The Most Paused Jurassic Park Franchise Moments
As lovers of dinosaurs, action-thriller movies, and Chris Pratt await the release of "Jurassic World: Dominion," there's still plenty of fun to be had rewatching and re-examining the original "Jurassic Park" trilogy and the two "Jurassic World" movies we've gotten thus far. While the first movie, released in 1993, features only six species of dinosaur — Tyrannosaurus Rex, Brachiosaurus, Velociraptor, Triceratops, Gallimimus, and the cute-but-deadly Dilophosaurus — further installments have introduced to more than five times the amount of prehistoric creatures, including fictional dinosaur hybrids like the Indominus Rex and the Indroraptor.
Throughout its five films, in addition to all those dinosaurs, the "Jurassic Park" franchise has featured plenty of incredible scenes — many shots fraught with drama, suspense, and plenty of prehistoric scares from the many animatronic and CGI dinosaurs. The initial shot of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and company driving through the iconic Jurassic Park gates is breathtaking and chilling, with a great deal of that coming from the original score from John Williams. The scene in which Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) was blinded and then killed by a Dilophosaur was satisfying, considering the amount of chaos he caused. And the sequence in which lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) was eaten by the Tyrannosaurus was low-key hilarious while also being pretty terrifying.
After a solid rewatch, we've taken the time to go through all of the "Jurassic Park" movies and compile a list of such memorable scenes. These are the most paused moments in the "Jurassic Park" franchise.
Jimmy Buffet was wastin' away in Margaritaville
Viewers who've seen 2015's "Jurassic World" likely noticed there was a world of difference between the theme park conceptualized in the series relaunch and the one seen in the initial 1993 adaptation of the novel by Michael Crichton. Whereas the first iteration of Jurassic Park was more akin to a zoo, Jurassic World is a full-fledged theme park, with all the bells, whistles, and merchandise tie-ins. Instead of riding around in colorful SUVs, guests are whisked around on a monorail. Much like Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom's Main Street USA, Jurassic World has its own Main Street with real-world franchise locations. There's a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop right next to a Dave & Buster's restaurant/arcade concept and enough shopping outlets to qualify as a mall.
You may have noticed there's also a Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville at the park, the tropical casual dining experience tied to the namesake singer's hit song. What you may not have noticed is the "Son of a Son of a Sailor" singer himself made an appearance in the crowd during the sequence in which the Pteranodons are pterrorizing everyone in sight. As you can see in the above image, while everyone else is running for the lives, Buffet has his priorities in order and is seeing to those frozen concoctions that help him hang on. According to Yahoo, his cameo appearance was a result of his longtime friendship with "Jurassic World" producer Frank Marshall. Buffet and his Coral Reefer Band even played at the "Jurassic World" premiere after-party.
Donald Gennaro says 'Oh Crap'
Though these most-paused moments aren't in any particular order, it's only appropriate that this one comes in the No. 2 spot. In the original "Jurassic Park," Alan Grant, Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Tim Murphy (Joseph Mazzello), Lex Murphy (Ariana Richards), and Donald Gennaro are returning in the automated Ford Explorers when Dennis Nedry is making his big escape to the docks. It's night time, it's raining, and their SUVs just so happen to be passing by the Tyrannosaurus paddock when Nedry's program executes, shutting down power to the vehicles and the high-voltage security fences meant to keep the dinosaurs and guests from mingling.
All of a sudden that goat the control room tried to goad the T-Rex out with earlier stops bleating. All of a sudden we see that iconic shot of the rippling water glasses, courtesy of the shockwaves caused by the T-Rex's steps. All of a sudden part of said goat's carcass drops on the vehicle and all of a sudden Donald makes a run for the bathroom, leaving the kids behind. The Tyrannosaurus breaks containment, as they're wont to do, and goes after the last thing it saw moving, as they're wont to do. After toppling the lead SUV yields no fruit, Alan gets her attention with a road flare, and Ian follows suit, telling the former to get the kids. When the T-Rex chases him into the bathroom, it completely falls apart, leaving only poor Donald sitting there atop a toilet, about to be snapped up in her jaws. If you look closely, you'll see the lawyer was still wearing pants and was seemingly only taking cover in the bathroom, to everyone's relief.
