65 million years ago in the nighttime forests of Alberta, Canada a Tyrannosaurus Rex is feasting on the carcass of an Edmontosaurus.
The next day a herd of Monoclonius are grazing nearby. One of the Monoclonius wanders away from the herd. As it is grazing on a field of flowers the Tyrannosaurus is on the hunt. Now far afield from the herd the Tyrannosaurus sees the lonely Monoclonius and begins stalking the new prey.
“Prehistoric Beast” was released in 1984. It is an American stop-motion animated short created by visual effects master Phil Tippett. At only ten minutes long, the experimental film was only released to certain animation festivals. Robert Guenette and Steven Paul Mark convinced Tippett to expand the short and create a full documentary feature. The expanded full-length feature was hosted by Christopher Reeve and was called “Dinosaur!”.
Phil Tippett would go on to work on Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film “Jurassic Park”.
The film may be short, but it is fun and really interesting. Not to mention a top notch stop motion film. In 2011 Tippett Studio published a digital restoration of the film on its official YouTube channel.