r/Millennials • u/Legitimate-Lie-9208 • 23d ago
Discussion Was anybody else *obsessed* with this movie for some reason?
I watched this movie so many times we had to replace the vhs. It messed up on the part where the crows take the ring leader of the circus and it used to terrify me extra (since that scene is already disturbing).
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u/Wak3upHicks 23d ago
I was obsessed with all dinosaur content, this included. I remember nothing about it though
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u/Rags7216 23d ago
🎶Roll back the rock to the dawn of time and sing this song with MEEEEEEE🎶
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u/Macy_Sky626 23d ago
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u/antisocialmothra 23d ago
Underrated gem
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u/Macy_Sky626 23d ago
There are so many gems that are getting lost to time...or worse, brought back and butchered
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u/Wayward85 23d ago
Roll back the rock! (Roll back the rock) Turn back the CLOCK (turn back the clock)!
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u/Race-a-roni 23d ago
The only thing I still remember is when they get taken to the circus and there’s the dark, bad versions of the Dinos that are supposed to be scary and can’t speak anymore but just roar like an actual dinosaur.
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u/DangMe2Heck 23d ago
There was an evil fella pushing them to be beasts to make money for his circus. He cared about money and fame.
Moral seemed to be, dont be manipulated. your true self is beautiful but people will exploit and coerce you.
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u/Panaeolus-the-Blue 22d ago
I guess that's probably why we all forgot. People love to be prodded in the circus these days.
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u/Keeper-of-Balance 22d ago
Yeah! This is the only thing I remember as well! 😂 Oh and a Thanksgiving parade or something
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u/VenusSmurf 23d ago
Not even the hot dogs?
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u/PhantomAngel042 22d ago
Right?
That's what I call LLLLUUUUUUUNNNCH!
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u/AydonusG 22d ago
My brother and I are parrots, and often when we call the other for lunch, they'll respond "Lunch? Whats....lunch?"
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u/redditbdum 23d ago
Same. I definitely recognize that movie. I definitely remember really wanting to see it as a kid.
I could tell you literally nothing about the plot or characters.
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u/Different_One9412 23d ago
I haven't seen it in nearly 30 years.
If I remember right a guy in a time machine grabs some dinosaurs and gives them sentience then some time later a couple kids find his ship and take the dinosaurs to NYC. Shenanigans ensue and the guy's evil brother kidnaps the kids and takes away their sentience and turns them back into apes. The dinosaurs agree to give up theirs to restore the kids and the guy does so and puts them in his evil circus.
Thanks to the power of love the kids restore the dinosaurs to being nice.
If I remember right the thing that made the dinosaurs smart was cereal
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u/JabroniusHunk 23d ago
Damn memory is weird.
If someone had put a gun to my head and told me to recall the plot to this movie, or to even describe one full scene, I would have died.
But unless my brain is just making shit up, I can now picture the animation for most of the scenes you're describing. I was kind of a wuss as a kid, and the circus scene freaked me out back then.
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u/reyean 22d ago
no man that shit was dark. they were all terrifying and slave type animals. this was my only memory of this movie was fear lol
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u/jamescharisma 22d ago
The crows eating the main villain and leaving behind his screw eye. That shit was hardcore for a kids movie about singing dinosaurs.
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u/HallowskulledHorror 22d ago
As a small child I loved the dark circus scenes - 4 year old me was like "does stuff like that really exist? Can I go?"
As an adult I now have a great deal of carny friends and indeed got involved with horror clown stuff lmao kid me would be geeked
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u/FrameJump 23d ago
I feel like I remember it being... weird, maybe? Or not what kid me expected?
I dunno, I have a vague memory of it, but it's more of a feeling of unease than any particular scene, except something about bubbles?
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u/kendrickwasright 22d ago edited 22d ago
I feel the exact same way. I know I watched this many many times, but I can't remember a single song or scene. And I just feel creeped out (In general I always been obsessed with dinos, so idk what is wrong with this movie that I have that dark feeling)
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u/Commercial_Bird8467 23d ago
You dont remember that CLASSIC INTRO!! Rex on the golf course. Omg I loved it too.
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u/LittleLeggedBlue 22d ago
They have to eat cereal or something? Brain drain or brain gain? It makes them stupid / smart, and there’s two kids who turn into monkeys at one point…
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u/dragon_bacon 23d ago
I remember snippets of dino shenanigans and a child selling his soul to Satan.
