Ernie, his little sister Julia, and his best friend Max accidentally start up a time machine while playing in Max’s inventor father’s workshop and find themselves transported back in time 65 million years, where they are adopted by doting dinosaur mom Tyra (Melanie Griffith) and a rambunctious dinosaur “brother” named Dodger (Rob Schneider). The three kids explore the excitement of the prehistoric world while, back in the present, Max’s dad and Ernie and Julia’s overprotective mom (Jane Lynch) plot their rescue. If they ever wish to make it back home, they must steer clear of their evil dinosaur rivals (William and Stephen Baldwin) and rely on the help of their “mother” and Dodger—after all, family isn’t always just the one you’re born into!