The other day I was looking for a new background for my new
laptop. The problem is I have so many interests and hobbies I can never decide
on one for long. My last computer shuffled through over 1,000 images it automatically
shuffled through, but since that helped slow it down to a crawl.
Anyway, I went searching for a cool dinosaur pic when I came
across a painting I hadn’t seen in almost fifteen years: Dinotopia.
For the uninitiated: Dinotopia is an island where dinosaurs
are not only still alive but sentient and live in harmony with humans. The
books follow several humans brought to the island by dolphins as they learn
about Dinotopian society and history and have fun adventures with their new
dino friends. 
I’ll be honest, the stories for me were really more of a
context for the art. I must’ve checked out every Dinotopia book my elementary
school had at least a hundred times. I was a dinosaur kid back in the day (Still
am, I go to Vernal’s Dinosaur National Monument anytime I can) so this was
right up my alley.
One of the things I loved about Dinotopia was that it’s a
utopian society. The entire island is at peace, even the carnivores. When an herbivore
senses it’s about to die it wanders into the valley where the meat eaters live
and offers itself as sacrifice. Humans live on fish and plants, like the dinosaurs,
and spend their time bettering the society. Utopians are hard to find in
fiction, since dystopian societies are a greater source of conflicts. There
aren’t any villains or massive world-shaking conflicts for the characters to
stop. The main stories are usually the characters just exploring the dinosaur’s
island, meeting new dinosaurs and learning about the island’s history, and
honestly when you’re dealing with a world where dinosaurs will talk to you
while happily letting you ride on their backs, a villain will only get in the
way.
I mentioned the art before and I’ll mention it again: ART!
The illustrations are full paintings with rich detail only a master artist
could come up with, and considering we’re talking about people riding
pteranadons that’s saying something. The artist James Gurney never seems to
think of his subjects as silly or ridiculous, and thus the scenes are always
these grand scale pieces emphasizing the beauty of Dinotopia. To me it’s how
kids see dinosaurs, big, beautiful, and full of wonder. 
This series is a spectacular piece for children and parents
alike. The art is perfect. The story is full of hope, beauty and adventure
without the usual darkness comes with fiction, and the escapism is unlike
anything you’ve ever seen before. In the immortal words from Reading Rainbow: “You
don’t have to take my word for it…”
We’ll see you next time!
-JOE
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