Jurassic World’s New Dinosaur: What Is It, How They Made It, and Why It’s Cool

          It’s been almost 22 years since the first one was released in theaters creating the
legendary icon and name. Hearing Jurassic Park as a child sent chills down my spine and seeing that black on red symbol of the walking T-Rex skeleton brought emotions I could taste. It seems Universal Studios wants to bring those feelings back, and with a new dinosaur to create that excitement. 

            Jurassic Park III attempted to recreate that feeling almost 14 years ago with the Spinosaurus, although it was a cool dinosaur, it seemed impossible to like compared to the Tyrannosaurus Rex. It wanted to be liked, but perhaps was trying too hard with an almost forced plot and even more forced antagonist in Billy (who was too cute and innocent to hate). Jurassic World has huge shoes to fill, especially after the tumbling of the sequels, and of course time.

             

            For starters, there is the Jurassic World website: http://www.jurassicworld.com/ which is built as if it was a website for a real theme park. From temperature to park capacity to package deals and new exhibits, this website has the look and feel of an actual theme park that, despite the failed history of the first one, I would so go.

            The movie release date (June 12) is exactly at the same time that the new dinosaur, the Indominus Rex (meaning Fierce or Untameable King) exhibit is said to open. The dinosaur is a mystery, and until the Super Bowl TV Spot, was teasingly released with an only outline and a handful of information.

            Prior to this release, there were multiple artist renditions guessing at what the creature would look like, and it was called at that time the “Diablosaurus Rex.” A little less endearing than being "untameable" versus straight up "Satan." Satan King.

            But, why make a new dinosaur that even one of the movie characters says “probably not a good idea.” The profile of the dinosaur brought the reasoning of the scientists with:

“We set out to make Indominus the most fearsome dinosaur ever to be displayed at Jurassic World. The genetic engineers at our Hammond Creation Lab have more than delivered.

At first glance, Indominus most closely resembles a T. Rex. But its distinctive head ornamentation and ultra-tough bony osteoderms can be traced from Theropods known as Abeliosaurs. Indominus’ horns have been placed above the eye orbit through genetic material hybridized from Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Rugops and Gigantosaurus. Fearsome indeed.

Indominus’ roar is estimated to reach 140-160db—the same as a 747 taking off and landing. And it can reach speeds of 30 mph…while confined to its enclosure. Come experience Indominus Rex for yourself beginning this summer. If you dare.” - http://www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/indominus-rex/

            Jurassic World, believe it or not, is having a fall in visitors. From a world where  people can see dinosaurs up close and personal, the population seems bored of the 65 million years old stock; maybe people got bored with the same old dinosaurs, day in and day out. The park is not cheap, the packages don’t say how much but the reviews (they even put reviews on this! They are pretty funny, too http://www.jurassicworld.com/tickets/standard/) say that it took years to save up to go, for a three day trip. It’s safe to assume it’s at least a few $1000s just from how much it costs to fly to a tropical island, book a hotel, feed yourself, and have access to a park that is not cheap to make or maintain. So, long story short, the guests might have wanted more bang for their buck, and as the movies have proved to us, it’s bigger, more dangerous dinosaurs.

 

            The scientists have even been able to tame the ferociously famous Velociraptors in this film, so they probably thought they could handle this super dinosaur that was a push of how much can they do. From the profile of this untameable king the dinosaur has Very High aggression (versus the T Rex’s normal High aggression) and is currently 40 feet. Yikes. It is a genetic mix of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Rugops, and Giganotosaurus as well as some other noted creatures, this dinosaur seems to be built of the best defense and offense. 

            So, why is this dinosaur so cool? It dates back to the original release of the book, and a motif that couldn’t be put into the movie: Hupia. Basically, the islands off of Costa Rica are abandoned for a reason, because the Hupia spirits kidnap children. There is a common theme throughout the Jurassic Park novel of the little girl from the yacht being attacked, the Ingen worker that looked like “a boy” getting killed, Tim and Lex constantly being hunted: the spirits of the Hupia were basically using the dinosaurs to kill children. Turn the lens back on Jurassic World: the super predator that’s “killing for sport” is in the middle of 200,000 visitors with nowhere to go. This dinosaur is on the same Isla Nublar, the Hupia island. Its hunting children (maybe). Jurassic Park got a lot more eerie.

