Baby - Il segreto della leggenda perduta

Let me confess at the start that: 1) I'm definitely fond of dinosaurs and paleontology in general. This interest LONG predates "Jurassic Park". If a paleontology major had been available in my college, in the early 60's, that would have been my choice. 2) I've also ALWAYS been a big fan of animation and related effects, such as the dinosaurs. This movie had by far the best dinosaur effects of any prior to "Jurassic Park", even better than in "The Valley of Gwangi". The baby brontosaurus (actually apatosaurus) was perhaps a little too cutsey with its blinking eyes but otherwise the film captured details of movement, including musculature and skin, very well. This was at its best when the mother dinosaur was chasing the bad guys in their vehicle. Needless to say I was very sympathetic with the efforts of the paleontologists to rescue the dinosaurs. I also enjoyed some of the people "antics" such as the natives spitting out the granola bars (hippy food) from the sides of their mouths while pretending to like it. An enjoyable movie if a little saccharine.

This is an almost totally entertaining flick which never flags; not in its tongue in cheek dialogue; not in its plot sequences; not in its amazing technical achievements (for its time) in getting the dinosaurs up and running. Sure the acting is pretty much black and white with Patrick McGoohan dispensing villany on the order of Gengis Khan on a bad day and William Katt and Sean Young surmounting all obstacles with a brio and dispatch that would have Arnold panting. There is also Baby herself, consistently endearing though up to, never over, the line. But one doesn't expect a movie about dinosaurs to take time out for character development. What there is of it is in the overly graphic scene of the female dinosaur mourning her slaughtered mate, a transcendent sequence that almost rips the fabric of the piece apart. That it manages to gets back to fantasy after this is a tribute to director B.WE.L. Norton and the frenetic pace he generates throughout. If you never had a dinosaur as a pet, you may be on the lookout for one after seeing Baby.

As a kid, dinosaurs were one of my favorite things and they still are. Back then, I used to watch this 1985 film all the time with the folks called "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend". In retrospect, I'm surprised I was even able to watch it given that, despite being PG, there is a lot of mature content. Then again, the public's view of PG was different compared to today and the rating PG-13 was just invented a year before. Still, I have a soft spot for this film and decided to revisit it.

Plot: Married couple Susan and George Loomis (Sean Young and William Katt) are in the African jungle on the trail of an old legend locals call Mokele-Mbembe, "he whose body stops the flow of rivers" (which is an actual cryptid). It is here that they discover a mated pair of Brontosaurus and their infant. The Baby befriends the humans, who must now protect her and save her family from the greedy Dr. Eric Kiviat (Patrick McGoohan), backed by his hired army, who is out to catch them all.

Los Angeles Daily News referred to the movie as "A cross between RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and E.T." and that is an apt description. The tone and presentation are very much in line with those films with a mix of light-hearted moments and the action and edge of a classic adventure. Susan and George work fine as a couple with decent acting behind it, though the latter's sports career and initial conflict involving it are quickly forgotten about once the pair begin their journey. Dr. Kiviat is a good if standard villain; he'll do anything to catch the animals alive and will resort to every dirty tactic needed to do so. While many greed-driven baddies tend to be over-the-top, he's at least played straight. Baby is an endearing little troublemaker. Her cute interactions with the couple make me smile, and one scene involving her almost makes me cry. The dinosaurs are brought to life using a mix of men-in-suits and animatronics and, while not always convincing, they're look and move pretty good for the time with the adult Brontosaurs feeling like huge lumbering beasts and the African setting adds to their mystery and allure. There are decent action set pieces ranging from chases, fights, guns and explosions, and one of the dinosaurs smashing its way through a village. Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture) did the music, which sets the right mood for an adventure and setting like this.

I should note that the film does feature nudity. Many the African tribal woman are topless, which definitely conflicts with the PG rating. Again, the meaning of PG was quite different back then and to the film's credit these woman aren't sexualized in any way. From what I know, there are tribes in the real world that are like that. I've also heard a few people here complain about the blood, but while several people do die there's barely any bloodshed shown.

Honestly, "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend" is an underrated flick. Sure, its content is a bit at odds with its rating and it's not on the same level as "Jurassic Park" or some of the older films like "One Million Years B.C.", but it has its merits. Watching it today, it still holds up fairly in both narrative and presentation. Plus, I find Mokele-Mbembe to be one of the most interesting cryptids out there and would like to see more movies with it.

This early Touchstone release from 1985 would probably serve as minor script source material for the later unbelievably bad film "Jurassic Park." This mostly obscure film is only mildly better. Still, it's not something that I would recommend and even though Touchstone is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Pictures, don't think that this is a perfectly appropriate family oriented film (despite its childish plot) as there are some scenes of violence and animal peril.

Underrated Kids' Classic Everyone here on IMDb seems to be beating this film to death just because it has poor acting, special effects, and a cheesy story! SO WHAT? It's a kids' movie!!! I saw this film when it first came out and loved it. You have to be a total SOB to let below average film making get in the way of enjoying this flick about lovable young scientists trying to save a cute baby dinosaur from poachers.

Don't take this film too seriously. Just relax and enjoy this movie with your kids! The plot: Newly wed scientists find dinosaurs alive and well in Africa. But of course there's an evil scientist Patrick McGoohan (Number 6) whom want to kill the dinosaurs and everyone who knows about them.

The scientific couple must save a baby dinosaur and join with a primitive African tribe to rescue the mother dino from captivity.

Like I said, don't take this film too seriously and keep in mind it's geared towards kids.