18 Iconic Dinosaur Characters from The Movies, TV, & Games

a roaring trex breaking open a car with kids

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HUGE, ROARING, and FIERCE beyond our imaginations — dinosaur characters are just a wonder to behold. People love them on the silver screen, on TV, on smartphones, and even in our prehistoric video games.

On our end, we love dinosaurs so much we made plenty of realistic animatronics, costumes, and puppets of them. And they’re all inspired by the dinosaurs that have captured everyone’s imagination. As a ruler, dinosaurs ruled the era in the past time.

We’d like to share that awe and wonder with you too! So check out our fun round-up of dinosaur characters that will surely inspire.

Sounds good? Let’s go!

Dinosaur Characters from the Movies

Jurassic Park entrance gate with a green vehicle entering

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Isn’t it that our most vivid imagination of dinosaur characters came from the movies? When dinosaurs ruled the earth, everything was shrouded in a layer of mystery. Fan-favorite films like the Jurassic Park franchise, Godzilla, and Disney’s The Good Dinosaur brought these prehistoric wonders alive.

So, here’s a list of your favorite dinosaur characters from hit films that will bring back the Jurassic wonder.

1. Dinosaur Movie Characters: Jurassic Park’s T. rex

a brown T. rex chasing a man beside a green vehicle

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Can you imagine a list of dinosaur characters without the fierce T. rex from Jurassic Park? We can’t, for sure! The roar, the glare, and the groundbreaking cinematic effects make this animatronic T. rex iconic. The T-rex is also on the list of the Top 15 Coolest Dinosaurs to Ever Live on Earth.

2. Dinosaur Movie Characters: Jurassic World’s the Raptor Squad

a man playing with four baby velociraptors

Source by: Jurassic World on GIPHY

Wondering what are the names of the 4 dinosaurs in Jurassic World? Their names are Blue, Delta, Echo, and Charlie. Fondly known as The Raptor Squad. These endearing Velociraptors became one of fans’ favorite dinosaur movie characters because of how they grew up in front of the audience’s eyes.

Blue, the leader of the pack, also showed empathy and affection which stole people’s hearts. Just like how this baby blue velociraptor puppet stole ours:

blue-gray baby velociraptor puppet on brown plants

Source by:  Only Dinosaurs

3. Dinosaur Movie Characters: Godzilla, “King of the Monsters”

giant brown dinosaur roaring

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Jurassic Park’s T. rex was super realistic. But this dinosaur character known as the King of the Monsters seriously went beyond our imagination.

This mutated Tyrannosaurus rex dominated the big screen, big monsters, and the possibilities of what a dinosaur can become. Awesome!

4. Dinosaur Movie Characters: Toy Story’s Rex

ute green animated toy dinosaur roaring in front of a cowboy toy

Source by: Disney on GIPHY

In contrast to dinosaur movie characters like Godzilla and Jurassic Park is the funny and lovable Didisney dinosaur character Rex from Toy Story. He’s the comical sidekick of Woody and Buzz in their adventures.

He’s also a dinosaur who often worries if Andy is going to replace him with a fiercer-looking dinosaur. It’s these two things that make Rex a lovable and relatable character.

5. Disney Dinosaur Characters: Aladar and Neera the Iguanodons

long blue-green dinosaur statue in front of a building

Source by: Castles, Capes & Clones

Standouts from Disney’s dinosaur characters are Aladar and Neera the Iguanodon.

  • Aladar struck a chord in the audience’s heartstrings because of his compassionate and brave character as he led the protagonists to a safe place.
  • While Neera is Aladar’s love interest who’s warm to young dinosaurs and the antagonist, Kron’s, supportive sister.

They’re well-designed too! Disney really went all out when they produced their first movie that was purely computer-generated.

If you want to get a dinosaur like a Disney character in real life, you can click here, and we will help you achieve it.

6. The Good Dinosaur Characters: Arlo & Poppa Henry

long-necked green dinosaur looking at green glowing objects

Source by: Disney on GIPHY

Arlo and Poppa Henry are these lovable Apatosauruses in Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur.

  • Arlo is the film’s main protagonist who’s a timid dinosaur that’s placed in a situation where he has to face his fears and step into his full potential as a dinosaur.
  • Poppa Henry is Arlo’s dad whose warmth and support are endearing as he raises Arlo.

7. Dinosaur Movie Characters: Land Before Time’s Littlefoot

long-necked pink dinosaur looking at the big leaf

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Who can forget the heart-wrenching story of Land Before Time? The dinosaur characters of this beloved film from the late 80s is led by an Apatosaurus named Littlefoot. Littlefoot’s friendly and positive character has made him a favorite among the other dinosaurs in the cast. The movie this character is in is still on the list of 20 Best Dinosaur Cartoon Movies for Kids: The Latest List.

8. Dinosaur Movie Characters: Land Before Time’s Ducky

small brown dinosaur on top of an egg

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And Ducky! Who can forget Ducky from Land Before Time’s roster of dinosaur characters? She’s this cute Saurolophus that’s famously known for her catchphrase, “Yep! Yep! Yep!”

Dinosaur Characters From TV

cartoon man in orange shirt and blue tie sitting beside a blue dinosaur

Source by: Boomerang Official on GIPHY

Dinosaurs are everywhere! They rule on the big screen and dominate the boxes we used to call TVs. Check out these dinosaur characters who starred in hit TV shows and cartoons.

9. Dinosaur King Characters

dinosaur king complete season 2 collection

Source by: Amazon

Anime fans love Dinosaur King because of the action-packed episodes of dinosaurs who battled other dinos together with their trainers. Dinosaur King characters like:

  • The leader Max’s Triceratops called Chomp
  • Max’s best friend Owen’s Carnotaurus named Ace
  • The female lead Zoe’s Parasaurolophus known as Paris

It reminds you of Pokemon too because of how the dinosaurs are trained and collected by the main protagonists. If you also want to experience the fun of taming dinosaurs, our electronic dinosaur products or the costume like this Lucario Pokemon Costume for show may help you. 

