Two Words: Triple Changers.
But they'd have be huge Trucks (or in Swoop's case a Jet).

Discuss!

 

Or just have them being Dino mode and robot mode. No more disguise. It's full out war against the Decepticons

 

They should be skeletons from a museum. Then they will automatically reasearch and fill in the muscles and skin, and pretty much become that Dinosaur.

 

I think that they should just copy Animated's explanation. It was plausible enough, in my opinion.

 

This...

...or this. If we have a giant robot scorpion and cat/animal thing (Scorponok and Ravage), they can throw in the Dinobots without much of an explanation and it won't really bother me that much. If they can think up a clever reason, great. I'd still rather see Movie Dinobots with a weak or no explanation as to the dino-modes rather than not see them at all because 'we couldn't figure out a good explanation for them.' It's selfish, but that's just me.

 

I always thought it could be real straight forward. Allspark+animitronic dinosaur robots=Dinobots. The trick would be figuring out the why it happens. Hmmmm...let me think about it and I will get back to you guys.

 

I liked the Idea of them been Triple Changers from the beggining of chooeing how to fit them in. Once Megatron reveals the Transformers on the TV Broadcasting, of course they're (the Public) is gonna know, so they're isnt a need to hide.
But how will they keep up going places with they're Automotive Counterparts? Answer is Wheels (Or Jet, for Swoop). So therefore, Triple Changers.
Anyone see what I'm trying to get at? Also, if you do, can you please tell me if there is something I missed while thing about the Dinobot's Been Triple Changers?

 

I suppose at this point having them already being on Earth, lying inert, would be too much of a stretch considering that explanation has already been given to the AllSpark, Megatron, Jetfire and

Spoiler

the Harvester and the Primes.

 

It would really suck if Bob Orci reads this thread and decides to steal an idea.

 

In the ROTF novelisation, Jetfire at first states that his mission is to "destroy the dinosaurs", after which Mikaela tells him that he's a bit too late.

Maybe there could be other bots who shared his mision at that time, but were buried by something like a lava flow, and who get unearthed by a rival government and are reactivated to join the Autobot fight against the Decepticon army. And these bots just happen to have skeletonised dinosaur alt modes, due to their original mission (and the way that they were buried for so long).

But then again, the comic adaptation says Jetfire's only been on earth for 3,000 years, and the novel says that The Fallen only built the sun harvester 17,000 years ago, so it's all contradictory.

 

Just go with the Maximum Dinos plot. They got here many years ago, to fight a con and they got frozen.

 

Seeing as alt modes seem to be chosen by the robot through a combination of personal taste and mass availability, can't we just have Grimlock and company be fascinated by the dinosaurs' forms?

 

Well the Dinobots never seemed to play by other bots rules so would Grimlock really pick an alt mode that blended in just because Prime asked him nicely? And like someone else said we've already had Scorpie and Ravage without the general public going all up in arms so I don't think the general public would walk out over robotic dinosaurs.

As to how they get around well remember this is the movie universe not G1 so I'm thinking they could do things like Transmetal Megatron from Beast Wars. Or we've seen wheels on the feet of Transformers in bot mode so why not being able to use wheels on the feet in dino-mode. Given Bays style of humor he might like the comedy of someone like Slag passing cars on the freeway. Something objects in the rear view mirror thing, or some cop attempting to report in that he was passed by a T-Rex doing 90 in a 55 zone.

 

Have them go back in time and destroy Vulcan!

 

Sam's Allspark shard animates animatronic dinosaur models in a museum. Isn't that logical and simplistic at the same time?

 

Would Vulcan dinosaurs have pointed ears?

 

^thread winner^

 

^ This! At last someone who's read Dinobots Maximum. Great plot on how they landed on Earth.

 

have somebody build them. protoforms arrive, request dino form, somebody makes a robo-version of a t-rex, ass-kicking ensues.

 

Autobots from the past wake up. they have dinosaur modes from then

so over time the skin fell off the body only having robot parts.

that simple

i think