No other prehistoric creatures have captured the human imagination quite so much as dinosaurs. Perhaps it is their ferocity, or their great size, or simply the fact that they are not around anymore and inhabited such a different almost mystical world.
It may also be that exciting new dinosaur discoveries are being made all the time, so our idea of what they looked like and how they lived is constantly changing and being updated. Whatever it is, we are hooked.
For many of us, myself included, our first immersive introduction to the land of the dinosaurs was the BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs, a show that sparked dino obsession in many a British child. Although one of the best, this is not the only noteworthy dinosaur documentary out there. Far from it! Read on to learn about ten of our favourite dinosaur documentaries, from the solemn to the slightly silly.
Best dinosaur documentaries to watch and stream
Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)
This truly iconic series is probably the one that springs to mind when you think of dinosaur documentaries, and for good reason! Using what was at the time state-of-the-art CGI technology the BBC was able to bring dinosaurs to life in a very exciting and believable way.
Its combination of computer-generated imagery, animatronics, and live-action location footage was actually inspired by the film Jurassic Park, released 7 years earlier. Over 20 years later, it still holds up pretty well too, despite new discoveries changing what we thought we knew at the time. If it were made today the dinosaurs would probably have many more feathers, the velociraptors in particular!
Walking with Dinosaurs: the ballad of Big Al (2000)
In the year 2000, the BBC released a special episode of their popular series, focusing on just one individual. “Big Al” is an Allosaurus specimen that was discovered 95% complete in 1991 in Wyoming.
The documentary, set in the Late Jurassic (~145 million years ago) follows Al’s plausible life story from cradle to grave, drawing on evidence obtained from the fossil. Viewers watch Al hatch, learn to hunt, become a top predator, and eventually perish. It is a great, emotive, spin on the standard dino-doc format, using one life story as a snapshot of a time and place, and a way to learn about a fascinating species.
Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough (2022)
Zooming forward all the way to 2022, this recently released one-off feature-length documentary film tells the story of the end of the dinosaurs in exhilarating detail. Presented by the one and only David Attenborough it recounts the final day of non-avian dinosaurs, focusing in particular on the immediate aftermath of the fateful meteor strike on the Yucatan Peninsula- the initial calm before the storm, the first shockwaves, and then the ensuing devastating climatic changes that brought about a swift end to all but the hardiest animals. It is brought to life with breathtaking video effects, transporting you right back to that doomed day over 66 million years ago.
Last day of the dinosaurs (2010)
Another, older documentary, focusing on the day the meteor struck is the Discovery Channel’s Last Day of the Dinosaurs. Like the Attenborough documentary, it presents a possible blow-by-blow account of events immediately following the impact - extreme rising temperatures, earthquakes, and clouds of scorching dust. It also recounts what is thought to have happened in the following days and months and years, showing us what managed to survive against the odds, as well as what was lost.
Learn more about the extinction of the dinosaurs
Prehistoric planet (2022)
More up-to-date and less bleak is 2022’s Prehistoric planet, a 5- parts series by the BBC, narrated, like many excellent documentaries by David Attenborough. This series covers the late Cretaceous period, a time just before the extinction event, using state-of-the-art CGI to show dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals living around the globe.
Similar to the celebrated Planet Earth and Blue Planet series’ each episode focuses on a different ecosystem, from deserts to ice worlds to forests. Species covered include household names like Tyrannosaurus and velociraptors, as well as less well-known dinosaurs such as the fabulously named Dreadnoughtus and Qianzhousaurus. With a rare 100% approval rating on the review site Rotten Tomatoes, it's surely worth a watch!
Dinosaur 13 (2014)
A different take on the dinosaur documentary is Dinosaur 13, which focuses less on the animals themselves and more on the thrilling and sometimes highly politicised world of dinosaur fossil discovery.
It tells the shocking true story of a team who in 1990 unearthed the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever discovered subsequently found themselves embroiled in a custody battle with the FBI. The problem? The T-Rex was found on privately owned, federal land. Told like a thriller this doc really lifts the lid on how fraught and messy scientific discovery can become.
T-Rex Autopsy (2015)
Another twist on the format is the morbidly fascinating T-Rex Autopsy. This National Geographic doc sees a team of four palaeontologists perform a dissection on a gruesomely realistic silicon model of a Tyrannosaurus. This is probably the only dino documentary where you get to see all the internal organs of the animal, as well as the outside! Interestingly the model was based upon the specimen fought over in Dinosaur 13, nicknamed Sue, after the person who discovered her.
Planet dinosaur (2011)
Narrated by the venerable John Hurt, this six-part series by the BBC was the broadcaster's first major dinosaur series since Walking with Dinosaurs. It features over 50 different prehistoric species, including Spinosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Giganotosaurus. Unlike Walking with Dinosaurs which used some real-life location filming and animatronics, this series created all the animals and their environments using just CGI. This is a great series for fans of Walking With however, as much of it focuses on the discoveries made since the 1999 series with frequent references to new fossil evidence.
Dinosaur! (1985)
If you are a fan of 80s graphics and a retro feel then this is the dino doc for you! Although the research might not be quite up to date and it's not particularly scientific, referring to all hadrosaurids as “duck-billed” dinosaurs for example, it's certainly a fun watch.
Especially if, like me, you are a fan of outdated special effects. They were considered advanced at the time, however, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects! The 48-minute film includes recreations of some iconic dinosaur species, as well as interviews with some of the most famous palaeontologists at the time. It also features a discussion of the possibility of there being living cryptid reptiles such as the Loch Ness Monster! Great 80s fun that should perhaps be taken with a very large pinch of salt. The entire documentary can be found on Youtube.
Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur (2016)
What better a way to round off our list than with another Attenborough documentary? Even though he was 90 years of age at the time, he was still to be found on location, getting down and dirty at a dinosaur dig.
The location in question was Patagonia, where a new species of enormous long-necked dinosaur, a titanosaur had been recently uncovered (Patagotitan mayorum). At the time it was thought to be a contender for the largest known titanosaur and largest land animal overall, however more recent size estimates have been more conservative and have suggested it was a similar size to a couple of other dinosaur genera.
At a length of about 31 metres it was still a giant however! The documentary tells the story of the discovery, how the bones were excavated, prepared, and cleaned, and concludes with an impressive reconstructed model of the gigantic beast.