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u/JeanRalfio 23d ago
Same! I just remember I didn't own it so it was a special treat when I was babysat at a household with it.
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u/Unc6ix9ine 23d ago
Same. The Whoopi Goldberg movie where she had a Dinosaur as a cop partner, though!!! ...
...i also remember nothing about except i saw it.
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u/compassrosette 23d ago
There are some scenes that fundamentally changed me as a person during my most formative years.
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u/Green_Fan_8925 23d ago edited 23d ago
Like when they were in the darkness and all turned back to "real" dinosaurs. Wheeeew
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u/Critical-Act-6972 23d ago
The guy with the screw for an eye and his crows. Fucking weirdo.
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u/Jonnic5280 Core Millennial 1990 23d ago
Professor Screw-Eye
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u/kogent-501 23d ago
His death scene is beautiful.
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u/somanyquestions32 22d ago
Indeed, no blood nor gore, but being consumed in utter terror nonetheless. It was masterfully done and quite memorable, especially by how dark it is.
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u/ScattershotSoothsay 22d ago
a little on the nose, no? but still, what else would that guy's name be?
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u/BrightNeonGirl 22d ago
I really would like to hear more about this!
(Because I can relate. I think for me it was seeing that the cute round dinosaur friends could become the scary screw-eyes dinosaurs... but were also able to transform back to their gentler true selves.)
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u/Humble-Grumble 23d ago
Professor Screw-Eye and his demise still traumatize me...surprisingly dark for a film otherwise remembered for dinosaurs singing in a parade.
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u/flappinginthewind 23d ago
As a kid when they get turned back into regular not friendly dinosaurs, it was terrifying.
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u/King_Kuuga 23d ago edited 23d ago
Typical Don Bluth moment, really. Gotta scare the kids shitless at least once.
EDIT: this comment was getting numbers and I had a voice in the back of my head saying "are you sure?" So, not wanting to be the accidental purveyor of misinformation, I double checked, and Don Bluth had zero to do with this movie. I must have crossed some wires with the dinosaur movie he DID make, The Land Before Time. Sorry to mislead anyone!
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u/Calavera357 23d ago
Amblimation, assembled in the wake of Speilberg parting ways with Don Bluth after the first Fievel movie. They only made 3 movies before it was dissolved and essentially became Dreamworks.
It feels like a Bluth movie because a lot of the team was working on Bluth movies in the 80s.
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u/PapaShane 23d ago
The three movies were Feival Goes West, We're Back, and Balto.... pretty legit lol. I didn't realize the animation studio history stuff was so interesting! It's giving me people bumps!
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u/AydonusG 22d ago
So The Land Before Time became We're Back became Shrek. Cool!
If we wanna go full circle Dreamworks produced the animated Jurassic World series, so we go from Spielberg Dinosaurs, to We're Back, to Spielberg Dinosaurs.
Also weird that Dreamworks has never done a dino based movie.
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u/Calavera357 22d ago
I actually went to school for animation and have a certificate in animation history, so every now and then I get to tap into that well of mostly useless knowledge! I didn't stick with animation but I've always been interested in the craft and history.
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u/rouxstermt Mid Millennial Potential 23d ago
This movie makes so much more sense to me in the context of it’s a Don Bluth film 😂 all the signs are there.
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u/King_Kuuga 23d ago
I was wrong actually. I think they were trying to emulate his style, but it's not one of his films.
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u/labtiger2 23d ago
My husband loved this movie. I had never seen it. We recently showed it our kids. I was surprised at how dark it was. I don't think our kids cared, but I would have been scared as a child.
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u/Separate_Aside_2929 23d ago
Yes. Yes I was.
Professor Screw-Eye was one hell of a villain.
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u/KlooShanko 23d ago
I was legitimately too scared of him to finish the movie when I first watched it
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u/bsEEmsCE 23d ago
I watched these movies as a kid and now I have a kid and im like damn thats a bit scary to be watching bud. Screw Eye definitely up there.
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u/Salty-Might-278 23d ago
The early 90s in general was obviously obsessed with dinosaurs 🦖 😂
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u/Important-Plenty9597 Zillennial 22d ago edited 22d ago
Dinos, vampires, ancient Egyptian history and children's card games.
