Disney's Jurassic Lark

Summer moviegoers always look forward to the Disney movie. But if you're looking for The Lion King and Pocahontas, forget it.

Dinosaur is rated PG and it does not have one single song written by a pop music icon. It does have cutting-edge special effects that marry live action and animation. The results are pretty impressive, according to Early Show Contributor Laurie Hibberd.

Dinosaur tells the story of a herd trying to find a new nesting ground after a devastating meteor shower puts their world into chaos. Its stunning blend of live-action shots and computer-animated characters took six years and 900 people to get to the screen.

"The challenges were monumental," says producer Baker Bloodworth. "In addition to hiring the artists and building the studio, the software required to tell the story is gargantuan."

That software was not cheap. It cost over $80 million, in addition to the film's estimated $100 million budget. But for the producers, it was priceless.

"The computer animation is an incredibly versatile tool that can create anything you can imagine," explains producer Pam Marsden.

They started with a storyboard and, from there, added fur, skin, muscles, and other features that evolved from the story.

And they realized they needed to give their main characters lips.

"Once we realized that our story had no humans, and no one to be a performer, and that entire responsibility was on the dinosaurs, we felt that it was important that they talk, because someone had to be charming," recalls Marsden. "And so, lo! They got lips."

What they didn't get were singing voices. The producers say talking dinosaurs are one thing. But if Disney had made them put songs in, their staff would have walked.

The cast of speaking voices includes Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Julianna Margulies, Della Reese, and D.B. Sweeney.