Stay away from mommy's little monster
There are fewer things we can think of that are dumber than choosing to travel to Isla Sorna — InGen's backup dino hatchery featured in the first sequel, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" — and one of them is snatching up an infant Tyrannosaurus Rex and trying to treat it like a wounded puppy, rather than an angry adult dinosaur magnet. Well, as it turns out, Ian Malcolm's girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), does both. She was already working for John Hammond's (Richard Attenborough) InGen company when Ian is asked to lead a mission to the abandoned dinosaur factory, in which the critters are just running wild; he only agrees to do so in order to bring her back — you'd think he'd have stayed clear of paleontologists after the first movie.
After they realize InGen's plan is to capture a bunch of specimens to stock a Jurassic Park attraction in San Diego, the good guys misguidedly release a bunch of them to wreak havoc. En route back to their tricked out RV, Nick Van Owen (Vince Vaughn) nabs a cute infant T-Rex and he and Sarah tend to its wounds. When Ian gets back to the trailer, he insists they throw the baby out with the bathwater; as a concerned parent himself, he worries what could happen. They, of course, get the answer instantaneously when they hear a roar and see their SUV tumble off a cliff. "Mommy's very angry," Ian says. But she's not the only one; there's an angry T-Rex parent on either side of the trailer and, just like the cooks in that classic Chilis commercial, they want their baby back.
Mosasaurus vs great white
When scamps Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray Mitchell (Ty Simpkins) ditch their chaperone Zara (Katie McGrath) to finally go see something cool enough to impress Zach's older brother sensibilities, it takes Jurassic World's Mosasaurus — a giant aquatic dinosaur that's somehow smaller than an Ichthyosaur — to get his attention. The Mosasaur enclosure is eerily reminiscent of the orca attractions at Sea World: an amphitheater with bleacher-style seating in a semicircle surrounding the tank. Except instead of a wetsuit-clad trainer risking their life feeding the killer whale a fish by hand, they're feeding a massive aquatic dinosaur a shark with a crane. That's not just any shark, however; it's a Great White Shark. We assume a fictional reality in which dinosaurs are being cloned has fixed the real problems the Earth's oceans and its shark populations, given that the Great White is classified as a vulnerable species by the World Wildlife Federation.
There's a great deal of symbolism in the scene; feeding the modern ocean's alpha predator to this other creature like a sardine straight out of the can is meant to demonstrate its awesomeness and strength beyond what it's massive size can do visually. But it's also a nod to one of the creative minds that launched the "Jurassic Park" franchise. Director Steven Spielberg helmed "Jurassic Park" and The Lost World" but had previously directed the shark thriller franchise "Jaws," which featured a Great White terrorizing the fictional New England town of Amity. The shark being fed to the Mosasaurus happens to be trussed up just like the red herring tiger shark that was not the source of the town's problems in the first movie.
The T-Rex takes San Diego
As previously mentioned, InGen's big plan in "The Lost World" — under the direction of John Hammond's usurping nephew Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) — is to capture a bunch of the dinosaurs that are running wild on Isla Sorna. The idea is to transport them to the mainland United States — specifically San Diego, California — to populate an unfinished Jurassic Park facility that Hammond had chosen to leave vacant in favor of having the original park self contained on Isla Nublar. Naturally, that worked out perfectly, no one was hurt, and they all went on to live happy and fulfilling lives secure in the knowledge that the world would be a better place.
Except not. Plenty of things went wrong, too many people were hurt in the process, and the corporate apathy to the moral questions underpinning the idea is something that pervades the rest of the "Jurassic Park" movies, a fact made self-evident by the continuation of the franchise. But the worst part is things didn't all go wrong soon enough, because the ship carrying the male Tyrannosaurus actually managed to make it to port before crashing, at which point the T-Rex, with apologies to Southwest Airlines, is now free to move about the country.
This image defies belief for more than one reason. For starters, a Tyrannosaurus is about to tromp its way through a city, an idea so surreal it only works for a short amount of time. But also, there have got to be some Gen Z kids out there who would refuse to believe gas was ever $1.15 for regular 87 octane unleaded.
