The clever and fitting Title Card is possibly my favourite thing about this movie.

The strength of Matt Drummond's first film, DINOSAUR ISLAND, was originality. It didn't hold back in its vast imagination, allowing a climactic clever plot development, all which flew above seeming unbelievability. It was bold and clear while perhaps being the most mysterious world in a film, dreamlike in fact.

The weakness of MY PET DINOSAUR is plagiarising ET. The film's lowest point, the kid saying, "I'm keeping him," is a lack of that same imagination, and was the original film's high point. ET phoney home. If at least he said, "I'm not keeping him." It's a dinosaur! That could have been dumbly clever and allowed a totally different dynamic, and humour - stolen but paid for - especially if the only lonely dino sadly wanted to keep coming home to his little "mummy" who didn't want him. The dino needed more personality like that. The connection between the excellently animated main character and his only friend seemed missing, causing the kid to painfully force emotion, too many times. Well he tried hard.

The writer/director/producer/cinematographer/art director/visual effecter/lead animator tries hard too, to fill the film in all ways, firstly characters and happenings. Another weakness is that because this film is set in reality, the way the dinosaur is created, and other creatures, though intriguing, makes his last film's reality seem rock solid, and it jars. The best part is the lead character's sudden growth spurts - not the kid the dino - half original because in the film it comes from, 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957),the monster grew gradually.

The humour at home alone with the new pet is perfect, which is reflected by a later scene in bigger proportions if you make the connection, which I didn't. The UFO part mirrors the less-than-real military presence whose purpose, like creature creation, is never explained. It didn't have to be though, did it. Because it's inevitably ALIEN again, by fault, and again makes no sense. There's barely a carnivore in sight. Instead of that so-overdone-it's-black plot point, surely something thoughtful would have been better, such as scientists wanting to learn what magical power of creation they have unexpectedly unleashed, providing a sense of wonder and breakthrough. Military is totally the wrong department, so again there is a gap. Imagine a film without a bad guy. Unthinkable. His first film.

Another difference of the two films is this has fake American accents, filmed in Australia as some vehicles' steering betrays. It loses honesty points, and charm which it has plenty of. ET go home.

Currently on a visit to NSW, and staying with family in Lithgow, they told us that much of this movie had been shot in their street. So on our first evening here they put it on. After the drive up from Sydney, and then a few drinks over dinner, I soon began to doze off. I guess I ended up watching about half of it, but it really failed to interest me at all. I don't mind that it was a low budget offering, but what I could grasp of the plot was that it was pointless and rambling. The kids tried hard, so I will give it 3/10, but it is best avoided, or otherwise used as a cure for insomnia.

There are lots of low rated Aussie films, this is definitely not one of them. I thought it was deliberately bashed, but after watching it, I realised it's not any good and deserved those remarks. With such production, they should have come up with a nice storyline. Visually, it was okay-okay kind, but the story, the filmmakers are lucky that no one sued them for copying it from other flicks.

Kids with bikes, a science experiment gone wrong, annoying brother and mom's new boyfriend, A new girl in the town, it was everything you have already seen. All the above, that army general was insanely bad. Why did not they get a decent actor for that important role! Performances of those soldiers were even worse, very bad than a television film made for little kids.

A young kid discovers a baby dinosaur in his room, that might have come from the chemical reaction from the materials he and his gang got while exploring the woods nearby. He finds hard to hide instantly growing this unknown species, especially from the army who are sweeping the town. Where the story heads and ends are the rest of the film with some adventures.

The kids were good, but not the rest. As I said the story was the worst thing happened to it. The film failed to give a proper answer to all the puzzle at the end. It's worth a watch only if you haven't seen many films in your life. But that's impossible among the majority. Yet I believe the children might enjoy it. However, I suggest films like 'ET', 'Earth to Echo', Goonies' many more over this one anytime.

3/10