| Dinotrux | |
|---|---|
Promotional artwork | |
| Also known as | Dinotrux Supercharged(seasons 6–8) |
| Genre | |
| Based on | Dinotrux by Chris Gall |
| Showrunners | David Kidd Ron Burch |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Robert Persaud Mireilla Kut |
| Composer | Jake Monaco |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jeff DeGrandis David Kidd[1] Ron Burch[1] |
| Running time | 23 minutes[2] |
| Production company | DreamWorks Animation Television[3] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | August 14, 2015 (2015-08-14) – August 3, 2018 (2018-08-03) |
Dinotrux is an American animated television series based on Chris Gall's series of books by the same name. It features a fictional prehistoric world inhabited by hybrid characters that are part animal and part machine.[3] OriginallyDreamWorks Animation had the intention to develop a film, but later decided to create a television series. From season six and onwards, it was known asDinotrux Supercharged. The show was later removed fromNetflix, and a birthday celebration spinoff short was also removed months later.
The dialogue was said to be "pun–laden", with the moral being that friends can take various forms. Said to be similar toDinosaucers, it is noted for being a continuation of apost-war period sentient machines trope. The mechanics of the show were noted to be realistic. It was nominated for twoAnnie Awards, oneLeo Awards, and sevenDaytime Emmy Awards, winning two.
In the world ofDinotrux, the creatures usually stay in herds within their species, or by themselves. They do not build structures either. However, the Dinotrux, which are machines modeled after dinosaurus, Ty-Rux, Dozer, Skya, and Ton–Ton work together with revtools, reptiles modeled after mechanicaltools, Revvit, Click–Clack, Waldo, and Ace, to encourage cooperation and construction. To build, or repair, their projects they need various materials. This results in the crew going to different fictional locations. While journeying, they meet new trux and trux species. Some of these are friendly, while others are hostile towards the protagonists. D-Structs, the show's main antagonist, tries to destroy their cooperation and their buildings. This results in them using the help of other characters, outside of the main cast, to defeat him. Although he had initially despised teamwork, D-Structs reluctantly works with other trux in the later seasons, in an attempt to use the other trux to defeat the main protagonists.
During the course of the series, 78 episodes ofDinotrux were released over eight seasons, concluding on August 3, 2018.
| Season | Subtitle | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N/a | 10 | August 14, 2015 (2015-08-14) | ||
| 2 | 13 | March 11, 2016 (2016-03-11) | |||
| 3 | 16 | October 7, 2016 (2016-10-07) | |||
| 4 | 7 | March 31, 2017 (2017-03-31) | |||
| 5 | 6 | August 18, 2017 (2017-08-18) | |||
| 6 | Supercharged | 6 | November 10, 2017 (2017-11-10) | ||
| 7 | 7 | March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23) | |||
| 8 | 13 | August 3, 2018 (2018-08-03) | |||
Season one released on August 14, 2015,[12] featuring ten episodes.[1]
Season two released on March 11, 2016,[13][14] featuring thirteen episodes.
Season three released on October 7, 2016,[15][16] featuring sixteen episodes.
Season four released on March 31, 2017,[17][18] featuring seven episodes.
Season five released on August 18, 2017,[19][20] featuring six episodes.
Season six released on November 10, 2017,[21] featuring six episodes.
Season seven released on March 23, 2018,[22] featuring seven episodes.
Season eight released on August 3, 2018,[23] featuring thirteen episodes.
DreamWorks Animation first optioned rights toDinotrux, short for "dinosaurus truck",[24] in March 2009, for approximately half a million dollars.[25][26] This was a month before the first book was published, and they had an intention to develop a computer-animated film.[26]
Dinotrux: Supercharged, a continuation of the originalDinotrux show, left Netflix on August 3, 2024.Dinotrux: Happy Birthday To You! left on October 26, 2024. An article fromWhat's on Netflix speculated that this removal was a part ofDreamWorks shows being removed, as Netflix's exclusive rights on them expire.Dinotrux: Supercharged no longer offers any official means to watch it, although some of the removed shows were put onPeacock. It is unclear whyDinotrux: Supercharged was removed before the main series, which is predicted byWhat's on Netflix to stay at least until January 1, 2028.[27]
TheArabic-languageDreamWorks Channel showedDinotrux on their programming.[28]
Keith Uhlich fromThe Hollywood Reporter comparedDinotrux toDinosaucers, noting the similarity in concept, idea, and characters. He considered the moral of "friends come in all shapes and sizes", to be "treacly", as the initial episodes mostly had smashing, followed by a short insert of morals. He called the dialogue "pun-laden", and Uhlich thought it worked well as an advertisement for toys.[29] The authors of the bookWriting for Animation say that, even thoughDinotrux is entirely fantastical, the mechanics of the show is very realistic. They point out that there are no "extreme sound effects" or comical visual jokes.[30] A paper published in the Technology and Culture section of theJohns Hopkins University Press notes thatDinotrux, among other shows, is an adaptation of the impulsive and unpredictable construction machine trope, common in thepost-war period. However, a key difference in the modern adaptation is that the humanoid machines do not have operators.[31]
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daytime Emmy Awards | 2016 | Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation | Devon Bowman, D.J. Lynch, Rob McIntyre and Aran Tanchum | Nominated | [32] |
| Outstanding Individual in Animation | Chad Weatherford | Won | [33] | ||
| Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation | Devon Bowman, Vincent Guisetti, Rob McIntyre, Shawn Bohonos, Jessey Drake, Andrew Ing, Marc Schmidt and Aran Tanchum | Nominated | [34] | ||
| 2017 | Outstanding Sound Mixing in a Preschool Animated Program | Roberto D. Alegria, Devon G. Bowman, Alex Hall, Rob McIntyre, DJ Lynch | Nominated | [35] | |
| Outstanding Sound Editing in a Preschool Animated Program | Andrew Ing, DJ Lynch, Marc Schmidt, Roberto D. Alegria, Devon G. Bowman, Alfredo Douglas, Rob McIntyre, Monique Reymond, Shawn Bohonos | Won | |||
| 2018 | Outstanding Sound Editing in a Preschool Animated Program | Dinotrux (Netflix) | Nominated | [36] | |
| Outstanding Sound Mixing in a Preschool Animated Program | Nominated | ||||
| Leo Awards | 2018 | Best Voice Performance Animationi Program or Series | Heather Doerksen: Dinotrux - Snowblazer | Nominated | [37] |
| Annie Awards | 2018 | Editorial in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | William Rinaldi, Justin Baker | Nominated | [38] |
| 2019 | Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children | Dinotrux: Supercharged for Episode: Crabcavator | Nominated | [39] |
Since 2015, Mattel has produced a line of die-cast vehicles and playsets based onDinotrux, under a master toy license covering the series.[40]