Mesozoic Mind - MesozoicMind.com

Dinosaurs! A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time

Enter a vivid prehistoric world, entirely formed from brightly colored clay, for an introduction to dinosaurs, the "terrible lizards" who roamed the earth 200 million years ago. Your guide is a precocious fifth-grader who earns the respect of his unruly classmates with his knowledge of prehistory. His report comes to life as he introduces us to some of the most awesome creatures to ever walk on planet earth, culminating in a terrifying encounter with Tyrannosaurus Rex, the king of dinosaurs.

Will Vinton Productions, Pyramid Films. · Originally Released in 1980 (Estimate). · Originally Released Theatrically. · Color · U.S.A.

Credits

Starring

Fred Savage as Philip

Characters

Tyrannosaurus Rex, Other Dinosaurs, Fifth-Grader, Classmates.

Vocal Talent

Michelle Mariana.

Produced By

Will Vinton, Dick Baka, Jim Bousa.

Executive Producer

David Adams.

Animated By

Joan C. Gratz, Barry Bruce, Don Merkt, Matt Wuerker.

Written By

Susan Shadburne, Virginia Theimer Clapper.

Edited By

Suzanne Rosen.

Music By

Charmer. Lyrics by Virginia Theimer Clapper.

Production Design

Barry Bruce, Ray Cioni, Don Merkt.

Production Manager

Rick Cooper.

Story Consultant

Ron Roberts.

Cinematography

Rich Ball, Charles Peich.

Sound Editor

Michelle Landes.

Special Effects

Cioni Artworks.

Story Consultant

Donald Roberts.

Awards

Gold Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival, 1980. Gold Award, Houston International Film Festival, 1980.

Running Time

13 minutes.

This site is based on the song "Mesozoic Mind" by a band called Charmer, that was featured on a video called "Dinosaurs!" that had a very young Fred Savage starring as Philip, fretting over what to do his science project on. He's got the radio on while he's trying to come up with an idea, when suddenly he hears this song, and it gives him the idea to do his report on Dinosaurs. The video was released in 1987, and includes the clay animation short "Dinosaur" from Will Vinton Studios, which is still available on VHS, and still runs at the Smithsonian.

Things you'll find on this site include: Images from the song's music video, and from the rest of the video too. The song's lyrics, which, if you are here, you probably know most of them. An mp3 of the song, the music video, and a lyric video, all on the Multimedia page. Chords, tabs, and arrangements for all four instruments, if you want to play it yourself. Covers and remixes from bands who love the song as much as we do. Letters from fans all over the world who found this site after the song popped back into their head, including ones from the person who wrote the song and from Charmer's lead guitarist. The story of the song, from start to finish. Pages about dinosaurs in movies, TV, and songs, and other 80's stuff. A store featuring items that are related to this video, plus Mesozoic Mind shirts.

And if this song suddenly popped into your head after all these years, too, I'd love to hear about it. Share your story!