Updated: December 26, 2021
The Animal World (1956)
Having won an Academy Award for his documentary-style study of ocean life called The Sea Around Us,
producer Irwin Allen decided to make a similar film about the history of animal life on the planet
Earth. For a segment dealing with prehistoric life, the stop-motion special effects were created
by Willis O'Brien ( King Kong) and Ray Harryhausen (Mighty Joe Young). In it, we see dinosaurs
walking, fighting, eating, and even laying eggs including the birth of a baby dinosaur!
The stop-motion models were highly-detailed, and their prehistoric environment was beautifully
designed. Unfortunately, The Animal World was never released to theaters and except for a few clips
there and there the entire film has rarely been seen by Harryhausen fans.
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