After years and years of being desensitised and not actually caring all that much about dinosaurs anymore, mainly due in part to the mind-numbingly corporate overexposure of them in everyday commercialism living (i.e. Films, books, TV, toys and a heap load of other merchandising content), rewatching this self-contained one-off special of BBC's Walking With... documentaries from 2000 - respectfully titled "The Ballad of Big Al" in honour of the individual - has honestly reminded me why I loved dinosaurs to begin with in the first place; it's because I always enjoyed seeing them when they're naturally portrayed simply as realistic animals, and not movie monsters (might sound weird to some, but it's just my own personal preference).
Despite my resentment of the blockbuster industry meeting consumer demands for manufacturing fictionalised bloodthirsty beasties, it's refreshing to go back and see an actual attempt at producing a dinosaur-themed project that's both accurate and has high-end production values. To put it bluntly, The Ballard of Big Al is topnotch quality in every single way imaginable. It's literally chocked full of enriching educational knowledge regarding natural history and has immensely entertaining scenes that'll leave a lasting impression on you long after your initial viewing (see, this is how "edutainment" SHOULD properly be done). Sure there're a few wonky moments of poor CGI and some of the facts haven't help up as well over the years, but those are just very minuscule nitpick that aren't even worth mentioning (they're petty, really). It's so cram-packed with idealistic displays of everyone's fan-favourite recognisable dinos which are actually appropriate to this specific geological/temporal range (Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus and Stegosaurus) that you could almost describe it as a "Best of the Jurassic Period" complication, if you wanted.
I love how the intro sequence for the beginning has the perfect setting to start things off, located within the exact same natural history museum where the real Big Al specimen is actually housed. It allows you to get a genuine up-close and personal feel for the very essence of this once magnificent creature in action, especially with his majestic presence being felt via witnessing a ghostly image wandering about the place (this is genius atmospheric stuff for putting you in the right mood). And here on out, we see this fine specimen's journey as he grows from a clumsy-weakling babe to an accident-prone teen, perfectly presenting a myriad of notable bumps-&-bruises (a supreme collection of the absolute best skeletal wounds preserved in the fossil record). The speculative scenarios that serve as a likely explanation for how Big Al may have gotten these types of hindering injuries are immensely fascinating, to say the least. This captivating aspect engrosses you to keep on learning more by fully sticking with the programme until it's eventual conclusion (sure gives this colossal fossil poetic justice, putting it eloquently).
Of course, the standout sequence of pure spectacle in the whole entire thing (in regard to its technical filmmaking details; cinematography, effects shots, editing, pacing, sound design and musical score) would without a doubt have to be the sauropod hunt that Al joins in with midway through (not a major spoiler!), as numerous other Allosaurs try and breakup the hurrying herd of beautiful long-necked behemoths (I tend to favour these portrayals the most). I simply adore how for once in a story they don't demonise, vilify or antagonise the meat-eating theropods but instead, feature one as a central character, which only makes me want to root for the big guy even more. But alas, things don't always go swimmingly as life can deal you a bad hand at the worst of times and Al's no exception to this rule because he somehow managed to stumble his unlucky way into more hazardous blunders than possibly any other carnivorous dinosaur ever has done, either before or after him (you can't help but feel bad for the poor predator). It's a fantastically executed underdog plot, making you enthused and intrigued to see this weedy runt of the litter make it through his current plight of horrendous predicaments and successfully mature to adulthood (as told to us through Branagh's gentle narration). And as for when our boy Big Al finally meets his untimely demise, I'm not going to ruin tour experience by saying anything about it anywhere in here (because that would be doing a disservice) but let's just say he succumbs to a rather fitting end as he at least goes out of this world with some shred of his dignity still left intact (almost reminiscent of a tragic hero's character arc).
I'm fully aware how I come off as extremely cynical and pessimistic "dino-hater" with that downer of an opening statement up above, but it's just the cold-hearted truth of my past bitterness. When something's insanely popular and forever being talked about nonstop by the mainstream populous, I think you'd admit and even have to agree that it can get pretty tiresome real fast (similar to "Frozen fatigue" when Disney saturated their IP's brand), especially when it's concerning the hot topic of spreading misinformation in today's world (such as the case with glorifying long-outdated stereotypes and purposefully choosing to ignore more-updated facts, which ARE actually interesting to learn about). Not to sound like a jaded drama queen but it's kind of a little disheartening when you actually think about it, seeing this many people worldwide actively blindsiding real-life science like that, all because they still hunger for the same old big scary killing-machines (that continuously eat people and constantly fight each other all the time) and only want to see the Hollywood conglomeration continue to make THAT sort of stuff. Maybe if I were a young oblivious kid again, then I'd still be suckered into it. But I'm a rational adult now, so its "fantasy" appeal has lost its hold over me since I got a more firm grip on reality.