            Cool factor 2, the CGI is on point, and unlike the other sequels, Universal
Studios seems to be backing this movie with all they got. The 30 second TV Spot
during the Super Bowl cost a record $4.5 million http://screenrant.com/jurassic-world-super-bowl-2015-trailer-preview/. Universal has their hands on the Jurassic Park franchise, one of the best franchises in movie history, and it’s my bet that they want this to be a one hit wonder. With the competition of Ant Man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and of course Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World not only has a lot to live up to but a lot to compete against, and if Universal is confident that it can hold its own against Avengers and Star Wars, well that is certainly saying something to the film. With the answer on everyone's mind of "what if  the park was open" is finally being answered, and with factors that the  original Jurassic Park couldn't add in (behaviorism and advanced  genetics for example), this film is starting to look like it is going to live up to its hype.

Response to new Jurassic World Trailer: Too Much or About Time?

            The movie trailer for the highly anticipated Jurassic World dropped early today, showing something that was always wanted from but never achieved by INGEN. A fully functioning Jurassic Park, renamed Jurassic World.

            It’s on an island, as was the dream, with kayaking down rivers of stegosaurus and riding through glass balls to watch walking Apatosaurus – it seems like a dream come true of all the original ideas with new upgrades (and not touring through carnivores, about time they stopped that mistake). With even more ideas than before, such as an outside amphitheater to watch a Svalbard Pliosaur jump out of the water? That’s insane. How in-depth is this island in its immersion of dinosaurs? It is more than a park, it seems like this is, indeed, an actual world you are being flung back into.

            This “world” doesn’t look like it was on its “grand opening,” either, or its pretesting like in the initial Jurassic Park: it is up and running. Swarms of people are seen throughout the trailer, with sun hats and taking pictures and videos with their iPhones. I mean, the parents of the two unnamed kids are totally fine with letting their sons (who can’t be of legal age) go to the park alone. Although, the for the Jurassic Park franchise, the parents have always seemed okay with putting their kids in questionable danger. “Hey, why don’t you go ride in this tour car with complete strangers by a king of the dinosaur’s exhibit when a tropical storm is coming.” Or my favorite, “go ahead and para-glide with my weird boyfriend by a condemned island known for years for murdering people that come near it.” So the question of how long and how safe the island is from the trailer from the kids going alone is only so sound, considering the franchises track record, and can only be speculated on so much from the trailer.

Genetics is the new theme, or the advancement of genetics is, with “a whole new frontier.” In the trailer, it is announced proudly that the “first genetically modified hybrid,” was created, with a questioning Chris Pratt. Of course things would go wrong, and they have to hire a known, skeptic badass to come save the day. That plot point seems a bit overdone, from Splice to the creation of MewTwo, but there is something that is different in each of them: how do they stop it. And that’s what I want to know.

From the trailer alone, I can tell that the soundtrack is already fantastic and the cinematography is superb. The money and talent is definitely behind the movie, bring even Steven Spielberg back to produce it. I mean look at how many extras there are. Even if the movie has a disappointing plot, from the CGI and imagination put into it, it’s going to be a hell of a summer movie. 

Here is just my reaction to the trailer:

Hearing the original theme brought back on piano brought me straight back to my five year old self watching Jurassic Park on repeat while squeezing the life out of my triceratops toy. I grew up on this movie more than any other (besides maybe Alien) and just the fan service from the trailer its making me get goose bumps. I mean, motorcycle with raptors? My heart is pounding from this trailer, I want to know what happens so bad. Yes, I want to know what that dinosaur that they made is, but what I really want from that movie that even the trailer gave me a taste of is that nostalgia. Going back to this impossible dream that even though everything goes wrong, there is a serene magic there among the blood and ruin. From one nerd to another, if you liked the first Jurassic Park, I feel like this movie is going to deliver that heart flutter of the original more so than any of the previous sequels. I have a good feeling about this movie.  

The Park Opens June 12