I Am T-Rex Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

I Am T-Rex Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 19, 2023

What is it about dinosaurs that so excites the imaginations of kids in particular? I don't have any pithy answer for that query, but can state that as a kid I, too, was fascinated by these antediluvian creatures and one of the side benefits of growing up in Utah is that family vacations to places like Vernal were filled with the wonder of seeing immense fossil deposits firmly embedded in the glorious rock formations in the southern part of that state. Cultural historians may recall that there was also a chain of gas stations in the American west called Sinclair whose mascot was a green dinosaur, and back in the day when "service stations" actually provided, you know, service, they had little green rubber toy dinosaurs they would hand out to children, so you can guess where I would insist my Dad filled up his cars. With experiences like that in mind, I'd say kids at least should get some fun out of I Am T-Rex, but my hunch is anyone older than maybe even seven or eight may be asking Mom and/or Dad to trade out this disc for something a little more visceral like, The Land Before Time or dare I say even Jurassic Park.

I Am T-Rex was a Chinese production, and if there isn't exactly a "lost in translation" quality to the English dub, there is some pretty annoying English language voice work (the English language cast isn't credited). That aspect doesn't help a hoary story that rips a page out of the delightful (?) Disney canon by offing the parent of an adorable animated tot and then letting that youngster survive in the wild. You've seen this story countless times before, and there's really nothing new in this version, including any number of sidebar animated characters who would be perfectly at home in any number of other "cartoons". The animation style kind of hovers between photorealism, at least with regard to some of the backgrounds, and something a bit more whimsical in terms of the focal characters.

I Am T-Rex Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I Am T-Rex is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is frankly a somewhat mysterious production that I have not found any technical data whatsoever on, and in fact even Well Go USA's "cast listing" on their website brings up absolutely no IMDb information whatsoever. I'm frankly not 100% certain we have this linked to the correct parent entry, but a member was quite insistent with me that The Tyrannosaurus Rex was the release title of the film, though there's nothing by that name and production year in the IMDb database that I could find. One way or the other, this CGI fest has some appealing detail levels, with things like the scaly textures on the dinosaurs or fluffy feathers on a kind of quasi-toucan looking precise and well rendered. There's a certain glossy softness to some of the imagery, especially in terms of some of the backgrounds. The palette is very nicely suffused throughout.

I Am T-Rex Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I Am T-Rex features Well Go USA's typical assortment of DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks in the original language (in this case, Mandarin) and English, along with additional Dolby Digital 2.0 options in both languages. As mentioned above, there are some voice actors on the English language track that I personally found beyond annoying, but at least with that track you're not saddled with subtitles. Both languages provide secure listening experiences, with dialogue, effects and score all rendered without any issues. Optional English and Mandarin subtitles are available.

I Am T-Rex Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 2:04)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the disc has been authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

I Am T-Rex Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you have a relatively young tot fascinated by dinosaurs, this unambitious offering will probably suffice for 90 minutes or so of viewing time, but there's really nothing in this tale (tail?) you haven't seen before. Technical merits are generally solid for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.