Prehistoric Planet review: Jon Favreau, David Attenborough’s lavish Apple series is a perfect primer for Jurassic World Dominion

But then again, using animatronics on a project as ambitious as this would also be impossible. And so, we must settle for this trip down the uncanny valley, with Attenborough’s impish voiceover to guide us.

Going strong at nearly 100 years old, Attenborough’s enthusiasm is infectious, especially in the scenes that are, for lack of a better description, paced like a Brontosaurus on a hot summer day. This is probably a stupid suggestion, but it wouldn’t have hurt to have the names of the creatures pop up on screen every time a new kind of dinosaur is introduced. Not that knowing the names really matters, but at least you wouldn’t be distracted because of this every five minutes. Attenborough diligently introduces every new kind of dinosaur whenever one shows up on screen, but folks who aren’t immediately familiar with the categories and sub-categories of these beasts could find themselves slightly confused.

Prehistoric Planet follows the same basic structure as Attenborough’s earlier BBC documentaries. The five episodes are divided on the basis of location and climate—Coasts, Deserts, Freshwater, Ice Worlds and Forests. It is in the first episode that we catch a glimpse of the majestic Tyrannosaurus, but not in a situation you’d expect it to be in. The apex predator isn’t shown to be hunting prey or roaring menacingly, but swimming away from imminent danger. Its babies, in one of the show’s earliest examples of up-to-date science, are shown to have delicate feathers.

Later, the famed Velociraptor shows up fully feathered, perhaps for the first time this prominently. The details, especially in the close-ups, are quite admirable. As is an early shot of the lizard-like Mosasaurus shedding its skin by allowing aquatic life to feast on it. There is also a comedic scene later on, when we’re introduced to the truly bizarre Deinocheirus, a cross between a woolly mammoth and a platypus; larger than a T-rex, its coat infested by bloodsucking flies. Desperately itchy, it spots a dead tree nearby and rushes towards it, scratching its back against the dry wood. The music is playful. “That’s much better,” Attenborough sighs.

It is in this sequence, as well as a couple of others, that the camera makes its presence felt. It’s grounded in reality, either perched at a vantage point or made to seem like it’s attached to a helicopter. The camera is never positioned at an angle that would make you wonder how somebody put it there. It’s true that not all shots in Prehistoric Planet are computer-generated, but in the ones that are, it helps that they applied a grounded visual approach. This combats the negative effects of the uncanny valley that we were speaking about earlier.

Anthropologically curious, moderately engaging but undeniably grand, Prehistoric Planet could be an effective educational tool for younger children. For the rest of us, it’s an ideal lead-in to Jurassic World Dominion.

Prehistoric Planet
Directors – Andrew Valdez, Adam R Jones
Cast – David Attenborough
Rating – 3/5