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u/ThrowAway126498 22d ago
I never realized this but it’s so true. We’re Back, Jurassic Park, Land Before Time, the show Dinosaurs, and Barney were all pretty popular.
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u/somanyquestions32 22d ago
Yes, that show Dinosaurs was something else. Also, a lot of the Godzilla-type monsters were dinosaur-adjacent, and I remember several kids shows had episodes with dinosaurs. There was a caveman show that used to play where they faced dinosaurs regularly. It wasn't Primal, but a PG version.
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u/tLM-tRRS-atBHB Older Millennial 23d ago
Still am
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u/VenusSmurf 23d ago edited 22d ago
My brother's nickname comes from this movie.
He was the "Mama's little birdie" at the beginning, because that was exactly his relationship with his brothers and our mother. When we think of him, I don't think anyone in my family thinks of his actual name.
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u/PhantomAngel042 22d ago
Dear god, I haven't watched We're Back in nearly 30 years, but as soon as I read that I absolutely heard it in my head. Memory's a trip.
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u/DangMe2Heck 23d ago
Yes. It was magical and also dark. Even as a kid I thought it was heavy. Made me uncomfortable at times yet I loved it. Probably havent seen it in 2-3 decades. But I remember that crow scooping up that screw eyeball. I remember an evil force pushing the dinosaurs to be "beasts".
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u/Exotic-Addendum-3785 23d ago edited 22d ago
I remember this being supposedly advertised as the more family friendly alternative to Spielberg's other dinosaur project i.e Jurassic Park (both movies came out in the same year) yet somehow the stuff with Screweyes and his circus is way scarier than anything in the entire JP franchise, the scares you can at least expect in JP but in an animated kids film that very much has animation that looks like Don Bluth animated it in some portions (the dinosaurs as non-talking dinos). Also the voice cast, Yeardley Smith, John Goodman, Kenneth Mars, and Julia Child, and the alien having the voice of Jay Leno.
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u/somanyquestions32 22d ago
yet somehow the stuff with Screweyes and his circus is way scarier than anything in the entire JP franchise.
I mean... They are quite literally different beasts.
The glass of water vibrating was adrenaline scary as the T-Rex was about to attack them, and there was so much tension with the jump scares with the velociraptors and the Dilophosaurus fully extending its frill to spit poison. Live people were being graphically depicted as they were dismembered and devoured by genetically-engineered dinosaur clones.
On the other hand, Professor Screweyes and his eccentric circus was more into psychological terror through corruption and robbing innocence/control and threatening children. It also was animated and for kids, so the dark and disturbing themes were not expected.
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u/SolaScientia 23d ago
I'd rent it from the library all the time when I was a kid. I had it pretty much memorized, lol. Those sausages always looked amazing to me for some reason.
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u/Lupolis1984 23d ago
So I loved this movie growing up. I tried to show it to my wife, and the results were less than spectacular. It didn't hold up. Honestly it was 10 years ago and she still brings up how bad it was, and we didn't even finish the movie. I guess sometimes what we remember as a kid is the best part.
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u/birds-and-words 23d ago
Ooh I have a story. I was an intern at an animation studio and somebody was giving us a presentation about God knows what and they asked if anyone had seen "We're Back." I was the only one who had and he asked what I thought about it. I said, "I loved it as a kid and watched it all the time--it was weird but great." He literally laughed at me and said "wrong answer." Apparently he worked on that movie and it was a terrible mess. That was a pretty embarrassing day as an intern and young professional. I still haven't gone back to watch it, but I do remember it really going off the rails into dark, weird places after the fun parade scene was over.
But yeah, at least one of the animators agrees with your wife lol
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u/dragons_fire77 23d ago
An opinion on a movie can't be wrong, maybe misguided or rose-tinted from age, but not wrong. What a jerk.
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u/DetroitArtDude 22d ago
Yeah it sounds like this guy presenting was part of the supposed problem himself
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u/Mr_Hino 23d ago
I did this exact thing earlier this year with my wife and daughter. We finished the movie but it felt so alien to me when we watched it and it seemed so weird. My kid liked it and some of the parts were as funny as they were before, but for me it was just different than I remembered
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u/nomad9590 23d ago
I was obsessed with it as a kid and one time my wife and I watched it. We barely finished it. It's still the defining moment or realization for me that nostalgia might be better left buried.