T-Rex? More like T-Rescue
The climactic final showdown right before the end of the first "Jurassic Park" movie takes place in the park's visitor center. As Tim and Lex sit down to dinner, having finally been returned to safety by Alan, Lex freezes and then starts shaking so hard her lime gelatin falls off her spoon. She sees the shadow of a velociraptor on the wall behind her brother and the two take refuge in the kitchen, with the raptors in pursuit. After they trap one in the walk-in cooler, they reunite with Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and head for the control room.
Just because Lex manages to get the security system rebooted and the doors locked doesn't mean a Velociraptor is going to give up. It crashes through the window and follows them through the ventilation system to the lobby and, at one point, all four humans and the dinosaur are dangling from a skeleton suspended from the ceiling. After all parties come crashing down, it looks like the end for our brave heroes — especially since the other raptor has seemingly escaped its frosty prison.
Things are looking bleak, with one raptor about to pounce, when the T-Rex shows up and snatches the much smaller dino up in its jaws. The humans look on in amazement as they're effectively rescued by the same massive carnivore that had terrorized them so recently. Alan and co. beat feet as the second raptor jumps on the T-Rex, itself eventually being flung to the side. Having established dominance, the T-Rex does what comes naturally: it roars and the banner reading "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth" falls to the floor around it. Spoiler alert: dinosaurs still rule the earth.
Just chilling in the raptor paddock
In the first act of "Jurassic World," we meet the contemptible Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio), the InGen security operations stooge who's seemingly bent on using dinosaurs for what he sees as their many potential military applications. After all, drones can't search tunnels and caves, in addition to the fact that they're hackable. In the event of a real conflict, technology will become old hat, with militarized Velociraptors serving as the solution, in his estimation.
Right after Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) gets done demonstrating what amazing work he's done with his team of Velociraptors — and seemingly fending off Hoskins successfully in what appears to be only the latest in a series of frustrating encounters — Young Raptor Handler (Colby Boothman) carelessly gets dragged down into their paddock when trying to wrangle a pig that got loose. Rather than let Darwinism play out, Owen insists on putting his own life in jeopardy to try to rescue the new guy. It only makes sense; if anyone is going to be able to save this moron's life, it's the person who's been working with the raptors day in and day out — the person on whom they imprinted the day they were born.
Owen insists on talking Blue, Charlie, and Delta down himself — Echo was in the enclosure as well but he didn't address her by name for some reason — because if the other workers were to use their electronic weapons to stun them, he'd lose all the progress he'd made. It's a real sphincter-clencher of a moment, especially when Owen tells Barry (Omar Sy) to close the gate, though he does a neat little somersault to safety.
Showdown with the Spinosaurus
At the onset of "Jurassic Park III," Dr. Alan Grant needs funding to continue his research on Velociraptors, so he does what any person who's been to Jurassic Park and clearly knows better would do — he agrees to give a rich couple and their shady associates an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, only to learn the idiots actually plan to touch down on that cursed rock. If only some kind of previous life experience had conditioned Alan to be wary of accepting money from rich people with an unhealthy interest in dinosaurs ... wait, that happened only two movies ago!
The third installment in the "Jurassic Park" trilogy introduces viewers to the latest in a long line of challengers to the Tyrannosaurus Rex's throne as ruler of the ancient world: the Spinosaurus, which, unlike the genetic hybrids introduced in the "Jurassic World" movies, is actually a real dinosaur, despite the flashy name. When Alan wakes up from an involuntary nap, courtesy of armed thug Cooper (John Diehl), he finds they did indeed land. Karma comes for Cooper, as the group scrambles to get back on the plane and he's left behind. Why's everyone in such a rush to leave? As they're about to take off, a Spinosaurus jumps out and devours Cooper, damaging the plane in the process and forcing a crash landing. They manage to elude the predator shortly, only to run smack into a Tyrannosaurus as they flee. With apologies to Stealers Wheel, the scene very much has the feeling of "T-Rex to the back of me, Spinosaurus to the front, here I am, stuck in the middle with you," though the group escapes when the dinosaurs battle.
