Jurassic Park: Dinos and Dads

On today’s episode I’ll be breaking down the iconic, record shattering film of 1993: Jurassic Park.

But before we begin, for those of you who have been living under a rock for over three decades—or those of you who have about as much interest in dinosaurs as you do politics—let me briefly recap this picture for you.

Imagine a billionaire who looks nearly identical to the great Richard Attenborough, with way too much time (and money) on his hands decides, “You know what the world needs? A dinosaur theme park!” And instead of just sticking to fossil exhibits, he goes full mad scientist, cloning real, live dinosaurs. What could possibly go wrong?

Enter our heroes: Dr. Grant (a grumpy paleontologist), Dr. Sattler (a no nonsense, plant-loving scientist with an affinity for sticking her hands in droppings), and Dr. Ian Malcolm (a chaotic, leather-clad mathematician who flirts with everyone while warning about inevitable doom).

They’re invited to Isla Nublar for a sneak peek at the park, alongside the billionaire’s grandkids, because why not add innocent children to the mix? Oh and a slimy lawyer is also along for the ride.

Of course, everything falls apart faster than a Jenga tower in an earthquake. A greedy IT guy shuts off security to steal dino embryos, which shockingly backfires when a T. rex breaks free and starts treating visitors like chew toys.

Meanwhile, velociraptors prove that doors are not a problem for them, leading to one of the most used quotes by Dad’s with highly intelligent daughters across the country: “Clever girl.”

After much screaming, running, and one heroic T. rex vs. raptor showdown, our survivors escape, having learned an important lesson: Just because you can bring dinosaurs back to life doesn’t mean you should.

John Hammond the billionaire—who it turns out IS actually played by the great Richard Attenborough—finally admits his idea was maybe bad. The island is then abandoned leaving the audience wondering…why wasn’t there a Pteranodon anywhere in there?

And now for the Film Five: 5 behind the scenes tidbits you should know about the making of this film.

The T. rex Roar – The iconic roar of the T. rex wasn’t just a sound designed in a studio. It was a mix of real animal sounds! The filmmakers combined the sounds of an elephant's trumpet, a tiger's growl, an alligator's bellow, and even a baby’s cry. It’s like they went to a zoo and just let the animals go wild for a bit.

Practical Effects vs. CGI – While Jurassic Park is famous for its groundbreaking CGI, the filmmakers still relied heavily on practical effects. For the T. rex scene, a full-size animatronic was built by the legendary Stan Winston Studio. Some of the most intense moments with the dinosaur were shot with this massive, moving puppet—nothing like having a giant robotic T. rex looming over you!

The Real-Life Raptor Sounds – The famous raptors had their own unique sound. For the raptors' chilling noises, they used a blend of dolphin and goose noises. Yes, dolphins and geese. Talk about a strange but effective combo to make you fear a velociraptor!

The ‘Raining’ Scene – The rainstorm in Jurassic Park was real—and absolutely chaotic. The crew had to shoot some of the scenes with rain pouring down for hours, and it caused quite a few technical difficulties. But hey, that scene where the kids are stuck in the car with the T. rex approaching is so much more intense with the rain!

Spielberg's Dinos – Steven Spielberg was so committed to bringing the dinosaurs to life that he’d often visit the set and walk around with a toy dinosaur to study how it moved. Yes, the director of one of the biggest blockbusters ever played with toy dinosaurs. Who wouldn’t?

All of this aside, let me give you a very personal look at a film that solidified Steven Spielberg as one of my all time favorite film directors. As always, these will be personal opinions and points of view.

It was the summer of 1993. June 11th to be exact. I was a Sophomore in high school who had just finished up the year and was heading into break. Like any film nerd I was hyped for two films in particular that summer: Jurassic Park and the underrated Schwarzenegger bomb, Last Action Hero. Spielberg plus dinosaurs plus John Williams scoring it equaled a no brainer as to what film I was seeing first. After all, the first film that made an indelible impression on me had been Jaws…so my ticket was already secured in my mind.

It’s hard to describe the feeling back and the magic of what watching a movie in the theater was like, much less a Spielberg film. From the opening credits with the intense thumping bass of the score I was engrossed in everything on that giant screen. No popcorn, no drink. I’ve never been a fan of eating in the theater because it was distracting and I was there to see every frame and hear every sound effect and music cue.

