REX: A Dinosaur's Story

About this event

Holiday Classics 2026 "Rex: A Dinosaur's Story could become a new Christmas movie tradition. [It] retains a beating heart, never condescending to its intended audience of children while likely to please adults."-Steve Erickson, Screen Slate New 4K Restoration! Directed by storied mogul and industry disruptor Haruki Kadokawa, and released two weeks before Jurassic Park, Rex: A Dinosaur's Story emerges from amber today as an exemplar of a bygone era of Japanese blockbusters. It follows Chie (Yumi Adachi), the young daughter of a palaeontologist who soon befriends an adorable T-Rex. As everyone seeks to exploit the dino-discovery for profit, the pair soon find themselves on the run from shady men and profiteers forcing Rex to act and model for endless advertisements and merchandise. Featuring expressive creature effects by Carlo Rambaldi (Alien, E.T., Possession); chase scenes by carriage, snowmobile and hot air balloon; in-camera height jokes and tokusatsu-indebted "suit-mation", as well as startling Christmas imagery, Rex is as adorable as it is unhinged, functioning as both wholesome holiday crowd-pleaser and cult curio in the making.