The show is about five teenagers, each with the power to turn into a respective dinosaur. They use this power to fight the evil Victor Veloci, who is intent on returning the world to the age of dinosaurs by turning humans and animals into new mutant dinosaurs and accelerating global warming. The series is also used to help teach viewers about many life lessons, such as how to deal with bullies, the effect humans have on the environment, and responsibility.
This show, along with Sushi Pack and Horseland, were the final three series produced by DIC before their acquisition with Cookie Jar Entertainment, who produced the second and final season of DinoSquad until the series ended its run in 2008. Cookie Jar (along with most of the DiC library) would be acquired by DHX Media (now known as WildBrain) in 2012.
Premise
On a school field trip to the tide pools, five teenagers, Max, Roger, Caruso, Fiona, and Buzz, leap into the ocean to save a dog, Rump, from a shark attack. Victor Veloci, the owner of a biogenetics company called Raptor Dyne and a shapeshifting Velociraptor disguised as a human, releases a substance called primordial ooze into the tide pools with the goal of reverting every living thing back to their early evolutions. The ooze mutates the DNA of the five teenagers, giving them the ability to turn into dinosaurs. Their mysterious science teacher, Ms. Moynihan reveals herself as another shapeshifting Velociraptor and telepathically shows the teens that when the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit the Earth, she and Victor survived, trapped in a cave. Over millions of years, their DNA mutated and gave them shapeshifting powers, and they integrated themselves into society, keeping their identities secret.
Victor Veloci ultimately seeks to take advantage of global warming and return the earth to the Mesozoic era under the belief that dinosaurs are superior. Ms. Moynihan believes that humans are superior because they gained dominance, evolved for reason and love rather than brute force and does what she can to hinder Victor from the shadows. Victor seeks to capture the Dino Squad in their dinosaur forms because they are perfectly formed dinosaurs rather than temporary mutations, but he doesn't know that they have human forms, and so he continuously mutates wild animals into dinosaurs with his primordial ooze to draw them out and try to capture them. Besides their world-saving duties, Max, Roger, Caruso, Fiona, and Buzz also need to deal with high school and typical teenage drama. To turn animals and other living things back to normal from the primordial ooze, they use the DNA Chiller, which causes the mutant DNA to come out from freezing, and then using the Spiller to vacuum it out. Veloci's plans are always thwarted and thus the return to the age of the dinosaurs was not meant to be. Dino Squad is set in Kittery Point, Maine.
Characters
Dino Squad members
Ms. Moynihan (Joanne Moynihan): A science teacher who is a Velociraptor that survived extinction and gained a human form. She can communicate telepathically with the teens.
Max (Rolf Maxwell): A hunky, 18-year-old high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class, he is the team leader and captain of the football team. His Dino form is a green Tyrannosaurus with brown spots (although his dino form has three fingers, unlike the real Tyrannosaurus, which had two). Max is voiced by Ian Eli Lee.
Roger (Roger Blair): An African-American high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class, he is very smart and has a prankster streak. He is able to come up with gadgets even though his creations fail at first. He is somewhat arrogant like Caruso, but always helps the team when duty calls. He has a younger brother named Mikey. His Dino form is referred to as a Styracosaurus in the series, although it has three horns like a Triceratops unlike the real Styracosaurus which only had one horn on its nose. Roger is voiced by Kelcey Watson.
Caruso (Erwin Caruso): A handsome high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class, he is vain and obsessed with the idea of fame, as well as his "good looks". He can be a pain sometimes though as his selfishness and arrogance hurt the team, but he did prove himself worthy to the squad in episode 23. In that same episode, he is revealed to have created his own line of moisturizers. He also practices yoga. His Dino form is a dark blue Stegosaurus with brown plates (although his dino form has five tail spikes, sharp teeth and no beak, unlike the real Stegosaurus which had a beak, flat teeth and four tail spikes). Caruso is voiced by Benjamin Beck.