Two hours later and after the initial adrenaline rush wore off I became an impassioned purveyor of Spielbergian propaganda…or Universal Pictures propaganda maybe. Everyone of my fiends received a lecture about why they simply must see this film and how badly they would be missing out on an experience unlike any other. After one viewing I had turned into something akin to a Cinematic Jehovah’s Witness.

By the time the summer was done I had seen the film so many times I couldn’t remember. I convinced my Mom to take me and made her sit through it and on other occasions I was dropped off at the theater for two hours to watch it myself. These were the days before a quick digital release window or even a quick VHS release window. You wanted to see a film, you saw it in the theater or you waited nearly a year and paid a small fortune for a 480p VHS tape you would wear out.

But as much as seeing the film upon it’s release in 1993 had effected me, rewatching it as an adult and as a father revealed something I wouldn’t have noticed back then.

The character of Dr. Alan Grant was a brilliant scientist and archaeologist, but was incredibly uncomfortable around children and has no desire to have any. His girlfriend, Dr. Ellie Sattler, wants children and gently discusses with him why. He even humorously points out that children “smell,” babies in particular as she laughs at him.

This wasn’t far from how I felt early on in my marriage. My wife, a beautiful woman and human being in general, was incredible with kids…especially babies. She knew how I felt about kids, and to be honest it was exactly like Dr. Grant in the film. I had even made a remark that they smelled at some point.

As the pair make the helicopter journey to the island of Isla Nublar it is quickly made apparent that Dr. Grant is not just smart and good at his job, but that he has an ability to stay cool in a tough situation and his ability to think fast on his feet. To put it in more simple terms: he’s perfect father material.

Enter John Hammond’s grandkids: Lex and Tim. Tim is the youngest and a huge dinosaur fan. Lex, a little older, loves computers and knows next to nothing about dinos. Both are sent by Dr. Sattler, in a comical prank, to try to ride in a vehicle on the dino tour with Dr. Grant. He evades them, leaving them with the slimy lawyer for the ride.

As anyone who has seen the film will testify, the iconic scene where the T. Rex gets out of it’s paddock and begins to destroy the vehicles is both intense and filled with childhood trauma for sweet little Tim especially. With every other adult either panicking and fleeing or not intuitive enough to snap into action, Dr. Grant makes it his mission to save the kids. He certainly does this, full Indiana Jones style.

But before this two things happen that set up a very important moment and perhaps unintended life lesson. When the T. Rex gets loose the only adult—the slimy lawyer—in the vehicle with the kids abandons ship and runs away, leaving the kids alone in the vehicle with an enormous T. Rex nearby. Lex says, “He left us.” And then in her desperation she finds a flashlight and begins to swing it around in the Ford Explorer. Why? Because, as she whispers, “Dr. Grant.”

Her first instinct is that they need Dr. Grant to be safe. It is my belief that Dr. Grant represents safety to her and Tim because he knows dinosaurs so well. It’s certainly not because he was very warm and fuzzy toward the two kids. It is because Dr. Grant’s character represents a father-like figure to them. A protector.

Kids are often thought to be intuitive and sensitive to people and even be completely honest and not hold back with what they think and say. Lex and Tim sensed something in Dr. Grant that Dr. Grant himself didn’t see.

After they escape the T. Rex by barely making it down into the floor of the paddock it is then just the three of them: Grant, Lex and Tim. Dr. Grant has to help Tim in a tree but in order to do that he must leave Lex temporarily somewhere safe.

Lex begins to freak out after Dr. grant says that he will be right back. She repeats in fear, “He left us. He left us.”

Dr. Grant replies, “But that’s not what I’m going to do.”

When I was about eight or nine years old we had just moved into a new house. It was a late night move and so while my Dad was still unloading the truck, my Mom made a makeshift before for me and I went to sleep as they finished unpacking. A few hours later, for some reason, the fire alarms began going off throughout the house. I instantly woke up. My Mom walked in to check on me, told me what the sound was and said that my Dad would take care of it. I said, “ok” laid back down and went right back to sleep.

Whether it’s your father, your mother or your Heavenly Father, having them in your life, knowing that they want you to be safe and be at peace when things are out of whack or stressful, it is so vital for childhood development.

I challenge you to watch Jurassic Park again, as an adult who has more life experience and as a parent, and see what you discover about your life, the people you love or even yourself. Like most films, even the bad ones, there’s usually a little nugget of truth somewhere in there. Sometimes you have to look harder than others but I promise there’s something there.

Thank you for listening today. As always, watch films deeper, listen closer and search for a deeper meaning than what is on the surface.