10. Dinosaur Train Characters

animated green and orange dinosaurs dancing with two birds

Source by: PBS Kids on GIPHY

Are you ready to go aboard a train of fun and learning with musical dinosaurs? This show by PBS Kids makes learning paleontology lively through Dinosaur Train characters like:

  • Buddy Tyrannosaurus
  • Tiny & Shiny Pteranodon
  • Ned Brachiosaurus
  • King Cryolophosaurus
  • Tank Triceratops

Did you know this show was made by Craig Bartlett? He’s the creator of the successful Nickelodeon cartoon, Hey Arnold. It’s also produced by the Jim Henson Company. No wonder the Dinosaur Train characters were a hit!

11. The Flintstones’ Dinosaur Character: Dino

cartoon man in orange shirt and purple dinosaur dancing in roller skates

Source by: Boomerang Official on GIPHY

If dino Dino was a dog, he’d be the equivalent of man’s best friend back in the prehistoric era. He’s a Snorkasaurus from the dinosaur cartoon show, The Flintstones.

Dino ran to greet Fred, his owner, as soon as he got home and was his loyal pet throughout the series. It’s always a Yabadabadoo time for Fred with Dino!

12. Rugrats’ Dinosaur Character: Reptar

cartoon baby in pink shirt holding a green trex toy

Source by: NickRewind on GIPHY

Reptar is Rugrats’ favorite toy dinosaur who’s a spoof of Godzilla. He’s a mutated T. rex who’s sometimes a hero, sometimes villain, skates on ice, and also breathes fire. How about that for a T. rex?

13. The Dinosaurs TV Series: The Sinclair Family

famliy dinosaurs with beautiful clothes

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The Dinosaurs TV series brings back so many memories for those who were able to catch this show in the 90s. The everyday family banter, puppetry, and animatronics helped make the show popular.

The dinosaur characters who starred there were:

  • Earl the Megalosaurus
  • Fran the Allosaurus
  • Robert the Hypsilophodon
  • Charlene the Protoceratops
  • Baby Sinclair the Megalosaurus

Here’s a fun fact. Did you know the catchphrase “not the mama!” actually came from a real baby? Yep! It wasn’t merely a script but a line from the creator’s own baby who also used to say the same thing at home.

14. Barney the Purple Dinosaur

purple dinosaur costume dancing with a child

Source by: Mola TV Kids on GIPHY

Barney in dinosaur show made learning fun through his lively dances and heartwarming songs. He’s a bright purple T. rex costume that also taught kids lessons like unconditional love and the joy of imagination.

15. Dinosaur Cartoon Characters: The Dinobots

several robot dinosaurs

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Dinosaur cartoon shows like Transformers’ Dinobots inspired the imaginations of kids from the 80s. These dinosaurs in the shape of robots were one of the Autobots’ powerful fighters. They’d make pretty cool customized dinosaur costumes too, don’t you think?

16. Dinosaur Cartoon Characters: Dino-Riders

graphic art of T. rex in armor battling other dinosaurs in a jungle

Source by: Andrew Mason

Dinosaur characters are often rampaging through the streets breathing fire or dancing on stage. But how about ones that have futuristic armor battling robot dinosaurs? That’s what you get with Dino-Riders.

Dinosaur Characters from Games

super mario riding on green dinosaur in yellow background

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These prehistoric reptiles are just so versatile when you pair them up with your imagination that even video games can’t go without dinosaur characters. Here are two beloved dinosaurs from video games that will surely make you smile.
For products like Mario riding a dinosaur in the picture, we have also made different designs for dinosaur lovers. You can click here.

17. Super Mario’s Dinosaur-like Character: Yoshi

green video game dinosaur in brown and pink background

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Yoshi is technically not a dinosaur as Nintendo clarified. He is simply a “Yoshi”. But we still included Super Mario’s faithful sidekick because he looks like a cartoon dinosaur, also hatches from eggs, and occasionally roars.

18. Tekken 3’s Gon

a small orange dinosaur in a blue background

Source by: deviantart.com

This dinosaur character may be small but he packs a punch! Gon’s one of the video game Tekken’s characters you got to unlock after Survival Mode. He had two looks to play with: red or blue boxing gloves and a turtle shell. Gon also has his own manga where you can get to know him a little more.

Why Did Dinosaurs Become Popular?

three men watching a dinosaur fossil on TV

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There are plenty of reasons why dinosaurs became popular. Paleontologist Stephen Brinkman shares the late Stephen Gould’s insight into why dinosaurs became popular. Here’s what he quoted in his interview with National Geographic:

“The late paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould wrote that the popularity of dinosaurs is due to three virtues: big, fierce and extinct

There’s just something thrilling and wonderful about encountering things that are larger than life. Additionally, science fiction wordsmith Seth Dickinson shares with Wired that,

tragedy and melancholy are part of the appeal of dinosaurs“.

roaring brown trex with banner falling in front

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Can you relate? That struck a chord with us. It’s a theme that you’ll notice too in most of the dinosaur characters‘ movies, TV shows, and games we just shared.

We see here that dinosaurs are a prehistoric wonder worth remembering and studying. Plus, they’re fun too! So whatever your reason for loving dinosaurs, keep at it. We hope the fun trivia we shared inspired and brought you childlike wonder. If you want to know more about it, you can click The 15 Best Animal Movies with the Best Stories & Animations and Which Is Your Favourite Ice Age Animal From the ICE AGE Movie.

We have also prepared dinosaur knowledge for you to help you grow into a dinosaur expert faster.

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