Rex: A Dinosaur's Story

Lore & Background

The film's plot centers on Chie, a young girl in Tokachi, Hokkaido, who longs to see her mother, embryologist Naomi Ito, who moved to New York after divorcing Chie's father, paleontologist Akira. Akira and his assistant discover a dinosaur egg in a cave, and after Naomi helps hatch it using a sea turtle egg, the infant T. rex, named Rex, becomes a national sensation. Chie cares for Rex, but the dinosaur is overworked in commercials, leading Chie and Rex to run away to find Rex's mother. They eventually return to the cave, where Rex reunites with its mother's specter, and in a post-credits scene, Naomi returns to stay with the family.

Reader's Guide

Rex: A Dinosaur's Story is notable as a Japanese response to the dinosaur boom of 1993, particularly following the release of Jurassic Park a month prior. Though it was a box-office failure relative to its high budget and marketing costs, it achieved significant domestic success, becoming Shochiku's highest-grossing release until 2002. The film's production was initially planned as a Hollywood project but shifted to a Japanese family film after Kadokawa's first Hollywood project failed. The film's dinosaur effects were provided by Italian effects artist Carlo Rambaldi. Its legacy includes Yumi Adachi's award-winning performance and its place in the 1990s dinosaur media trend.

Did You Know?

• The film's dinosaur effects were provided by Italian effects artist Carlo Rambaldi.
• Yumi Adachi won the Newcomer of the Year award at the 17th Japan Academy Film Prize for her performance.
• The film's theatrical run was cut short from a planned 14 weeks to 10 weeks due to a scandal involving the director.
• The film's music was composed by Tomoyuki Asakawa, with Kome Kome Club contributing the theme song 'Kimi ga Iru Dake de'.