Instead of showing their willingness to be open-minded and embrace, all they do is demonstrate their reluctance by being incredibly closed-minded on the matter (it's like they're stuck in a rut). I suppose that's the predominant reason for why I lost interest and turned away from the subject in my later life (more rebellious years, going against the popular opinion), deciding then to basically convert my "childhood dino obsession" by investing all that time-&-energy into researching "life after the dinosaurs" instead (just out of spite).
Despite my resentment of the blockbuster industry meeting consumer demands for manufacturing fictionalised bloodthirsty beasties, it's refreshing to go back and see an actual attempt at producing a dinosaur-themed project that's both accurate and has high-end production values. To put it bluntly, The Ballard of Big Al is topnotch quality in every single way imaginable. It's literally chocked full of enriching educational knowledge regarding natural history and has immensely entertaining scenes that'll leave a lasting impression on you long after your initial viewing (see, this is how "edutainment" SHOULD properly be done). Sure there're a few wonky moments of poor CGI and some of the facts haven't help up as well over the years, but those are just very minuscule nitpick that aren't even worth mentioning (they're petty, really). It's so cram-packed with idealistic displays of everyone's fan-favourite recognisable dinos which are actually appropriate to this specific geological/temporal range (Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus and Stegosaurus) that you could almost describe it as a "Best of the Jurassic Period" complication, if you wanted.
I love how the intro sequence for the beginning has the perfect setting to start things off, located within the exact same natural history museum where the real Big Al specimen is actually housed. It allows you to get a genuine up-close and personal feel for the very essence of this once magnificent creature in action, especially with his majestic presence being felt via witnessing a ghostly image wandering about the place (this is genius atmospheric stuff for putting you in the right mood). And here on out, we see this fine specimen's journey as he grows from a clumsy-weakling babe to an accident-prone teen, perfectly presenting a myriad of notable bumps-&-bruises (a supreme collection of the absolute best skeletal wounds preserved in the fossil record). The speculative scenarios that serve as a likely explanation for how Big Al may have gotten these types of hindering injuries are immensely fascinating, to say the least. This captivating aspect engrosses you to keep on learning more by fully sticking with the programme until it's eventual conclusion (sure gives this colossal fossil poetic justice, putting it eloquently).
Of course, the standout sequence of pure spectacle in the whole entire thing (in regard to its technical filmmaking details; cinematography, effects shots, editing, pacing, sound design and musical score) would without a doubt have to be the sauropod hunt that Al joins in with midway through (not a major spoiler!), as numerous other Allosaurs try and breakup the hurrying herd of beautiful long-necked behemoths (I tend to favour these portrayals the most). I simply adore how for once in a story they don't demonise, vilify or antagonise the meat-eating theropods but instead, feature one as a central character, which only makes me want to root for the big guy even more. But alas, things don't always go swimmingly as life can deal you a bad hand at the worst of times and Al's no exception to this rule because he somehow managed to stumble his unlucky way into more hazardous blunders than possibly any other carnivorous dinosaur ever has done, either before or after him (you can't help but feel bad for the poor predator). It's a fantastically executed underdog plot, making you enthused and intrigued to see this weedy runt of the litter make it through his current plight of horrendous predicaments and successfully mature to adulthood (as told to us through Branagh's gentle narration). And as for when our boy Big Al finally meets his untimely demise, I'm not going to ruin tour experience by saying anything about it anywhere in here (because that would be doing a disservice) but let's just say he succumbs to a rather fitting end as he at least goes out of this world with some shred of his dignity still left intact (almost reminiscent of a tragic hero's character arc).
I'm fully aware how I come off as extremely cynical and pessimistic "dino-hater" with that downer of an opening statement up above, but it's just the cold-hearted truth of my past bitterness. When something's insanely popular and forever being talked about nonstop by the mainstream populous, I think you'd admit and even have to agree that it can get pretty tiresome real fast (similar to "Frozen fatigue" when Disney saturated their IP's brand), especially when it's concerning the hot topic of spreading misinformation in today's world (such as the case with glorifying long-outdated stereotypes and purposefully choosing to ignore more-updated facts, which ARE actually interesting to learn about). Not to sound like a jaded drama queen but it's kind of a little disheartening when you actually think about it, seeing this many people worldwide actively blindsiding real-life science like that, all because they still hunger for the same old big scary killing-machines (that continuously eat people and constantly fight each other all the time) and only want to see the Hollywood conglomeration continue to make THAT sort of stuff. Maybe if I were a young oblivious kid again, then I'd still be suckered into it. But I'm a rational adult now, so its "fantasy" appeal has lost its hold over me since I got a more firm grip on reality.
Instead of showing their willingness to be open-minded and embrace, all they do is demonstrate their reluctance by being incredibly closed-minded on the matter (it's like they're stuck in a rut). I suppose that's the predominant reason for why I lost interest and turned away from the subject in my later life (more rebellious years, going against the popular opinion), deciding then to basically convert my "childhood dino obsession" by investing all that time-&-energy into researching "life after the dinosaurs" instead (just out of spite).