Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend

“The greatest adventure ever born!”

A paleontologist, Dr. Susan Matthews-Loomis, and her husband are at a dig site in Africa looking for dino bones. When her recent discovery is dismissed by her superior, Dr. Kiviat, Dr. Loomis is greatly discouraged. With their return to the U.S. occurring the next day, Dr. Loomis instead travels to a village deep in the jungle to see what has caused illness to the villagers. Once there, she discovers that the sick villagers all ate from a dead animal nearby. When the chief describes the animal, it appears to be something resembling a dinosaur. While tracking it down, and they discover Brontosauruses living in the jungle. Now they have to work to save the last of the dinosaurs.

Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend is a middling movie. Produced by Disney’s Touchstone Films offshoot, it really should have been better than it was. The story premise is really interesting (especially at the time). In unexplored jungles in Africa, there could have been anything and there were plenty of rumors that there were. In fact, some people still believe in hidden creatures in the jungles of the world. However, a poorly thought out story and poor effects make this film mediocre at best. 

The story has some good moments in it, but it is simple. Protect the newly discovered dinosaurs from the men who want to use them for personal gain. And, while it contains moments that tug on the old heart strings, there will be times where you are waiting for the next plot device to move the story along. I think the strongest item in the plot of Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend is the villain. You really despise this character very quickly after his reveal.

Speaking of the main villain of the story, Dr. Eric Kiviat is a pretty strong villain. His goals are very relatable (wealth and fame for discovering the dinosaurs) and his methods increase in ruthlessness as his sanity seems to decrease. This character is well played by Patrick McGoohan (Escape from Alcatraz, Scanners). Through most of the film, his cool, collected demeanor as he continues to try and achieve his goals make it all the more disconcerting and despising.

The other main characters in the film include Dr. Loomis (Sean Young; Blade Runner, Dune) and her husband George (William Katt; House, The Man from Earth). They performed well in their roles, but their chemistry didn’t seem that strong for me and the film didn’t give them a lot of range to show their acting abilities. Both actors had been in well-known productions on film and TV at the time of this film.

You may notice that this film falls into the “Family” genre. I will mention there is a good amount of gunplay and explosions, cursing, innuendo, and nudity. The film may push the PG rating pretty close to its edge, but I don’t know if it pushes it over. All of it is fairly tame or supposed to be representative of a culture (the nudity is limited to when African tribes are on screen). Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, in my opinion, is still a family film, but some audience members may disagree when they watch it. 

Now is the moment you have all been waiting for, hang onto your seats as we talk about… the dinosaurs! The main dinosaur of the film the juvenile Baby, but the film also includes two full grown Brontosauruses as Baby’s parents. While the animatronics are impressive for the time (keep in mind this came out 8 years before the more impressive Jurassic Park), they have not aged well.

While I think the detail in the skin is ok, the movement of Baby really reveals that she is just a giant rubber puppet. you will see the rubber fold onto itself in ways that are not natural. The expressiveness of Baby’s face and eyes also do not do any favors for the effects of the dinosaurs. I am not looking for human expression, but more than just eyes open and shut and mouth opens and shuts. It can be looked past though, especially in younger viewers. The combination of green screen, animatronics, puppetry, and (I think I saw) claymation show the ambition of the effects team. I just wish a better look had been achieved.

I was able to get a copy of the Mills Creek blu-ray release of the film for this review and while the picture and sound of the film are good, the blu-ray is meh. There is literally nothing on it besides the film. While I know that the film is the core thing, when a film is re-released onto a new format like this, one would expect some kind of additional features. Now, on the other hand, the Kino Classics release contains some interviews with star William Katt and director Bill L. Norton. So a little less sparse of a release, but I hear the video quality is a smidge worse for the harsher analytical eye. Either way, if you want a copy of this movie, you will probably be happy no matter which version you grab.

Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend will take you and your family on an adventure through the African jungle and show you a world where dinosaurs still exist. While it is not the most exciting film, it is still a bit fun. It is just a little disappointing as I think it could have been so much more. 

Rating:

Jack Savage:

The novelty of possible interaction between dinosaurs and humans is really the only attraction to the film, but that may be enough for some viewers. Some action and lighthearted comedy may keep you entertained beyond the dinosaurs.

Trailer:

Grab Yourself a Copy by Clicking Below and Support Our Site!