Palaeontologist Thomas Halliday breaks down prehistoric films
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- Опубліковано 25 кві 2024
- Palaeontologist and Evolutionary Biologist Thomas Halliday looks at how the Prehistoric era has been depicted in movies, including Ice Age, Studio Ghibli's Ponyo and Cesta do Pravěku.
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Otherlands is an epic, exhilarating journey into deep time, showing us the Earth as it used to exist, and the worlds that were here before ours. Travelling back in time to the dawn of complex life, and across all seven continents, award-winning young palaeobiologist Thomas Halliday gives us a mesmerizing up close encounter with eras that are normally unimaginably distant.
Halliday immerses us in a series of ancient landscapes, from the mammoth steppe in Ice Age Alaska to the lush rainforests of Eocene Antarctica, with its colonies of giant penguins, to Ediacaran Australia, where the moon is far brighter than ours today. We visit the birthplace of humanity; we hear the crashing of the highest waterfall the Earth has ever known; and we watch as life emerges again after the asteroid hits, and the age of the mammal dawns. These lost worlds seem fantastical and yet every description - whether the colour of a beetle's shell, the rhythm of pterosaurs in flight or the lingering smell of sulphur in the air - is grounded in the fossil record.
Otherlands is a staggering imaginative feat: an emotional narrative that underscores the tenacity of life - yet also the fragility of seemingly permanent ecosystems, including our own. To read it is to see the last 500 million years not as an endless expanse of unfathomable time, but as a series of worlds, simultaneously fabulous and familiar.
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Apologies everyone, for the film Ponyo we incorrectly listed the year of release as 2002. The correct year of release is actually 2008!
Thomas is a lot of fun, please bring him back for more.
We were more disappointed that you did not have a ditch.
"You've got to have a ditch!" 😁
Reference to another video.
That makes more sense! I found it so beautiful for a 2002 movie.
I appreciate the clarification! I remember watching it as a kid and was like “there’s no way I watched in 2002, did it take a few years to be promoted in the US???”
And his voice
There's something about a cute nerdy man talking about pre historic animals that just gets me
literally
@@KyuuDesperation no I'm just g4y darling
He is so cute
@@KyuuDesperation It's called being gay. Some people are gay. Get over it. I think Thomas is hot, too!!
Agreed!
I am LIVING for the level of enthusiasm and wonder in his eyes. So wholesome. Please bring Thomas again for more episodes.
ok
Yeah same!!
I see what you did there
Yeah he's great ☺️
If you're a Russian speaker - there's a nice paleontology lecturer - Дробышевский.
Normal People: That's a fish
Paleobiologist: That's our cousin
This man is so wholesome and wonderful; we must keep him forever safe.
I can tell he's holding himself back and trying to be as concise as possible, and would have expounded more if he had the time and the right platform for a lengthy discussion. He did well on explaining, I'd probably enjoy his lectures.
Wish he had a UA-cam channel where he can pop off! 😅
Right? I wanna see the whole lecture he wanted to give
Ice Age writers looking smarter than I gave them credit.
How would you even not give them credit in the first place without knowing what they did?
I don't think you'd have the right to judge a child's movie. Specifically based making children laugh and be happy.
Same! I thought the animals were from different periods of the era, mostly
@@on-jo7716 You can judge anything regardless of who it was meant for. And what about the kids who grew up and are now adults themselves and can understand and appreciate parts of the movies they didn't have the scope to do when they were young? Are they not allowed by the law of child fiction to judge the movie? And adults made it, so you still have adults judging it.
I remember whan Ice Age 1 or 2 was relesead and my biology teacher got pissed.
Somehow he knew that the 2nd movie was about the "end" of the ice age and the 3 was about dinosaurs.
He was mad because the lack of chronological consistency.
I'm happy to see someone of science appreciating this movie for once.
You can tell the guy loves what he’s talking about. And also that he was attempting to not just spout all the things he knew with all the technical jargon that everyday folk wouldn’t really understand.
The carboniferous era sounds actually kind of nice. I can't even fathom a swamp without leeches, worms, mosquitoes and alligators... It would be pretty peaceful until you encounter at 3 m long centipede I guess
Just ignore the cat sized spiders, eagle sized predatory dragonflies, amphibians that may have acted like alligators, and the extreme difference in oxygen saturation
@@normalhuman9878 the dragonflies would be closer to pigeon-sized, but still terrifying nonetheless
It would have been a nightmare in terms of heat and humidity.
