My Love for the Jurassic Park Franchise

When I was a kid I had a love for all things dinosaur.  I had countless dinosaur books, watched any show containing dinosaurs (Denver the Last Dinosaur was my favorite), and loved going to museums to see fossils.  As an adult, pretty much nothing has changed.  I still love anything and everything dinosaur-related.  And that is why I am super excited for Jurassic World to come to theaters next year.

When the first Jurassic Park movie came out in 1993 I was 11.  I knew it wasn't a friendly dinosaur movie like many of the cartoons and TV shows I was used to, but it still had dinosaurs so I was sold.  Unfortunately, my parents didn't want me to see it because of the violence.  That didn't stop me, though.  I snuck into the theater to see it.  I actually had to sneak in twice because the first time I tried to sneak into a sold out show and they were checking ticket stubs inside.  But when I finally saw it, I was in love.  The first time the dinosaurs appear on screen is awe inspiring and magical.  This was the first time anybody had seen such realistic looking dinosaurs on screen.  Not to mention the suspense created in the T-Rex and kitchen scenes.  I was instantly hooked for life.

The Lost World was released four years later, and I didn't have to sneak into this one.  I went opening weekend, eager to see the continuation of the Jurassic Park saga.  While not nearly as good as the original it was still an entertaining film, and the dinosaurs still look amazing.  If not for the scenes in San Diego at the end, it would be even better.

In the summer of 2000 I decided to pursue a part time job at Universal Studios.  When I was hired they asked me what ride I wanted to work at.  I immediately said Jurassic Park.  It was like a dream come true.  I could ride the ride whenever I wanted, I got to dress like Dr. Grant, and I got to talk about dinosaurs all day long.  Most people just wanted to know where the T-Rex was.  But I did pretend that I had a pet dinosaur named Charlie who lived in the bushes by the unload station.  If anybody asked to stay on to ride again I told them they could if they got Charlie to come out.  It did get a little annoying having to hear the narration on the video monitors in the line queue all day long, but hearing the theme music never got old.  It is one of the best themes in movie history, and I never tire of hearing it.  Also, for the rest of my life I can tell people I worked at Jurassic Park.

While working at Universal the first instances of promotion for Jurassic Park III started showing up.  There were teaser posters plastered throughout the park.  Again, I was really excited for another Jurassic Park movie!  And while walking the backlot one day I swear I walked by a soundstage where they were filming the movie.  I wasn't able to confirm it, but I believe it to this day.  The following summer I was first in line again to see the movie.  In fact, a couple months before the movie, my friend and I paid for another movie just so we could see the trailer for Jurassic Park III.  Remember, this was before you could find everything on the Internet.  But while the movie itself wasn't nearly as good as the first two, I wasn't disappointed.  This one had pterodactyls!  And it was still exciting and fun.

I know the science isn't right with these movies, but that doesn't bother me.  They're still about dinosaurs.  They still make me feel like a little kid again when I was reading my books and looking at fossils in museums.  I still watch them whenever they are on TV and still tense up at the exciting parts even though I know what is going to happen.

So when it was announced that a fourth movie was actually going to happen I was excited.  I want to see what happens as Ingen keeps trying to open the park.  I know something will go terribly wrong, but since it involves dinosaurs, I'm all for it.  Whether they make or movie about it or not, I will still dream about it, so this just makes it easier for me.  When the trailer was released earlier this week, I was more excited for that than the Star Wars trailer.  While Star Wars will always be my favorite, there is so much mythology and nostalgia surrounding that franchise that part of me is afraid they will screw it up.  I was content knowing there would never be another Star Wars movie, but I always wished for more Jurassic Park movies.  They can't screw those up.  They are what they are, and what they are is awesome!  And now I get another one and it looks amazing!  I can't wait for June!