Jurassic Park

Story

A team of genetic scientists have created a wildlife park of extinct dinosaurs on an isolated island. When someone sabotages the site and shuts off the park’s power the dinosaurs escape and a small group of visitors have to fight to escape the island.

Why we chose it

A love of dinosaurs can start at a young age and the popularity of Jurassic Park suggests it isn’t something dinosaur fans grow out of. Although based on a novel for adult, Jurassic Park became a hugely popular family film.

Where it came from

Michael Crichton wrote the novel (for adults) in 1990 and before it was even published four studios had put in bids for the film rights. The first screenplay was written by Crichton but Koepp did the final re-write and made a lot of changes.

The dinosaurs were created using computer-generated imagery and this was one of the earliest examples of the kind of CGI which is now normal in fantasy films.

Where it went next

Jurassic Park was the highest grossing film of 1993, and was the highest grossing film ever until Titanic in 1997. In 2013 the first film was released in 3D. There are four sequels: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Jurassic Park III (2001), Jurassic World (2015) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). Jurassic World: Dominion is due to be released in 2021.

Associated stories

The first film is considered the start of a revolution in filmmaking due to its special effects. The technology used led to the development of the Star Wars prequels, Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Godzilla and many others. The stories were continued in a series of comic books, and several video games have been released. Jurassic Park: The Ride opened at Universal Studios, Hollywood in 1996 and there are now Jurassic Park rides in Japan, Singapore and Florida.