And also the frequent and huge wildfires towards the end of it would be prett hazardous
@@normalhuman9878 the giant spider never existed, it was a eurypterid
Note regarding Ice Age- Someone at Fox said they would withhold funding if the dodos weren't included, frustrating the creators. So, they drew them going extinct in every scene they were in because they didn't belong there in the first place. Great video! :)
The dodos were hilarious, so I'm glad they included them lol.
@@ericbrown1101 Yes...it turns out everyone loves the dodos except the creators! LOL
@@ericbrown1101 If you ignore fact that dodo go extinct only few centuries ago.
@@ExtremeMadnessX yep, blame the Dutch
@@pixiechicjk Dude yeah I met one of the creators in college and someone asked about the dodos in the movie and he sighed really heavily into the microphone before explaining why they were there.
Palaeontologists would say "Well, not that long ago. Only about a couple of thousands of years"....
Haha true as would geologist
@@LadyQAB i am a geologist and i can confirm. In our lingo, couple of thousands of years is almost nothing.
What's a couple of thousand years compared to millions and billions lol
As it should be said compared to earths history.
@@afarensis9720 as bogo had pointed out about himself as well I'm a archeologist paleontologist type of person.* I guess you could say and basically a thousand years is like 10 years. And million years is 100 years and billion years is 1 million years.
Fun Fact: he mentions the Carboniferous period, it's called that because those trees existed before wood decaying bacteria evolved. This led to the trees trapping the carbon from the Carbon Dioxide in the ancient atmosphere instead of releasing it as the bacteria would consume the dead wood, so as the trees died and fell they'd just sit there and get buried and eventually turned into oil and coal.
I want to start studying paleontology once I finish my bachelors in geology and biology and now I absolutely NEED TO KNOW where he lectures because I‘m in love with the way he explains these things.
Professors that are this enthusiastic about their subjects and explaining them have become a rare gift and I‘d absolutely love to be in one of his lectures.
I’m an amateur palaeontologist and I’ve learned everything I know from UA-cam and just googling things I thought of, there are so many enthusiastic people this this guy here on UA-cam I suggest “Geo girl” but yah I wish I was in school for palaeontology and this guy seems like a great teacher
I love this guy’s enthusiasm, he must make such an incredible lecturer!
honestly i just hope my lecturers are gonna be like him when i got to uni lol
@@thomash6933 trust me, just enthusiasm doesn’t make for a good lecturer. I had a microbiologist lecturer that obviously loved what he did, and the content interested me, but I’ve still never been so bored in my life.
@@MauriceOfInfiniteAtrocities true, but from this video i could see him interesting his class, and i think id rather have an enthusiastic lecturer than a bored toneless one
Ye I got ASA BUTTERFIELD vibes from him lol
@@MauriceOfInfiniteAtrocities sounds like a you problem lol
What I learned in this video:
1. Most dinosaurs are older than grass and flowering plants.
2. Sloths used to be terrifying but now they're pathetic.
3. All tetrapods are technically lobe-finned fish. You are a fish.
Also, we have trash eyes compared to trilobites. Have a nice fishy day
@@victoirej.2611 I got a few trilobite skeletons. Myself. And I have blurry version so I confirm that.
Dinosaurs were not around before grass and plants. If they were they wouldn't actually be able to survive on the land. At first it was obviously amphibious types of fish and animals that came on land to escape predators. And all that then soon became dinosaurs long after insects and bugs and stuff like the giant centipede existed. Of course the giant centipede died out like 250 270 million years ago
The pathetic Sloths also existed back then and they were the only one to survive because they are pathetic so who truly won?
im a fish? Well, my day just got better
He's so cute, he's so excited about it.I love hearing people talk about stuff they are passionate about!
This man was absolutely the child who told you random dinosaur facts with no context and I'm living for it.
Edit: Can we talk about how cute the way he says "Sloths" is 🥺
Somehow these animations are ten times better researched than historical films.
cause they gotta make everything from scratch.
Artists are researchers
Because that’s how good Studio Ghibli’s works are ❤
Finally! A paleontologist who breaks down movies that wasn’t Jurassic Park/World.
