The 1999 series Walking with Dinosaurs remains a legendary docuseries, using cutting-edge technology to bring to life all sorts of creatures in a way that put even Jurassic Park to shame. When the BBC announced that it was working on a Walking with Dinosaurs 2 last year, it got fans beside themselves... but now that a trailer is out, some are starting to feel slightly disappointed.
BBC Factual and PBS, the two co-producers of the show, released a first look trailer for Walking with Dinosaurs 2 on Thursday, April 10, alongside news that Doctor Foster actor Bertie Carvel will narrate. No release date was shared, and you can see the trailer below:
Each of the six episodes of Walking with Dinosaurs 2 (the number being our addition to differentiate it from the original, not part of the title) focuses entirely on one dinosaur. For example, one episode will look at the life and times of the Triceratops, another the Spinosaurus, and the trailer shows that we'll see many more creatures beyond those six.
However, the Walking with Dinosaurs trailer also shows us another side to the show, and it's something that fans have quickly become quite critical about. In fact, it's something you may have noticed if you've watched the 60-second trailer above.
The CGI used to animated these creatures seems, for lack of a better word, 'off'. Just look at the smooth-looking textures of the headbutting dinos at 0:23, the odd way the hunter seems to have no weight at 0:27, or the unnatural-looking motion of the T-Rex at 0:54.
Just look at the YouTube comments of the above trailer to see some fan disappointment:
Over on Twitter / X, people share the sentiment, albeit in a more negative way:
You would think cgi would have improved over the years. Standards fall when everyone gets a participation trophy.April 10, 2025
Fans are largely comparing Walking with Dinosaurs 2 to two other shows: the Kenneth Branagh-narrated original, and the recent Prehistoric Planet.
Fans are surprised by how the reboot's CGI dinosaurs look less realistic and lifelike than those in the 25-year-old original, but some have figured out the likely scenario. Broadcast image quality was a lot lower back in 1999 (most TVs only output in Standard Definition, while now we have 4K which has many more pixels) and it's a lot easier to notice computer-generated imagery in higher-resolution videos. It's why many older films have effects that stand up better than newer movies.
Most commenters are bringing up Prehistoric Planet, which was first broadcast in 2022 on Apple TV Plus and narrated by David Attenborough. It was also made by the BBC, but by its Natural History Unit, while the new show is made by its Science Unit.
The dinosaurs in Prehistoric Planet looked great, with many Walking with Dinosaurs 2 commenters comparing the new series unfavorably with the Attenborough-helmed one. Given well-documented budget issues with the BBC, it's understandable that less time and money can be spent by the broadcaster in replicating cutting-edge TV, but it's also understandable that fans will compare WwD2 to another BBC-made dino show.
As someone who grew up fascinated by dinosaurs and still enjoys media about them (including the original Walking with Dinosaurs), I must say I was pretty disappointed when watching the trailer. I could barely pay attention to the dinosaurs as I was distracted by the CGI!
It's possible that this first-look trailer does a disservice to the look of Walking with Dinosaurs, and not every shot in the trailer looked as glaringly artificial as the examples above. I'll be optimistic about the series whenever it comes out, especially with the lack of a release date, giving them time to fix the issues, and I'm definitely now looking forward to Jurassic World: Rebirth to get my first dino fix this year...
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