Little Dinosaurs — Dana Dorian, 2008
A five-year-old Scottish boy describes what he thinks a group of little dinosaurs should do when a big dinosaur starts bullying them. One suggestion is, “Go to our parents”. But what if parents were also small? What about running away? Or if a group fight together? Are any of these suggestions the right ones?
This light-hearted animation provides a perfect vehicle to discuss bullying in a non-threatening context, and to begin to look at how short film texts are constructed.
Classroom Activities
Print All- Critical
- Cultural
- Creative
- Clip Details
Critical
- What materials are used for the animation? Why do you think these were used?
- Look at the different camera angles and shots: how do they make the big dinosaur seem scary? How does the sound create this effect?
- How do they make the dinosaurs bigger/smaller?
- Why do you think the director chose to make an animation for this interview?
- Why do you think the filmmaker chose to use dinosaurs for the characters?
- How many types of camerawork can you identify in this film? Can you make a guess about why some of these shots were used?
Cultural
- The film suggests that a solution to bullying is that the small dinosaurs team up to beat up the big dinosaur. Is this the best way to stand up for yourself? Why (not)? Do different kinds of bullies require different approaches?
- Use this video to teach children that the “attack” approach does not work and focus on how the victims feel, how the bully feels and the best ways to deal with a bully.
- Debate: Would this group violence approach ever be appropriate?
- What other films, TV shows, books, etc. can you think of that feature a character having to deal with a bully? How does that character handle the situation?
- Why might someone bully someone else? Do any of the reasons you came up with make you sympathise or empathise with the bully?
Creative
WRITE
- Write a story from the point-of-view of a bully. Try to show the bully’s reasons for their behaviour.
- Write a haiku about how someone feels when they are being bullied.
FILMMAKING
- Make a film showing children how best to deal with a bully.
- Children create their own Play-Doh characters to tell a story through stop-motion animation.
DRAW
- Draw the big dinosaur’s outline. Write/draw its feelings on the inside and around the outside of the dinosaur write/draw to explain which behaviours we see because of these feelings.
- Repeat the above task for a small dinosaur.
- How can we help the victim? Does the bully need help? How do we do this? Create a ‘Help with bullies’ poster to display in school.
Clip Details
| Year of Production | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary, Stop-Motion |
| Curriculum Areas | Health and Wellbeing, Literacy and English, Religious and Moral Education |
| Director | Dana Dorian |
| Country of Origin | UK |
| Medium / Content | 3D Animation, Non-Fiction, Colour, Sound |
| Themes | Feelings, Relationships, Identity / Self, Intolerance / Misconceptions |
| Clip Length | 01:12 |
| Clip Length | 01:12 |
| Age Group | P1-P4, P5-P7 |