The king of the jungle meets the king of the ancient world
Much like "The Lost World," "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" centers on capturing dinosaurs running wild on an island — swapping the setting of backup site Isla Sorna for the park's island, Isla Nublar, and antagonists in the form of InGen for Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), the assistant to John Hammond's ailing former partner, Sir Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). Also, instead of surreptitiously grabbing the animals to stock a previously abandoned attraction in the mainland United States, they're openly capturing the dinosaurs under the pretense of rescuing them from an imminent volcanic eruption, though their destination is not a nature preserve as promised. Instead, the specimens will be auctioned off to the rich and powerful.
Things don't go as planned for the bad guys. Owen Grady and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) survive, despite being left for dead, and stow away on the transport ship. When they're discovered at the Lockwood estate, they escape captivity with the help of a hard-headed Stygimoloch or Pachycephalosaurus, which Owen sets loose in the auction chamber while the crown jewel, the Indoraptor, is on display. Everything goes bananas and the caged dinosaurs are about to be killed by poison gas, leaving Owen and Claire with the terrible choice of letting them die or releasing them to go free and invade the United States. Fortunately Maisie (Isabella Sermon), the clone of Lockwood's deceased daughter, makes the decision for them, setting the animals free.
In the movie's denouement montage, as Dr. Ian Malcolm testifies before Congress, we see a Tyrannosaurus Rex approach a zoo and have an intense staredown with a lion, with the animals roaring at each other.
Clever girl, indeed, Mr. Muldoon
In "Jurassic Park," having not heard from Dr. Alan Grant, Tim, and Lex, the remaining people on the island work on getting the park's systems back online. Chief Engineer Ray Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) sets about rebooting everything, but has to head to a maintenance shed to complete the process. When he doesn't return, Dr. Ellie Sattler and game warden Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck) head out to assess the situation. Unfortunately, they find the rebooting process has released the Velociraptors from their nearby enclosure — obviously whomever laid out the attractions on the island didn't factor in the idea that maybe the most dangerous animals should be far away from the place somewhere might need to go in order to restore the systems and power.
Their solution is simple: Robert will distract the Velociraptors, who are pack hunters by nature, while Ellie turns the power back on. The only problem is one of the raptors peels off to take her on, leaving two for Muldoon to handle. Ellie is attacked by the third raptor after flipping the switch but manages to hobble her way back out to the Jeep. Muldoon, meanwhile, is tracking one of the raptors, shotgun in hand. But as Alan warned earlier in the film, the attack doesn't come from ahead — it comes from the side. While Muldoon is stalking one of the Velociraptors, the other one is flanking him. Thinking he's outsmarted the raptor he's after by using his hat as a decoy, Muldoon eventually realizes he's the one who's fallen into a trap. Then come his famous last words: "Clever girl," he mutters to the raptor before it pounces.
The Indominous Rex gets triple-teamed
At the climax of "Jurassic World," Owen Grady has managed to reconnect with Blue and the other Velociraptors, re-establishing himself as the Alpha of the pack. When the Indominus Rex — which had managed to switch their loyalty earlier, owing to the fact that it's part raptor — comes along and figures out what's up, she is not happy and attacks Blue. If the loyalty of the remaining Velociraptors was ever in doubt, the Indominus attacking one of their own makes the sides very clear. Owen sics them on the Indominus and tries to lead Claire, Zach, and Gray to safety, but the larger dinosaur outmatches the two raptors. Gray says they need more teeth, which gives Claire the insane-but-brilliant idea to add the Tyrannosaurus Rex into the mix.
Against his better judgment, Lowery Cruthers (Jake Johnson), the one employee left in the control room, releases the T-Rex and Claire leads it into battle with red flares, mirroring the initial T-Rex attack scene from "Jurassic Park." As the Indominus is getting the better of the Tyrannosaurus, Blue recovers and re-enters the fray, fighting alongside the T-Rex. Now that it's a handicap match, things are shaking out a little differently. As the tide turns, the battle shifts away from the visitor center and the Indominus finds itself backed up against the edge of the lagoon. Unwilling to yield any more ground, it lets out a massive roar, which the T-Rex and Blue echo. Then Player 4 enters the game: the Mosasaurus lunges out of the lagoon, grabs the Indominus by the throat in its massive jaws, and drags it down underwater. More teeth indeed.