Crush it. Smash it. Move it. Lift it.
Build it up! Dinotrux! Going strong! Dinotrux! Let’s go!
Dinotrux. It’s what you get when you mash up young boys’ favorite things: trucks, construction vehicles, and dinosaurs. Dinotrux is the newest Netflix original series brought to us by DreamWorks TV and gives us the opportunity to explore the world of these dino-construction machines.
Initially, the concept seems pretty tailored to a specific audience: young boys. And, let’s be honest, that’s exactly who it is for. However, that’s not to say that adults or older viewers won’t find any enjoyment from the show. In the pilot, the series does a great job establishing a great cast of personalities and characters, while also being so much more than just a kids’ show about trucks.
Episode 1 – “Ty and Revvit”
From the first scenes we are introduced to the world of the Mechazoic era, where dinosaur-construction vehicle hybrids live together. This world is filled with all the typical dinosaurs: brachiosaurus, triceratops, stegosaurus, and of course, the fearsome tyrannosaurus rex. However, you won’t find your typical carnivores and herbivores. All the dinotrux eat ore, and the aggressive dinosaurs (the Tyrannosaurus Trux, to be precise) simply crush other dinotrux to a pulp in order to get the ore for themselves.
Enter our hero Ty-Rux, a amiable T-Trux who, due to his nature, causes all other dinotrux to flee at his sight. When a volcano eruption destroys his home, he narrowly escapes and finds a new crater in which to reside. Unfortunately, there is another T-Trux, D-Structs, who rules the roost and he won’t permit any other T-Trux to dwell in the crater with him.
While digging for ore, a discouraged Ty runs into a reptool named Revvit, a nerdy chameleon-esque critter who tires to sneak some ore away before Ty sees him. Ty, not being like most T-Trux, kindly offers Revvit some ore (to the reptool’s surprise). As a thank you, Revvit uses his tool-infused body (a tape measure for a tongue and a screwdriver for hands) to fix one of Ty’s treads, which he broke while fleeing the volcano eruption.
Ty encounters the territorial D-Structs again and attempts to reason with him, saying that all the dinotrux actually can live in peace. Yet again, D-Structs disagrees and attacks Ty. Defeated by the bigger, stronger dinotrux, Ty almost leaves the crater for good, but decides to stay and see if he can get the various species of dinotrux to work and live together harmoniously.
Our new duo Ty and Revvit visit all the different dinotrux groups, but, as expected, find resistance. However, a few of the dinotrux, like Skya the brachiosaurus-crane combo, are surprised to meet such a friendly T-Trux and give him a chance. Things take a turn for the worse when some triceratops-bulldozers attack Ty, but accidentally get one of their kind own, Dozer, stuck in deep tar.
Using their intellect, Ty and Revvit construct a platform that they can use to pull Dozer out of the tar before he sinks to his death. Despite their best engineering efforts, they can’t quite get the leverage they need to pull Dozer out, so Skya uses an attachment on her crane to help give the bulldozer the extra boost he needs to escape.
They group realizes that together they were able to create something pretty remarkable that none of them would have been able to do on their own. This encourages the dinotrux to work together to create a society in which all dinotrux can live in peace.
However, D-Structs makes one final appearance, announcing to Ty and the gang that the crater belongs to him. Using their combined skills, the newly formed dinotrux friends scare him away – for now – and start to work on building their new community.
Overall Impression
Overall, I found the first episode of Dinotrux to be quite interesting. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but once Ty and Revvit got together, things took off and piqued my interest. But the real fun came as more and more dinotrux were introduced; I couldn’t wait to see what clever combinations the creators made for each new breed.
Andrew Francis, the voice of Ty, does a great job breaking the mold of what one would expect from a ferocious predator. He matches Ty’s chipper, happy attitude with a bright, approachable voice. The rest of the voice cast is great, but at times feels a little too modern (one of the dinotrux sounds like he was pulled straight off the beach).
While the concept (construction vehicles that are also dinosaurs) seems a bit gimmicky and ripe for merchandising opportunities, the show attempts to provide more substance. Since the creatures themselves are part machine and part tool, the characters have to use these different abilities and skill sets to overcome new obstacles they will face each episode. Dinotrux teaches viewers to explore the world around them, think creatively, and use their brains to engineer solutions to problems.
The plot in the pilot isn’t too cerebral, which is fine because it’s not meant to be. As mentioned above, the filmmakers did a great job of introducing us to a new world, establishing distinct characters, and giving us just a taste of what to expect in future episodes. Kids will no doubt be glued to their TV screens and this will definitely become a favorite of the Netflix generation. Who doesn’t love building, crushing, and, of course, dinosaurs?
What’s Next?
Starting August 14, the first 10 episodes of Dinotrux will be available for your binge-watching, viewing pleasure:
- Episode 1 – “Ty and Revvit”
- Episode 2 – “Scrapadactyls”
- Episode 3 – “Garage”
- Episode 4 – “Scraptors”
- Episode 5 – “Pit”
- Episode 6 – “Garby”
- Episode 7 – “Totrools”
- Episode 8 – “Desert”
- Episode 9 – “Sandstorm”
- Episode 10 – “Fake Ravine”
As you can tell from the episode titles, we’re in for a lot of fun new dinotrux, reptools, and locations. Dinotrux premieres on Netflix August 14.
What did you think of the Dinotrux pilot episode? Will you watch the series on Netflix?
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes
