“WHY DINOSAURS?” spurs on the next generation of scientists

Many people may remember having a fascination with dinosaurs as a kid, but typically this interest fades as they grow up. This was not the case for James Pinto who, alongside his father Tony Pinto, wrote and directed the 2024 film “WHY DINOSAURS?”

“WHY DINOSAURS?” was screened at the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) on Saturday, Sept. 28. It follows James, a kid from Simi Valley, California who never lost his childhood passion for dinosaurs, alongside his father Tony on their journey to answer the question: Why dinosaurs? The film explores the proliferation of dinosaurs in media and pop culture, as well as the ever-evolving world of paleontology, all with the goal of understanding what draws people to dinosaurs.

When the project started, Tony said he wasn’t even trying to make a feature length film. “It was intended to be a practice documentary — maybe 20 minutes,” he said. While the film started as a small project, the Hollywood premiere in November had more than 300 people show up, according to Tony.

Seven years of interviewing, filming, editing and re-editing later, Tony is now busy traveling to different screenings at museums and film festivals. James can’t make it to all of them as he has started his graduate degree in paleontology at the University of Southern California, Tony explained.

After the screening, MOR hosted a panel of experts in the field that included Kallie Moore — paleontologist and curator for the University of Montana Paleontology Center — and Kathryn Abbott, a science educator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Both Abbott and Moore also appeared in the film.

Additionally, the panel included John Scannella, curator of paleontology at MOR, Ashley Hall, paleontologist and outreach program manager at MOR and Tony. James was not at this particular screening, but according to Tony, he attends every screening that fits within his schedule. The panel fielded questions from the audience regarding the film, paleontology and each panel member’s favorite dinosaur.

The audience varied in age from dino-obsessed youth to students studying paleontology at MSU. Sophomore Matthew Wilbur is enrolled in the Honors College studying paleontology, ecology and film production. “Like most kids, I was kind of just enamored with the idea of dinosaurs,” he said. Wilbur shared that his interest in the film stemmed from his film production background, as well as his love of dinosaurs. Many in the audience also shared a passion for the prehistoric creatures.

“My first introduction to dinosaurs was going to a place called Dinosaur World in Plant City, Florida and that’s kind of where I first heard the word paleontology,” said Joey Cattedra, an MSU senior studying paleontology. She said that she has since been obsessed with dinosaurs and theme parks. “It was kind of a phase that just never left me,” she said.

While the film hasn’t been released to the public yet, Tony said he plans on hosting a virtual world premiere at the end of the year but has not yet decided on a time. Next year, the film will be released on PBS so that more people can access it.

Through this film, Tony wants the next generation of scientists to know what’s available to them. “That's the message we're trying to put out there — little aspiring paleontologists or scientists of any kind can put themselves out there,” he said.