Fiona (Fiona Flagstaff): A high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class, she is the only female on the Squad (with the exception of Ms. Moynihan), and has a penchant for fast things like rollerblades or race cars. What grosses out Fiona entices Buzz (spiders, insects, etc.). She is allergic to spider bites, as revealed in "Never Judge a Dinosaur by its Cover". Fiona is the squad's resident mechanic and gear head, and is also a tomboy. Max and Buzz may have a crush on her, but she doesn't seem to notice. Her Dino form is a yellow Spinosaurus with a brown sail and orange crest. Fiona has a younger sister named Terri. Fiona is voiced by Dana Donlan.
Buzz (Neil Buzmati): Another high school senior in Ms. Moynihan's class, he is 17, then turned 18. He is the youngest member of the team. He's the "punk" kid, who is scared of his own shadow. He is an animal lover, as shown several times throughout the series, and especially shows affection for small animals traditionally considered "gross", such as rats, snakes, cockroaches, and spiders. Buzz is anything but a coward when he is needed in action. His alternate form, a lime green Pteranodon with yellow underbelly (although his pterosaur form is portrayed as bipedal, whereas real pterosaurs were quadrupeds especially Pteranodon), is one of the two non-dinosaurs in the Dino Squad. Buzz is voiced by Nils Haaland.
Rump is the Dino Squad's mischievous pet bull terrier. He can transform himself into a strange animal that looks like a hybrid between a Gorgonopsid and modern dog. The Dino Squad has not yet determined the species of dinosaur his "dino form" is supposed to be. Rump usually gives Caruso a hard time from when he took his jacket in "The Beginning" as a stray dog, up until the episode "Runaway Ugly" when he ate Caruso's cupcake.
Supporting characters
Terri Flagstaff: Fiona's redhaired brainy younger sister, she is initially jealous of Fiona. She appears in three episodes ("A Mole Lotta Trouble", "Wannabe", and, "Never Judge a Dinosaur by its Cover"). Although she may be as intellectual as Roger, she has also exercised substandard judgment. She has white skin unlike her sister and wears blue glasses. Terri is voiced by Sarah Heinke.
One-time characters
Liam is a student who is on the Autism spectrum who only appeared in episode 14.
Mrs. Carrel is Fiona's neighbor who only appeared in episode 19.
Peter is Veloci's assistant who only appears in the first episode.
Raptor Dyne
Victor Veloci is the main antagonist of the series and a business magnate who owns Raptor Dyne. He wants to revert Earth back to the way it was millions of years ago in order to facilitate the return of dinosaurs as the dominant species on the planet by using his primordial ooze. He also wants to capture the Dino Squad members as dinosaurs not knowing they are really humans because they are perfectly formed dinosaurs. His dino form is a Velociraptor. He and Ms. Moynihan were the only survivors of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Henchman: Veloci's goons, they wear dinosaur shaped helmets with faceplates as part of their uniform, and ride dino-themed vehicles. In episode 23, Caruso dresses up as one to fake out Veloci's real henchmen.
Development
The series was first announced as a programme for DIC and CBS' Saturday-morning cartoon block (which would be named to KEWLopolis later on) in April 2007, under the name of I Was a High School Dinosaur.[4][5]
From April 2009 until July 2010, NCircle Entertainment released 5 DVDs of the series, each containing 3 episodes (except for the last volume, which has 4).
DVD/VHS name
Episodes
Release date
Go Dino!
The Beginning Growth Potential T-Rex Transformation
April 14, 2009
Raptor Attack!
Tangled Web Zoom In On Zoom Who'll Stop the Rain
April 14, 2009
Prehistoric Problems!
The Lost World Wide Web Headline Nuisance Who Let The Dog Out
August 18, 2009
Mutant Mayhem!
A Mole Lotta Trouble Pet Peeve The Not So Great Outdoors
February 2, 2010
Fire & Ice!
Bully 4 U Fire & Ice One Percent Inspiration Howa Loa Can You Goa
July 13, 2010
The series was also available to stream on Netflix from September 2014 until January 1, 2018, and is currently available to stream through Kid Genius and CONtv. In Australia, the series is available on Stan.
↑ Although the Cookie Jar logo appeared on the second season, DIC still produced that season before the purchase. Animation outsourced to Suzhou Hong Yang Cartoon Company Limited.
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