Extreme Dinosaurs is an American animated series produced by DIC Productions, L.P. and Bohbot Entertainment in 1997 based on a 1996 toy line from Mattel. This show is a spin-off of Street Sharks (where they first appeared as the Dino Vengers). The show is in the same vein as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jurassic Park. Extreme Dinosaurs was broadcast in syndication as part of Bohbot Entertainment's Bohbot Kids Network block where it aired for one season in 1997. The series was acquired by EMBA Media Associates Limited from BKN International AG in 2015

Plot

The series starred a Tyrannosaurus, a Triceratops, a Stegosaurus, and a Pteranodon that were transformed into super warriors by an interdimensional criminal named Argor Zardok. They rebelled against the alien criminal and battle with Argor's second group of warriors known as the evil Raptors. Eventually, the Raptors' objective is to cause global warming by increasing the Earth's temperature to suit themselves, not caring the humans shall suffer from global warming.

Characters

Extreme Dinosaurs

Raptors

The Velociraptors (or Raptors) are the archenemies of the Extreme Dinosaurs determined to conquer Earth or to change its climate by global warming to fit their comfort:

Quadrainians

The Quadrainians are a race of blue-skinned humanoids from the largely unseen Quadrainia:

Other villains

Allies

Other characters

Episodes

Development

The show was originally named Dangerous Dinosaurs when the series was first announced by Bohbot in December 1996. Karen Lee Brown of Bohbot deemed the series as being a cartoon that doesn't rely on weapons but having "enough action to intrigue kids". The show was originally planned as a weekly series.

Merchandise

In August 1997, Bohbot signed deals with over 22 companies for merchandising, including Mattel (Toys), Hallmark (Cards), Fruit of the Loom (Underwear) and Anchor Bay Entertainment (Home Video), although the toys launched prior to the show's launch in April. The launch was also promoted with a 'View & Win' promotion, where action figures and other licensed products were offered as prizes. In October 1997, Bohbot signed a deal with Creative Mills and H.H. Cutler Company for clothing, including sets, coordinates and T-shirts. In January 1998, Bohbot's international division BKN International signed UK and Australian home video deals with Carlton Video and Village Roadshow respectively.

Home video

In October 1997, Anchor Bay Entertainment released two VHS releases of the series - "Out of Time" and "Ick-Thysaurus Vacation", each containing two episodes. Two promotional tapes containing the episodes "Raptoroid" and "Bullzeye Surfs the Web" were also released, exclusively at Blockbuster stores. In the UK, Carlton Home Entertainment released the series on many VHS volumes. "Out of Time" and "Ick-Thysaurus Vacation" were double-cassette releases each including the bonus episode on the standalone tape, while other releases included "Lunartoons", "Raptoroid", "Jurassic Art", "Cyber-Raptors", which had three episodes on one VHS. Roadshow Entertainment released the series on VHS in Australia on the VHS volumes: "Ick-Thysaurus Vacation" and "Dinosaur Warriors". In 2006, Force Entertainment released the complete series over four single-disc DVD volumes. Each DVD volume included a single opening and closing sequence, with 13 episodes in production order. Pidax Film released the first 13 episodes on DVD in Germany, with English and German audio, on April 6, 2018, under license from Your Family Entertainment AG. This was followed up with three more volumes, released on June 22, August 31, and October 26, respectively, all together making up the complete series. Under license from 41 Entertainment and Invincible Entertainment Partners, Discotek Media will release the complete series on Blu-ray in 2024. Similar to their Street Sharks and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog releases, it will be released as a standard-definition Blu-Ray.

Future

Since the show ended in late 1997, the show has been made available on many streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime and Apple TV among other platforms. In 2021, "Bad Rap Rising", a live action fan film based on the series and using animatronics was released on small streaming platforms. It has no official connection to the series as the series is now owned by 41 Entertainment.

Toy line

Extreme Dinosaurs was a series of toys created by Mattel in 1996. It later spawned a TV series in 1997 with the same name. Originally called Dino Vengers, these toys are about a group of college teens who turn into dinosaurs (the plot for the toys is a lot different than the plot of the TV series). The main toys are "T-Bone", "Bullzeye", "Spike", "Stegz" and "Hard Rock". The enemies of the toy line are "Bad Rap", "Haxx" and "Spittor". Later on, the toys expanded into "Dino Vision" toys. There were also War Paint and re-colors of the toys. The toys were also a spin-off of Street Sharks, another toy line also by Mattel that was also made into a TV series.