Gertie, and Other Appearances

Apatosaurus first showed up on film, as Brontosaurus, as Gertie, the lovable cartoon dinosaur of the silent film era.

Winsor McCray's 1914 cartoon was not to be the only popular appearance of either Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus. Slightly updated versions of the long-necked cartoon made their way into The Land Before Time decades later; though the argument for another sauropod "fathering" this reconstruction can certainly be made. Between those two cartoons there was Disney's Fantasia as well.

This version was an in-between reconstruction with the swamp dwelling behemoths still living in the water. There was not as much emphasis on Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus as there was in Gertie or The Land Before Time. Regardless, The Rite of Spring classes up that dinosaur duel tremendously. Modern interpretations of Apatosaurus are most accurately portrayed in When Dinosaurs Roamed America

and Walking with Dinosaurs in tandem; however, in the latter, it is only shown in two scenes during the Ballad of Big Al special episode.