Sea Monsters : A Prehistoric Journey

IMAX Movie at Denver Museum of Nature and Science

September 18, 2009 through February 18, 2010

Movie run time, 45 minutes.

Sea monsters. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the words "sea monsters"? Legends of the Loch Ness Monster? Giant evil fish that swallow ships whole? This is not just another movie about those kinds of monsters. This movie is a journey back to the time of the dinosaurs. Although, these monsters are not dinosaurs, they are prehistoric marine reptiles.

The IMAX movie "Sea Monsters - A Prehistoric Adventure", produced by National Geographic, follows the life of a female dolichorhynchops (nicknamed "dollies" by paleontologists) from her birth to her death in a time when much of the central United States were under water. The "dollie" looks sort of like a combination of a dolphin, a penguin, and an alligator, all rolled into one, just to give you present day animals to relate to. Many other treacherous marine reptiles also roamed the ocean at this time, which is called the Cretaceous period. Imagine a dangerous world filled with sea creatures, some even bigger than a semi-truck! From sharks to the Tylosaurus (the T-Rex of the sea), this movie has great excitement as the dollies' journey continues.

The movie was inspired by the finding of the fossil of the featured female dollie, that was found in Kansas. The fossil "told a story" of the dollie's life that the filmmakers interpreted to the big screen. Fossils of many of the marine reptiles shown in the movie are on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's Prehistoric Journey exhibit. A fossil of a small dollie is currently located at the entrance to the IMAX theatre at the museum. It is really cool!

The movie is not just narration and photos. It is a computer animated film that also features live action reenactments of fossil findings. Every movement of the marine reptiles had an enormous amount of research put into it. All of the sea reptiles' movements seemed so realistic, I had no doubt they existed. They also used real landscape and under water footage as backdrops for the computer animation.

In a way, it reminded me of "Finding Nemo". Almost like a prehistoric "Finding Nemo".

I recommend seeing this movie. It is educational, informative, and entertaining. A good age for viewers is 8 years old and older, as some of it is narrated. By the way, beware of the Texas road workers!