When I first saw video of "Walking with the Dinosaurs," an arena show with life-size robotic dinos headed for the Xcel Center this summer, I blurted, "Hey, cool!"
My wife, watching the same footage a bit later, pronounced it the lamest thing she had ever seen.
I'm guessing there will be more mixed reactions when this big show hits downtown St. Paul in June. For some, this will seem like dinosaurs come to life. For others, this show will just be fancied-up parade floats on rollerblade wheels, hoo-weeee!
No giant-puppet show can possibly match the realism of the original, computer-animated "Walking with the Dinosaurs" BBC series upon which the live production is based, that's for sure. But I still think this is cool.
I attended a press conference to announce show dates (June 11-15, seven performances). This event was juuust a bit over the top in the PR sense. Judge for yourselves (this album also has images from the actual show).
This should have been handled in a different way. Show organizers should have flown in one of the giant dino robots for close-up inspection. Now that would have been cool. The ice carving of a T-Rex with punch bowl as part of a dino lunch for the press and downtown dignitaries? Not as much. (I passed on the dino lunch; anyone want some dino flip-flops?)
Some of the press materials are a bit lame, too. Still photography at the show is allowed, a Q&A sheet says, but "no flash, please. The dinosaurs get frightened when people flash lights in their eyes!" Puh-leeze.
Update: See more video here.
Update: This post triggers a "blog of the day" nod at MinnPost.com (thank you):
