Movie Review: My Pet Dinosaur (2017)

What appears to be a U.F.O. leaves behind some glowing goo which is found by a group of kids, one of which possesses a prize-winning dick of an older brother who just has to fuck around with the sticky shit which results in the creation of a dinosaur like creature. Before you can say “Stranger Things Season Two”, our pint-sized heroes decide to keep the thing as a pet; even as the military moves in to contain the seemingly otherworldly situation…which pits our heroes against some very dangerous dudes!
You can definitely see where the filmmmkers were comin’ from with My Pet Dinosaur, but to paraphrase Maxwell Smart, they missed it by that much. This film is, if nothing else, a fascinating study in dichotomy…to expand; the film looks extremely polished visually (deserving special mention is the opening sequence; a fantastically well done Spielberg pastiche involving U.F.O.s and government agents), but some of the acting is off…especially in regards to some of the child actors utilized…and note I said “off”, and not bad. This was filmed in Australia, and the actors are trying to hide their accents…to varying degrees of success, so that always results in an oddness. Also this is a kids film, but some of the language used would have most parents clickin’ that mute button faster than shit through a goose!
As with any boy and his dog style story, “charm” should be the order of the day, and in that regard My Pet Dinosaur is a winner. The beast Magnus is suitably cute in his earliest incarnation, and the camaraderie of our protagonists is believable…and there’s a great deal of schmaltz on hand as well, which always seems to come part and parcel with tales like this.
And while we are on a positive kick, I have to say the CG effects utilized to bring the creatures and U.F.O.’s in the film to life are incredibly well done, especially for a non-Hollywood picture (i.e. one with truckloads of money to toss about).
As far as homages to ’80’s children’s cinema goes; My Pet Dinosaur is definitely a success. It has heart, solid effects, and a likable cast…just be ready to except a few flaws in the gem.