As a Czech I was especially proud to see Cesta do pravěku. It’s a fantastically made film
Ponyo is definitely in my top favorite movies just because I enjoyed it, the prehistoric creatures in the movie were really cool to me but I never knew what they were, so its nice seeing an explanation about them.
He's very like the tenth Doctor, his face, the way he's very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, the way he opens his eyes wide, and his use of terms like "weird, biological jelly lenses".
Or Doctor House If He’s Not Voiced By Hugh Laurie
He got so excited about trilobites that I now desperately want someone to create a time machine for the sole purpose of letting him meet one while it was alive.
I noticed that too. Get this man a trilobite!
I have ADHD and it would be impossible for me to focus long enough to read your entire comment but I wish you the best of luck in your work! I hope you enjoyed the video!
Ii thought tribolites existed in our time until this video and now I'll disappointed too...
You understand our atmosphere was severely different. We can't go back in time without suits for it and they can't survive today....
@@TS-xn1mc I have ADHD too but I enjoy this subject and the mistakes people make
What a lovely infectious energy this man has - he's clearly passionate and very knowledgeable! What a joy to watch :)
I've never really been that interested in prehistoric stuff but I found myself watching the whole video because of his enthusiasm and happiness, it was awesome.
Bring this guy back! He is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
I actually saw the American version of that Czech film as child. Good memories.
I always love when experts get all giddy and excited about their favorite parts/facts, it's always super contagious :D
Listening to this man is like listening to Newt Scamander about Fantastic Beast and where to find them, except this one is real. The level of enthusiam he has is just 🤩
YES!!!! exactly what i was thinking!!
Perfect description!
Please bring this man back I love his energy, he seems to genuinely enjoy talking about all this so much
I could watch him all day. So passionate, so knowledgeable… like how can someone retain that much detail on such a huge subject!?!?!? Love love love it
Can’t stop laughing at his pronunciation of “sloth”... like it makes sense but I didn’t know that was a way that some regions say that word 😂 I giggled every time!
It could be the more accurate pronunciation coz he says "slowths" and sloths are "slow".
Well that is the way Sir David Attenborough says it as well. Even if most people don’t I don’t think I could argue with how Attenborough pronounces animal names.
@@dubbingsync fun fact: scientists refer to Sir Attenborough before naming a new species of anything.
It is definitely Slow-th. Sloh-th is the sin.
I didn't mean to steal your response, but that's exactly what I just said lol
This man’s passion for his subject matter of study is so magnetizing.
The amount of knowledge this man has is astounding, I wouldn't know the first thing about paleobiology. Also, I'm pretty shocked to learn that 1. Fish aren't really a thing and 2. Humans are technically fish. That's wild!
Please bring him back again, this was lovely!
I learnt Czech language among others and this dude shocked me how nicely he pronounced the name of that movie. Kudos.
It was really bad...
as a czech person i have to say it was pretty good, i was suprised too
Bet this movie was very relevant on college.
As a czech person I agree
I live how like her mentions the period that the fish that were shown in ponya are from, and then is just enthusiastically nodding along as the kid mention “oh those are from the - period” like he’s so excited to have it that the information is correct and that they’re showing them as accurately as we can guess
I love how passionate and enthusiastic Thomas is about everything. It’s all extremely interesting and listening to him just makes me want to learn more and more
Didnt expect to see Cesta do praveku here, a film from my home country. It is a classic among adventure films here in Czech Republic and I remember watching over and over on VHS as a kid, and I was scared shitless by some of the scenes. I really recommend watching it, even as an adult.
Proud czech moment.
This is a certified Český moment
Same, didn't expect a Czech movie in this, but here were are and I'm glad.
i was so confused for a second when i saw the title cesta do praveku like wasn’t i watching video in english?
At the beginning when they showed the three split screens I was like, is that what I think it is? Was not disappointed!
This could be three times as long and still wouldn't be long enough, more please
Halliday's enthusiasm is so intense, he makes me want to drop everything and study paleontology.
This guy held my attention perfectly. It's awesome when someone is like that. I would happily listen to him speak all day long.
