Puzzle: Dinotopia: Festival of Children and Hatchlings by James Gurney

James Gurney - Dinotopia - Festival of Children and Hatchlings, med

Size:  1000 pieces
Dimensions: 76.2 cm x 60.96 cm
Painting: Dinosaur Parade
Artist: Steve A. Roberts
Producer: Springbok, Hallmark, 1992, PZL6183

Puzzle: The puzzle is quite appealing visually, but not made well: the pieces are large, thick, and do not fit together without a significant effort. There are many distinct colour regions and guides to make this puzzle trivial to assemble: the steps,  the building, the border between the sky and the trees, the distinct hides of the different dinosaurs, the flags, the crowd, and the saddles. The rest of the pieces can be filled in based on those.

Notes: “Dinotopia – A Land Apart From Time

Professor Arthur Denison and his son, Will, set out in 1860 on an ocean voyage to explore uncharted territories. What they found was more incredible than anything they might have imagined. When a typhoon ripped them from their schooner and into a raging sea, dolphins swam to the rescue and carried the pair to the tropical shore of the lost island of Dinotopia.

The father and son soon found, much to their astonishment, that Dinotopia was a land where all manner of dinosaurs lived peacefully and quite happily with human beings.

Accompanied by their faithful guide, Bix, a Protoceratops and one of the few dinosaurs who could “speak” human languages, Professor Denison and Will began to explore the wonders of Dinotopia.

They visited Waterfall City, which seemed to float on a sea of mist while gigantic waterfalls cascaded all around its walls. In Treetown they lived in rustic tree houses and slide down the neck of a Brachiosaurus whenever they wanted to visit the lowlands. They explored the dreamland of air and stone called Canyon City. And in Sauropolis, capital of Dinotopia, they witnessed the wonderfully lavish Festival in Honor of Children and Hatchlings. Gradually the enchantment of this lost world captivated both Professor Denison and Will, and they knew in their hearts that Dinotopia had become their true home, the place where they could “breathe deep, seek peace” and live in harmony with all.

The artist and author of Dinotopia, James Gurney, has created fantasy art for the covers of more than 70 books and has painted scenes of ancient worlds for several National Geographic articles. A few years ago he began a series of oil paintings of a fantasyland where dinosaurs and humans lived in harmony, and these paintings eventually led to the creation of the uniquely beautiful book Dinotopia. Gurney lives with his wife, Jeanette, also an artist, and their two sons in the Hudson Valley of New York State.” [Puzzle box]

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