans. The Denisons then set out to explore the island, hoping to find a means of returning to their old lives. Arthur Denison mentions Tyrannosaurus rex after setting forth on the island; however Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History, named Tyrannosaurus rex in 1905 and the events in Dinotopia are supposed to take place in the early 1860s.

Arthur and Will undergo a broad journey, circling the island, as they endeavor to learn the customs and culture of their new neighbors. Arthur in particular develops an interest in the scientific accomplishments of the natives, which far exceed that of any human culture. Among the subjects he studies are the flora of the island, the partnership of its inhabitants, and the existence of a place known as the World Beneath. This World Beneath is an explanation for Dinotopians surviving the saurian extinction; according to the story, most of the Earth's dinosaurs were destroyed, whilst a few hid in vast underground caverns. These few became the original Dinotopians. No one has entered the World Beneath for centuries, but Arthur intends to do so.

His son Will, on the other hand, has chosen to train as a messenger of the sky; a Skybax rider, who lives in symbiosis with his mount, the great Quetzalcoatlus (nicknamed Skybax), a species of pterosaur. Training alongside Will is a girl called Sylvia, with whom Will falls in love. The natives refer to this and any other profound bond as Cumspiritik, which means literally "together-breathing." (Romana Denison of the later Dinotopia film series is said to be Will's daughter.)

Arthur, for his part, travels into the World Beneath, at the same time that Will and Sylvia are learning to fly with the Skybax. When he returns, he is fascinated by the ancient relics found there and convinced that they may be key in enabling him to leave or explore the island.

Meanwhile, Will and Sylvia learn and master Skybax flight. When at last they have been accepted as Riders, they travel to meet Arthur and his Protoceratops guide Bix, but are distracted on the way by a thunderstorm. Luckily, they survive and arrive on time to meet their kin. Will is at the time too young to marry Sylvia, but it is promised that they will. Arthur recognizes that his son has grown up, and they each accept the changes that are results of their new lives on the island.

[edit] Other Books In The Series

From 1995, James Gurney worked with a number of other authors on a series of short novels for children using the Dinotopia characters and themes, published by Random House:

  1. Windchaser by Scott Ciencin
  2. River Quest by John Vornholt
  3. Hatchling by Midori Snyder
  4. Lost City by Scott Ciencin
  5. Sabertooth Mountain by John Vornholt
  6. Thunder Falls by Scott Ciencin
  7. Firestorm by Gene De Weese
  8. The Maze by Peter David
  9. The Rescue Party by Mark A. Garland
  10. Skydance by Scott Ciencin
  11. Chomper by Don Glut
  12. Return to Lost City by Scott Ciencin
  13. Survive! by Brad Strickland
  14. The Explorers by Scott Ciencin
  15. Dolphin Watch by John Vornholt
  16. Oasis by Cathy Hapka

Two full-length adult fantasy novels were also issued with Gurney's authority, written by Alan Dean Foster: Dinotopia Lost (1996) and Hand of Dinotopia (1999).

As of 2007, a fourth installment in James Gurney's main series, titled Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, has been published. Thirty-one paintings from the new book are currently on display at the Los Angeles Public Library.

[edit] Other media (TV Miniseries and Series)

A 2002 six-hour TV mini-series (three two hour episodes) produced by Hallmark Entertainment was also based on James Gurney's work, and was advertised as the first "mega-series". The show featured new characters such as Zippo (changed to Zippeau for the TV series to avoid legal issues with the lighter maker Zippo), a Stenonychosaurus who is said to have worked with Sylvia; and a new plot device, the sunstones, which are described as a source of power and protection originating in the World Beneath. This in turn became the pilot for a short-lived series, wherein the failure both of the sunstones and of Dinotopian officials to adhere to the underlying meanings of their culture's philosophy caused several discontented people – a leader-in-training, Zippeau himself, and two twentieth-century Dolphinbacks, Carl and David – to embark on a quest that led ultimately to the World Beneath. The characters in the miniseries refer several times to figures from the various books, including Will Denison, Gideon Altaire, and Lee Crabb, whose son Cyrus features as the antagonist. The mini-series won an Emmy for its special effects.

In the TV series, there are a group of people known as Outsiders (led by LeSage (Lisa Zane) who is an old friend of Rosemary Waldo) that live outside the laws of Dinotopia. They are one of the dangers of Dinotopia outside of the featured carnivorous dinosaurs (including Pteranodon, T. rex, and crocodile-like Mosasaurus). Though thirteen episodes were produced, only five were aired on ABC. The entire thirteen were aired the following year in Europe. Sci-fi veteran David Winning directed two episodes of the series, location shooting for three months in Budapest, Hungary.

Although the TV series was produced owing to the success of the mini-series, none of the cast of the mini-series reprised their roles in the TV series.

There is also a 2005 traditionally-animated movie called Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone. This film deviated from the original books in more than the miniseries by featuring Ogthar, a mythical ruler of the World Beneath (mentioned in the miniseries) as a human warlord rather than a benevolent, if commanding emperor; by creating an "evil" counterpart to the sunstones; and by having Ogthar command dinosaurs (rather than humans) as his cohorts.

A number of Dinotopia computer games have been produced, including Dinotopia: Living The Adventure (PC), Dinotopia: The Timestone Pirates (Game Boy Advance), Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey (Xbox & GameCube), andDinotopia Game Land Activity Center (PC).

[edit] References

[edit] Text

1. Gurney, James. (1992). Dinotopia: A Land Apart Form Time. Turner Publishing. Hardcover.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dinotopia.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.

[edit] External links

es:Dinotopia fr:Dinotopia it:Dinotopia hu:Dinotópia

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