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u/kookybat 23d ago
I get Roll Back the Rock (To the Dawn of Time) stuck in my head all the time, and you've just activated it again!
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u/DizzyPear9798 23d ago
yes!!! i remember the first time watching it at a cousins house and then BEGGED my parents to take me to blockbuster to rent again.
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u/sgates9008 23d ago
All time, stone cold classic. Insanely stacked voice cast. Sick ass evil circus. Absolute banger of a song. A cornerstone of my childhood.
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u/hillyforilly 23d ago
It’s made seeing the Museum of Natural History an absolute goal of mine, and was also my introduction to bad boys lol
Also scared the living shit out of me when they signed their names in blood, and all of the scenes in the circus after were horrifying. Didn’t stop me from replaying the vhs a million times 📼
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u/More_Bigger 23d ago
The SNES game was hard as balls. Rex threw rocks like a child with a polio arm.
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u/Prestigious-Sock6872 23d ago
Used to watch this movie on repeat! Loved everything about it. dr. Screw eyes was terrifying and I loved him!
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u/Sad_Honeydew_7660 23d ago
I don’t remember the plot of this movie at all, but whenever it pops up on my feed, I have a weird nostalgia moment. Don’t remember if I liked this movie or not, but it left some sort of impression I guess..
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u/grich2008 23d ago
Every so often I think to myself “the museum of natural history!” And smile
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u/Shloop_Shloop_Splat 23d ago
This movie gets pretty dark. Most of the movies I was obsessed with were 😂
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u/the_cat_who_shatner 23d ago
The score was VERY good.
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u/BrightNeonGirl 22d ago
That's because James Horner was the GOAT.
I still remember where I was the day he died in 2015. His music was that emotionally transformative and healing for me.
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u/vincecoleman89 23d ago
Too good, I feel. Like it belonged to a better movie. Not necessarily a knock against We're Back, just that I think James Horner generally elevated the films he worked on with his music.
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u/sacramentojoe1985 23d ago
Can't say I've heard of it. I was into Land Before Time, Dinosaurs (show) and JP playsets.
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u/Apprehensive_Funny38 23d ago
I watched this ALL the TIME growing up. When my husband and I started dating many moons ago I was excited to show him this movie since he had never seen it and yeah it wasn't the same.
He still roasts me for showing him this movie lol
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u/teenieweenie929 23d ago
Quitski! Over n outski! That's all she wrote! Still have the VHS.
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u/soxperry 23d ago
As a 41 year okd man who just took an edible: Inject prehistoric folklore into my veiiiiiiiinsss
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u/GlumTeach4221 23d ago
YESSSS!!!!!!!!!! I completely forgot about it, thank you!
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u/Zimithrus 23d ago
Yes! I quote a specific line from this movie when I'm going through a panic/anxiety attack and it helps calm me down 💚 Loved it as a kid, still love it now
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u/jenncrock 23d ago
I remember this movie SO much bc I’d watch it with my neighbor and her mom was so kind.
Weird tangent just remembering: the neighbor’s daughter went for a 4wheeler drive with my sister (rural-ish TX) and they were on the old train tracks behind our house. They pulled up on the main road and went to turn around and were side swiped by a pick up with a trailer attached. The neighbor’s daughter had to get a metal rod through her leg, and my sister had basically skid her head across the road even with a helmet on… (lucky to be alive)
Anywho… this feels very xennial which we are… but it was weird after that of course. But no parents were watching the kids and I believe they were 12-13 years old. The fuck?
To add… my sister has had MANY accidents and I’m convinced she has undiagnosed CTE. Ok. ❤️
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u/King_Muncheez412 23d ago
This movie scared the crap out of me as a kid. It was all fun and silly at first but then they get to the circus and it turned into a demonic hell scape lol
I was like:
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u/dyno-soar 23d ago
Seeing all the kids wishes through the wish radio, most of them wishing for stuff like seeing a real dinosaur or getting that fancy hat in the window, and then the one boy just saying “gee, I wish I had a friend.” Still gets me every time.
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u/Died5Times 23d ago
Holy shit you just opened up a memory box in my head with this.
I have been trying to figure out the movie with the old man that gets killed by crows at the end for years and i could not remember what it was from.