This video is so great and the guy is so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about his field that it almost makes me wish I'd gone into a different career. Working in a high-stress corporate environment, one of my favourite things to do after work is read about palaeontology, history, philosophy, astronomy, etc. Makes me think it must be so great to make a living learning about things that interest you and teaching others, although I imagine academia has its own stressors and challenges as well.
Guys like this make me wish I'd appreciated my liberal arts education more! I resented so many of my science classes -- wish I'd had lecturers like this
@@sarahb5464 I'm currently a student right now and I love biology even though I am failing it. Animals, how they evolve and breed is very interesting and I love learning about them but all the basics such as genetic and mitochondria and such bore me. I tried but I really can't get into it. I know I have to understand that to become better at biology but it's very hard
I'm 28 and have a Bachelor in Design and a Diploma and Film & TV. I've just gone back to University to follow my passions of history, archaeology and palaeontology. Believe me when I say, it's NEVER too late. It's your life, and you only get one. I encourage you to pursue your dreams, no matter how scary it might be! You can do anything!
@Cheggars Amazing !! Good on you, go for it! All the best with your future!
One of the biggest stressors in academia seems to be the money. Getting to know grad students, I realized that they weren't skinnier than all the business people I knew because they were eating healthier. It was because they had to be very careful with their food budgets.
I'd like to hear this dude talk more about prehistoric animals ,love his enthusiasm
I love watching people talk about things they're passionate about. He's so enthusiastic and it's a joy to watch
This man literally has my dream job that I wanted to have as a child. Also, I love his accent and could listen to him talk for hours. ❤
Such a lovely man having a good time discussing all these facts! Please bring him back ☺️
That Ice Age picture description was mind-blowing in the best way possible!
Thank you for using original version our Cesta do pravěku :) It looks soooo coool
This is a man who loves what he does. What a wholesome dude.
I love how he described the four main characters in Ice Age what they represented. 😄
I like that he’s so pleased with all the films. Great attitude!
Mr. Halliday's eyes are and general demeanor are so expressive, it seems like I can feel his excitement and love for the subject through the screen. It's really catchy. :)
It's so lovely that he's so passionate about what he does, it immidiately makes me enthousiastic as well! I feel like i've learned so much from this video and that's mostly because he made me want to pay attention with his lively speaking
As a geologist with a strong interest in paleontology this video gave me life! Really cool to see the same kind of enthusiasm for these ancient creatures as I have
The way this man speaks. I love his energy and intelligence. Its so attractive. And i could listen to him all day. I learnt so much. Love it.
A Czech here: my kids love Cesta do pravěku even today. It is a a genious movie from a genius director (Karel Zeman). And the backgrounds are (I think) all paintings by famous czech artist and 2nd gen pioneer of paleoart Zdeněk Burian - if anyone isn't familiar with his work, google his name and I garantee you'll have your mind blown!
This man is so well spoken and knowledgeable in his field. I love learning from people like this.
i love that he mentioned that there’s many different species of prehistoric animals in ice age that are from different areas of the world, but the funniest thing is that the movie takes place during the time of Pangea, which was when the world was just one plaine, and the actual division happens in one of their later films
Fun fact! Pangea was most likely already pretty broken up at the time of the ice age (although it probably didn't look anything like modern continents)
The continents were already split up and starting to move into their familiar places by the time Tyrannosaurus Rex was about.
During the Ice Age the continents would still be slightly different but _very_ similarly placed to how we're familiar with them, with the main difference being that the sea level would be lower, making things look quite a bit different in some places. You know, because of all the ice.
I think what OP meant is that in the diegesis of the movie, its still Pangaea because the 4th movie I think it is, is specifically about when the continental drift happens for them. Of course, in the first movie there’s no reason or clue to believe that it was taken into account by the creators when choosing the fauna of the movie
The way he described the peacefulness of the swamp was beautiful!
There is something amazing with a person taking about somthing they really love, and that they love sharing. How their enthusiasm just spreads and I end up being as excited as they are.
I can listen to Thomas Halliday all day; informative, fun and enthusiastic. Lovely!
I feel like I was just transported back in time to my 2nd grade school field trip to the museum of natural history. It's one of my favorite memories! Watching an expert discuss this subject matter with such enthusiasm was extremely enjoyable. 👏👏👏👏
Done my man dirty with that thumbnail
thomas is adorable, such endearing enthussiasm and the way he talks and judges these clips is jsut cheerful :)
The way he explains the way he gets excited is so amazing i have to give him applause such a cool vibe,it would be great to learn from him
I love the fact that he uses an animated movie as a great example in his lectures
i love when people, like this guy, are very enthusiastic about things
0:42 This freeze frame here is just perfect. You just tell from these creatures’ body language that they’re having some kind of argument.
