Dinosaur Expedition Born Free is a TV series made by Tsuburaya Productions. It is the first of the Tsuburaya Dinosaur Trilogy.
In the 1990s, like Dinosaur Great War Izenborg, episodes of the series were compiled into an English-dubbed film by Associated Entertainment International, titled Return of the Dinosaurs.
Production[]
Because Tsuburaya was filming Pro-Wrestling Star Aztecaser at the time of this series, it could not be in live-action. Nippon Sunrise (known as Sunrise, Inc. currently a part of Bandai Namco Filmworks) did the animation. Paleontologist Ikuo Kobata criticized Tsuburaya for using costumes with the "Godzilla" posture, so Tsuburaya used stop-motion to have accurate dinosaurs.
A main inspiration for creating the series was the discovery of Taniwhasaurus (Ezo Mikasa Ryu) in 1976. At the time they thought the mosasaur was a tyrannosaur which explains the inaccurate Ezomikasa Dragon.
Synopsis[]
Due to an anomaly on Earth, ancient dinosaurs that had secretly survived deep underground emerged on the surface. In order to protect these dinosaurs from a group trying to exterminate them and from the nefarious hands seeking profit, the Born Free Team was formed. They travel around the world on a mission to safeguard these prehistoric creatures.[2]
Characters[]
Kaiju[]
- Giant Ammonite
- Brontosaurus
- Allosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus
- Triceratops
- Trachodon
- Stegosaurus
- Iguanodon
- Pteranodon
- Gorgosaurus
- Troodon
- Ankylosaurus
- Polacanthus
- Monoclonius
- Brachiosaurus
- Corythosaurus
- Diplodocus
- Ezomikasa Dragon
Cast[]
- Joji Kitayama : Katsuji Mori
- Akira Gonda : Shingo Kanemoto
- Saburo Koyama : Kyonosuke Kami
- Reiko Maki : Yoko Kuri
- Masao Masaki : Kazue Takahashi
- Doctor Masaki : Yoshiaki Nemoto , Shinji Nakae
- Kumiko Kimura : Sakiko Kato
- King Butler : Junpei Takiguchi
- Glen : Hiroshi Ikaida
- Sammy : Akira Murayama
- Lady Butler : Wakako Ikeda
- Rick : Tetsuo Mizutori
Staff[]
- Directors: Koichi Takano, Jun Oki, Kiyoshi Suzuki, Toshitsugu Suzuki
- Screenwriters: Keiichi Abe, Toyohiro Ando, Tadaaki Yamazaki, Bunzo Wakatsuki, Shigemitsu Taguchi, Keiji Kubota, Kiyonobu Suzuki
- Music: Toru Fuyuki
- Cinematographer: Shinichi Ooka
- Practical effects: Eiji Shirakuma
- Art: Shu Yamaguchi
Music[]
- Opening Theme
- Yuke! Born Free
- Lyrics: Kounosuke Fuji
- Composition and Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
- Artist: Masato Shimon
- Ending Theme
- Kyoryu yo Itsu Made mo
- Lyrics: Konosuke Fuji
- Composition and Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
- Artist: Masato Shimon
Home Media[]
Following the other entries of the Tsuburaya Dinosaur Trilogy, the series was released on DVD by Toei Video on May 9 and June 13, 2014.[3][4]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- FNS Earth Special Investigation Team Daibuster , a late-night show that aired from 2005 to 2009, was inspired by this series, also using a blend of live-action and anime.
External Links[]
References[]