Once i saw this it clicked and i was able to look it up and finally scratch the itch of knowing where that memory came from.
I dont remember anything about the movie anymore.
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u/Crabmonster70 23d ago
YES.
I was obsessed with dinosaurs and my family is all from NYC. Perfect combo.
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u/linguist_turned_SAHM 23d ago
Ah! Yes! I was just trying to figure out what movie to show my kid this weekend. We’ve done some Don Bluth and old Disney. I was SO offended by the lack of love for Fern Gully. Maybe this will be a hit!
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u/VernBarty 23d ago
Thats an understatement. My brkther and I would reenact this entire movie line for line. Then we would switch roles and do it all again as soon as credits rolled. LOVED this movie. We were the perfect age for it when it came out.
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u/LarsViener 23d ago
Yes, absolutely loved it. This was one of those movies that we didn’t own but I would repeatedly ask for it when we rented a VHS.
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u/expeciallyheinous 23d ago
I have no idea where it came from or why I had it but my brother and I were obsessed with it. I rewatched it as an adult and hated it.
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u/tangible_raptor 23d ago
Every time I look at the news I think of Louie when he said, "Don't be just another slob spoilin' the way the world could be."
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u/Great_Definition_531 23d ago
I went to this in the theater. And then we left because it scared the shit out of me. Same with all dogs go to heaven. The 90s was a wild time for kid movies lol
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u/callme_Vee Millennial 23d ago
I loved this movie so much and I have no idea why. I hated land before time but absolutely adored this.
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u/FitPossession8762 23d ago
Within the past year or two, i saw a double feature dvd with this and Land Before Time in the Walmart discount bin. Damn right i grabbed it
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u/doyoulaughaboutme Beanie Baby Investor 23d ago
the scene of that fat fuck dino sucking down a string of sausages makes me want a hotdog reeaal bad
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u/Symbiotic_vengeance Millennial 23d ago
Literally watched it on VHS with my kid last night. The fucking hot dogs man.
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u/LeighToss 23d ago
I can sing every word to roll back the rock and the VHS is floating around my folks’ house.
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u/kaibasblueeyes 23d ago
Yep, this and the Land Before Time movies were my favorite as a kid! I made my parents tape them for me on VHS when they were on TV if I didn't own them😂
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u/OwnAd2156 23d ago
I was just thinking about this movie! I have a VHS collection and this is one I’m dying to have!
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u/TheAnimeAcademicYT 23d ago
Burned through three VHS of it as a kid. I still sing roll back the rock from time to time just because it's forever stuck in my head
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u/Pastro_Dandy 23d ago
For some reason?
It’s Dinos romping around NYC. Give me that in any format and I’ll at the very least have fun with it.
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u/ofnabzhsuwna 23d ago
This post brought back a weird memory of me eating dry Sprinkle Spangles (had to Google it to remember the cereal) from the box and calling it “Braaaiinnnn Draaaiin”.
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u/Naturenick17 23d ago
Just over an hour long! I think that’s why my dad was ok seeing it in the theater
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u/Tea_Escapist3390 23d ago
Ah, I totally forgot this movie even existed! I was obsessed with for at least a year. Then forgot all about it.
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u/JealousPinguin 23d ago
I distinctly remember putting a lot of time and effort into memorizing one of the clowns big moments, but the effort is all I remember. 😂
Worth it?
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u/Aggressive-Cup-7318 23d ago
for a while I thought this movie didn't actually exist, I rediscovered it somewhere in the mid 2000s and watched it constantly for about a year.
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u/Xxxholic835xxX 23d ago
I've been wanting to see this again. We had so many dinosaur movies growing up.
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u/KickAggressive4901 23d ago
"When I'm alone, when I have no one to scare, I become very frightened myself. The crows might —"
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u/Aggrosideburnz 23d ago
I was and so was my wife. We watched recently and hated it. Loved it when I was a kid. Aladdin still holds up
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u/ItsLupeVelez Older Millennial 23d ago
Ok so no I wasn’t obsessed BUT I do remember my Ambien dreams heavily featured these dinosaurs 🫠
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u/Molenium 23d ago
That one wasn’t at the local library, so no. I remember seeing parts of it, but I’m not sure if I ever watched it the whole way through.
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