I love the pure joy and excitement talking about these little details 🥰
He’s such a nerd… it’s awesome! I love hearing things from people who speak with such enjoyment and like fascination for the topic!
This guy is literally Otis from Sec Education but for paleontology 😂😂
I love him to death. I think he is super cute when he gets all exited at 11:00 💕✨
I agree! He looks similar to and give the vibe of Otis. He could be Asa’s relative. 😂
Your not getting his number...
@@Fatherofheroesandheroines calm down mat
@@bingusboop3829 two things. No. And im not a doormat,so learn to spell lol.
@@Fatherofheroesandheroines cringe
I love these types of videos, the experts are always so excited to be talking about their craft/field of study. I would love to learn more about Paleontology.
One of the best of these I've seen! Lovely, absolutely lovely
I wanna have a beer with this guy SO bad.
I'd listen to him all day, he should get a UA-cam channel if he doesn't already!
I JUST REALISED THAT THIS IS THE AUTHOR OF OTHERLANDS! Honestly, an incredible book.
So much passion in his eyes and tone. The sheer excitement.
I'm going to need at least two more of these. Really great stuff.
Love this guy! “I use this in lecture…as an overall setting it is not at all accurate.” 😂
The real live Ross from Friends. I love how he gets so excited, it’s very sweet.
I couldn’t place why trilo bites sounded so familiar, then I realized they were items in neopets we used for quests😂 This was so informative and the author was so charming~ Loved this!
This is great...Am I the only one thinking Thomas reminds them of Sid?
Literally thought the same thing. What a legend!
Well this was fascinating! I had no idea sloths had such a diverse background. Those ground sloths were enormous!
I love hearing him talk. It's usually hard to keep me interested for long, but I loved every second of this
Love love love this guy, please bring him back for more!!
The Czech film from the 1950s comes in a triple feature with two other amazing films and everyone needs to see it. Particularly the Invention of Destruction one.
"the placodermes gave rise to all the other jawed fish, including cartilaginous fish like sharks and the bony fish like us" I love the way he put this.
Edit: and he goes on to say "and the third group of lobe-finned fish are the tetrapods, us", I lost it
No matter how different we may seem, we’re all just really weird fish
Makes me think of the article I read about how hiccups are a an evolutionary remnant of the transition from breathing using gills to using lungs.
Brilliant.. Loved your chat!
This guy is great. Really hope to see him on again he just makes you interested in what he's saying because of his enthusiasm.
Love that they showed the clip from Ponyo, I've always thought it was interesting that they put those ancient aquatic creatures in that film!
This man is a delightful treasure, what an absolute lad
Such an interesting man to listen to! Just love listening to his enthusiasm about the subject! Would love to hear more from him
Putting Sid in the thumbnail next to Thomas was so purposeful LMAO
This is extremely interesting! I've wanted to be a paleontologist since I was 3. Unfortunately it didn't work out financially so now I'm a nurse but I'm still a rabid enthusiast!
I’ve also wanted to be a paleontologist since I was 3! Though ecology is looking really tempting now
This made me want to read more. The author did a good job in explaining, very pleasant and entertaining. I'd attend his lecture tbh
His book "otherlands" is worth a read
How much I enjoyed him! You can tell he loves his job and he explains it so good! I am very keen on hearing more of him!
I'm relieved to know I'm not the only teacher who heavily relies on films to explain stuff 😂😂😂😂
Amazing video 👍👍👍
Gawd he’s adorable! His enthusiasm and accent makes me feel like he’d be an amazing teacher/lecturer
I´m so glad that he discussed Cesta do pravěku (A trip to the prehistoric time) among the others. The way he spoke about it was very charming and peeked my interest in how much goes into reaserch when it comes to designing props and backgrounds and characters for an animated film, no matter the technique that´s being used. I highly recommend this film)
His love for the subject shines through. That more than anything keeps my interest.
I've just finished reading Otherlands, and it's one of the best books on palaeontology I've read.