Synopsis of Movie

“An adventure 65 million years in the making.”

It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature. Unfortunately, billionaire entrepreneur John Hammond learned this lesson the hard way, courtesy of several scaly, flesh-eating dinosaurs. Michael Crichton’s novel Jurassic Park was a dark, terrifying fable of science gone amok in the name of entertainment, and it became an instant bestseller. The dino-adventure had “summer blockbuster” written all over it, and with Steven Spielberg signed on as director, the story came to thrilling cinematic life in 1993.

Hammond’s grand experiment is a theme park like no other. Using DNA extracted from fossilized prehistoric mosquitoes, Hammond’s scientists have cloned a variety of dinosaur species—brachiosaurus, dilophosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex and the vicious velociraptor, to name a few—all secured behind electrified fences on an island habitat. After a deadly incident that leaves one Jurassic Park worker dead, Hammond’s investors force him to bring in a team of three scientists to evaluate the place. Paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, paleobotanist (and Dr. Grant’s girlfriend) Dr. Ellie Sattler and roguish mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm. The threesome are awed by the sight of living, breathing dinos, and Hammond arranges a group tour, sending precocious grandkids Tim and Lex along, too.

Meanwhile, greedy employee Dennis Nedry has arranged to smuggle a set of embryos off the island to a rival corporation. To cover his tracks, Nedry sabotages the park’s computer system, which goes down just as the guided tour is passing the T-Rex pen. And then the real fun begins.

Dr. Grant rescues the two kids, dodging a hungry T-Rex and getting stuck on the wrong side of the formerly electrified fence. Ellie and Malcolm make it back to the main compound, where they work with Hammond to restore power. As Grant, Tim and Lex wind their way back to the compound, the deadliest threat is just beginning—the velociraptors are loose, and they’re as cunning as they are lethal.

Though Crichton’s novel was brightened up in the transition to the screen, the movie more than earned its PG-13 rating. This wasn’t a “family film” in the traditional sense, but come on… there were dinosaurs! The kids weren’t about to be scared away, and audiences of all ages thrilled to the film’s series of white-knuckle chases and suspense scenes, including a memorable nighttime T-Rex attack and a pair of stalking raptors in the park’s stainless steel kitchen.

With its groundbreaking, award-winning special effects, Jurassic Park made dinosaurs come alive with breathtaking realism. Buoyed by a marketing campaign that included “Dino-Sized” McDonalds value meals, the movie turned into the biggest worldwide hit in history. Spielberg and Crichton again collaborated on the sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, in 1997, and the film was adapted into the star attraction at the Universal Studios theme parks, “Jurassic Park: The Ride.” A third film arrived in 2001, with Joe Johnston (Jumanji) directing.

Movie Release History

1993 - Jurassic Park
1997 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park
2001 - Jurassic Park III

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
sci-fi/fantasy
action/adventure

Movie Studio

Universal, Amblin

Cast

Alan Grant   Sam Neill
Ellie Sattler  Laura Dern
Ian Malcolm  Jeff Goldblum
John Hammond   Richard Attenborough
Robert Muldoon   Bob Peck
Donald Gennaro   Martin Ferrero
Henry Wu   B.D. Wong
Tim Murphy   Joseph Mazzello
Lex Murphy  Ariana Richards
Ray Arnold   Samuel L. Jackson
Dennis Nedry   Wayne Knight
Gerry Harding  Gerald R. Molen
Juanito Rostagno   Miguel Sandoval
Lewis Dodgson   Cameron Thor
Volunteer #1   Christopher John Fields
Volunteer Boy   Whitby Hertford
Mate   Dean Cundey
Worker in Raptor Pen   Jophery C. Brown
InGen Helicoptor Pilot   Tom Mishler
Mr. DNA (voice)  Greg Burson
Worker at Amber Mine   Adrian Escober
Tour Voice  Richard Kiley

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