Dead Sound's Dinosaurs: Quickish Reviews

David Armsby is a Scottish animator. He's done a lot of science fiction wio, but he has quite the affinity for dinosaurs, as evidenced by the triad of animated shorts he has made over the 2010's and into the 2020's. 

Small Beginnings (2013)

Small Beginings is about a newly-hatched baby T. rex who goes out with her mother only for another one to kill her, leaving him an orphan. Years later when he is an adult, she returns to the cliff where it happened, and goes back to her own nest to continue .

As far quality goes, its fine on its own, although it does have a hefty dose of Early Instalment Weirdness to it: the short is made in full CG, one more cartoonish then realistic. The designs have the usual array of JP or Paulian: lipless jaws and tooth slippage and feel a bit too slender. In other words, there's not much in the way of heavy realistic research going on for the creatures within it, instead opting for something on the lighter side of the awesomebro styles.

The tone is meant to be tragic and bittersweet: sure our rex lost the most important being in her life, the one would teach, but she lives to adulthood to continue the cycle of life. However, I didn't really feel anything watching it, though this won't hold true for others.

There isn't much to discuss with Small Beginings plotwise, except it's place among Armsby's portfolio. It's decently made in my book, and it shows the hints of what David will do in the future.

• Accuracy - 4/10
• Aging - 7/10
• Presentation - 7/10
• Visuals - 6/10
• Music - 6/10
• Storytelling - 8/10
• Rewatchability - 8/10

Sharp Teeth (2019)

By 2019 Armsby had moved on to the brightly coloured cel-shaded, 2D-mimicking animation that would become his style. Sharp Teeth is one of them, a short story about a baby Triceratops who gets eaten by a T. rex - only to switch perespective to the rex as she returns to her young. All the while, a narrator expresses the thoughts of the creatures in rhyme, a charming choice.

I love how despite being set up as a monster, the short makes clear carnivores aren't monsters, but animals with their own lives. As a person who has long hated films like The Land Before Time for going with such an ideal, I love the premise and story right off the bat. Besides, there's something to be said about how the dichotomy and tendency to assign roles to ecosystems' denizens has proved to be incredibly misinformative and has likely helped contribute to many, many endangered species, misled by media they have no media literacy. The behaviour is thus slightly humanised with expressive faces and body language, but not to a major degree.

The designs have more effort put into them here. Barring the, they all seem good, both in design and in accuracy. They are more beebian in presention and design, with a focus more in accurate and nuanced, while still remaining stylised and expressive. Beyond a few things (like exposed teeth), its pretty good.

Sharp Teeth establishes the new direction Armsby goes with, more dedication to accuracy while maintaining an interesting story of animals living their lives. The result is a lovely little short.

• Accuracy - 7/10
• Aging - 7/10
• Presentation - 9/10
• Behaviour - 8/10
• Animation - 9/10
• Music - 7/10
• Storytelling - 9/10
• Rewatchability - 9/10

Dinosauria (2021)

This. Just the entirety of Dinosauria is one of the most beautiful works of palaeo-media in years. Released in 2021, it was born out of another project of Armsby, a fiction about a post-spocalyptic setting where time went erong and dinosaurs roamed amongst ruins. However, what we got was even better, a kind of documentary not afraid to go into the more anthro and fantastical, like Dinosaur Revolution did but to a greater extent. I watched every episode when they came out, and I still think about them to this day - even when I haven't watched them in months.

Basic plot for each episode (assuming you didn't watch them - do it - NOW)

• Old Buck: An old male Styracosaurus fights a younger male, and uses a deformity to his advantage.
• Our Frozen Past: In the Prince Creek Formation, the classic triad of Troodon, Nanuqsaurus, and Pachyrhinosaurus meet.
• A More Ancient Spring - About a Lambeosaurus looking for a new mate.
• Sea and Sky - A flock of Pteranodon await to see if danger is not present before they dive into the WIS.
• The Last Tyrant - The extinction happens, capped off by a montage of dinosaurs living on through museum mounts and birds.

Each of the shorts' storytelling and plot are well done. The best part is that feel for everything even without dialogue or technical personalities. You will cheer when the leads come out on top or get what they want. You are saddened and brought to tears by seeing the dinosaurs slowly die out and the legacy they leave in the Anthropocene.

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Music? Great too. They're atmospheric and suit each episode well. While I can't really remember any tracks, I can assure you they are all great.

Accuracy? Great. Admittedly, there slip ups here and there, although some are intentional, to make each story work or be more interesting. Besides, he does a ton of research for each episode and the animals within them, so its not like they are glaring.

The whole series deserves a full review one day to go more in depth. Must remember that. They are a shining example of indie documentaries that populate the internet made by creatotr who care and put many TV doxumentaries of the 21st century to shame. 

• Accuracy - 9/10
• Aging - 9/10
• Animation - 9/10
• Behaviour - 
• Music - 8/10
• Overall - 10/10

David James Armsby's created quite excellent palaeo-shorts, and his Patreon account is anything to go by, he's making more of them that I will eagarly watch.

Thank you for reading this. I apologise if this seems a bit rushed. Working on the Stephen Fry post really gave me a delay and writer's block.