Dinosaurs have been in movies since the 1920’s. The “The Lost World” in 1925 featured Clay dinosaurs that I preferred to the lizards with attachments in the 1960 version of the film. “The Lost World” sixties version attached horns to iguanas, alligators and tried passing a monitor lizard off as a dinosaur by attaching a head crest. Even the Dinosaurs in the 1933 “King Kong” are preferable to gluing things to lizards. The “Twilight Zone” TV Series of the 1960’s had an episode where a jet airliner traveled back in time and the passengers could see dinosaurs roaming the earth from their seats. There have been numerous attempts at Dinosaur movies over the years that left you less than satisfied.
When “Jurassic Park” arrived in 1993 we were spellbound. DINOSAURS were Real! The animatronics and CGI were fantastic. You couldn’t tell which was being used. In 1997 we were again amazed with more living Dinosaurs as the film makers up their game with improvements to technologies in “Jurassic Park: The Lost World” and again with “Jurassic Park III” in 2001. Disney’s 2000 “Dinosaur” was great fun. Followed in 2015 by Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur” another endearing movie for all ages.
Twenty-two years after the first adventure the story starts again with “Jurassic World” in 2015. The Park is a reality and visitors flock from all over the world to the theme park. We were mesmerized by the dinosaurs we could see and touch at a petting zoo plus riding next to them in our special secure spheres. In addition, you could create your own dinosaur combinations with the holographic program in the visitor’s center. And we saw what could go wrong with the genetic engineering out of control.
The Journey continues with the latest installment “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” in theaters Now!
Wednesday Night June 20th the Natural History Museum of LA hosted a Special Event at the Regal Theater in Los Angeles. A screening of the movie “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” followed with a panel discussion of Paleontologists. But before the movie, guests where treated with movie posters (11 inches by 17 inches) and the people occupied puppets from the NHMLA’s “Dinosaur Encounters”! Hunter the T-Rex and Dakota the Triceratops were on site to kick off the movie and pose for selfies. They were enjoyed by kids from 1 to 92!
The movie was Great! Make sure you stay through the credits or you will miss some special footage. That’s All I’m saying about the Movie. I hate spoilers. I love to be surprised! So, go see it soon and please don’t spoil it for your friends. Let them be surprised and amazed too!
The discussion afterward regarding Real versus Movie dinosaurs was enlightening. The panel Dr. Alyssa Bell, Dr. Michael Habib and David Huntsberger moderated by Cara Santa Maria (1st left sitting). The group liked all species presented even though license had been taken with a few. The Raptors portrayed in all the movies were much larger than actual Velociraptors, which where 18 – 28 inches high at the hip and 5 – 6.5 feet long and believed to be covered in feathers. However, there were Raptors the size of the ones in the movies, so it’s more a matter of the correct name being used for them. In addition, their hands/claws would not have been drooping but more like folded wings. The tapping claw was an idea to create suspense in the movies. We do not know if they really did the tapping or not.
There were Dinosaurs that walked on their hind legs as well as all fours. The Hadrosaurs – duck-billed Dinosaurs are an example of this type of Dinosaur. For more information on this family of dinosaurs check out Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrosaurid
Animals in the movies that were not Dinosaurs – Pterosaurs and Mosasaurs. Pterosaurs are cousins of the Dinosaurs but a different part of the family tree. The best description for Pterosaurs are flying Reptiles. Their feet did not have claws for picking up prey. They would use their mouths. Therefore, the Pterosaurs in the movies were too small to grab a human. However, there were Pterosaurs with heads longer than T-Rex that if used in the movies could have grabbed and shaken a human to bits.
Mosasaurs are marine reptiles not Dinosaurs. They may have reached up to 56 feet long. The head movement of the dinosaurs was most likely correct especially for the many dinosaurs that had binocular vision mainly carnivores. So, with a few exceptions the movies did a good job of bringing the past to life.
I was disappointed by the number of people using their smart phones during the movie. The Museum staff is looking into this issue to improve the experience for future events. The light from multiple phones is very distracting to others trying to enjoy the movie. It’s a good idea to check the policy with the theater you are planning to see any movie. Also check rating sites to confirm they enforce the policy. I often select early showings on off days to reduce the crowds and potential for this unfortunate behavior.
Have a Great Weekend & Enjoy the Latest Jurassic World Movie!
“Encouraging the Appreciation of Art and Education through the Inspiration of Dinosaurs”
Paul & Prehistoric Pals
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