Media Showcase: Jurassic Park (Dinosaurs Pt2)

Number two: Apatosaurus

             This animal took a while to make it into a film. Apatosaurus was the animal first seen by the group of people that visit the island in the book. However the animal was changed to Brachiosaurus for the film. It was suppose to be in the second film, Jurassic Park; The Lost World, but was again changed to a different species this time being Mamenchisaurus. It was not until 2015 in the film Jurassic World that the animal finally made it to film. The animal can be seen roaming the prairies, in the petting zoo, and in the scene in which the main characters, Owen and Claire uncover the swath of damage left by the genetically mutated dinosaur. The Apatosaurus featured in Jurassic World is rather accurate suffering only from ultra saggy skin, which could not be proven either way, and shrink-wrapping (the act of stretching the skin of an extinct animal, in fleshed out reconstructions, over the skeleton to tightly).

Number three: Brachiosaurus

             Ah yes, Brachiosaurus, the first moving dinosaur to be seen in the original film, that can also be seen along the river in the third film. It was created using computer generated animation, a great feat for the time. The animators and supervisors got this guy mostly right except for the front feet, which should be U-shaped with only one claw on the first toe of each front foot, kind of like a fleshy hoof. Another possible contention with the anatomy of brachiosaurus was the nostrils; the film placed the animal’s nostrils on the top of its forehead when in life they would have been near the end of the snout. However, this is an outdated notion and was not completely well understood at the time, so this is understandable. Other than the fact of sauropod rearing is still held in contention, (The debate is still ongoing on whether or not sauropods in general could rear up on their hind legs.) they got this one correct.

Number four: Ceratosaurus

          One of the most briefly seen animals in the Jurassic Park series is Ceratosaurus. It was shown in only a very brief scene in which the group, consisting of the curbys, Billy Brennan, and Dr. Alan Grant traversing a river in a boat are frightened by the animal. The animal is then put off by the smell of another animal’s droppings and leaves. This film was made in 2001 and has no excuse for the way they made this animal look. The Ceratosaurus in the film is far thicker than the animal might have been. The real animal was small, at about 18 feet at the longest. Ceratosaurus as it appears in the film sports a single rounded horn atop its snout. The real animal did have crests atop its head usually consisting of two over the eyes and on on the snout. However, these crests were thin and wide and were probably used as a display. Another inaccuracy that not only this animal, but all theropods in the franchise suffer from are the placement of the arms. Theropods could not hold the arms curled up with their palms facing downwards due to specialized bones in their wrists. Theropods were forced to place their hands inward at all times.

Media Showcase: Jurassic Park (Dinosaurs)

           

            Easily one of the most recognizable film series of all time, with which it shares its title with other titles like Jaws, Star Wars, and Terminator, Jurassic Park continues to inspire the wonder that Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals brings to the minds of humans and the silver screen. Jurassic Park was originally written as a novel by well-known author, Michael Crichton, in 1990 and told the story of the foolishness in recreating animals that have been extinct for millions of years without taking the proper precautions. The original Jurassic Park was directed by the esteemed, Steven Spielberg, and was released in 1993. Just going on the title, you can probably guess what the movie is about, dinosaurs! To be more precise, the film and pretty much all of its sequels follows the folly of man in the creation of living breathing members of Dinosauria through the art and magic of genetic cloning (We will disregard the statistical impossibility of this feat, and perhaps leave it for another episode). The first film follows the disaster of a hurricane that wrecks the power of the park, letting the animals go. The main characters, Dr. Grant, Dr. Sully, Ian Malcolm, John Hammond, and his grandkids survive the incident and escape. On this episode of Palo Media Showcase we will take a look at the inaccuracies and inconsistencies of the animals showcased in not just the first film, but the three sequels it has spawned: Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Jurassic Park three, and Jurassic World. We will be going down the list of dinosaurs alphabetically and then analyzing each one to clear up any misconceptions you might have!

Number one: Ankylosaurus

This should show the Ankylosaurus Scene

               Ankylosaurus was only shown in Jurassic Park 3. It can be seen moving through the forest and moving towards a watering hole both in transitional scenes. The way this animal is presented is rather accurate. However, there are still inaccuracies. One thing wrong here would likely be the thickness of the animal. The proportions are a tad off. The real animal would have been extremely wide, rather like a turtle. Another would be the animal’s armor. Throughout most of the 1900s Ankylosaurus was portrayed with spiky armor along its back like that of a porcupine, but this is incorrect. Ankylosaurus would have had very round and flat bony armor embedded in its skin.

Part 2 will come next