Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Welcome BACK To Jurassic Park: Plot Analysis
54 Plays1 month ago
🦖📖✨ In this episode of Book Watch, we’re heading back to Isla Nublar for Part 2 of our deep dive into Jurassic Park—Michael Crichton’s sci-fi classic and its 1993 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg.
How well did the movie capture the heart of the book? What changes worked—and which ones totally missed the mark?
💡 In Part 2, we’ll explore:
✅ Major plot changes from page to screen
✅ Key omissions and additions
✅ How well the adaptation stayed true to the book’s core themes of science, ethics, and chaos theory 🧬🌀
Join Sarah-Daye McDee and guest Chris Hitlett once again as they break down what worked, what didn’t, and whether this blockbuster adaptation does the novel justice.
📌 Share your thoughts with us in The Book Watch Lounge on Facebook—we want to know: did this dino-filled adaptation live up to the hype? 💙🦕
Recommended
Transcript
Intro
Welcome Back: Jurassic Park Part 2
00:00:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Welcome back listeners to another episode of book watch. is part two of our Jurassic park coverage. I have Chris here with me again for another week. Welcome back, Chris.
00:00:57
Chris\]=[
Hi, everyone. Glad to be here.
00:01:00
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And on our part two episode is when we cover the key plot points. Last week, we covered kind of the initial cultural impact of Jurassic Park, as well as the key characters and the cast.
00:01:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And now we're diving into the meat of the story. So I'm very excited to jump in here with you, Chris.
00:01:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So let's talk about the difference in the opening scenes first.
Opening Scenes: Book vs Movie
00:01:27
Chris\]=[
Yeah, that was definitely quite the, yeah a quite different experience going into the book and versus the movie with those. We got the scenes with your girl being attacked on the beach by the little dinosaurs and ah ah the wondering whether it's a new form of lizard and all that, that eventually leads us to Grant, like you were saying last time.
00:01:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:01:49
Chris\]=[
That's interesting.
00:01:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah
00:01:50
Chris\]=[
And then the babies being attacked is a very, very different experience and kind of dark in a different way than the film was. And that was definitely quite interesting.
00:02:01
Chris\]=[
In the movie, we just get the visit to the raptor attack and then the visit to the amber mine.
00:02:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:02:09
Chris\]=[
So.
00:02:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And it was interesting to see the amber mine. But we do kind of just jump right into the film with the raptor attack, whereas the book is much more gradual. We have all of the information about biotech and the legalities around it and how...
00:02:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
how it's being monitored. um And so we have all that backstory. And then, like you said, all of the backstory about the lizard quote and how that is being put into question. We do have a raptor attack in the book, but we we were not there.
Character Introductions and Journey
00:02:45
Chris\]=[
Right. We just see the medical stuff.
00:02:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
It's brought into the hospital and that's kind of like a, so yeah, it's a, it's almost like a snowball effect where her camera was stolen and then,
00:02:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Then we get the little girl that comes in and it's take the samples from that and that's you know they send that off to Grant and that's where we meet Grant for the first time. But it's, you know, I know.
00:03:04
Chris\]=[
I kind of wanted a little more follow-up on the camera thing. i was I felt like that was a loose thread that never got answered. I'm like, did this lady just not look for her camera ever again?
00:03:10
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Very good point.
00:03:12
Chris\]=[
She didn't care what happened to it. She didn't look into the legality of that and who came to her. But it never gets answered, so we'll never know.
00:03:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right, exactly. yeah um But it is it's interesting. I mean, and books are always going to be able to have a lot more context than a film.
00:03:27
Chris\]=[
True.
00:03:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But it is it is interesting to see all of that and and read all of that history leading into the introduction to the park, because the movie and we are kind of almost immediately introduced to the idea of the park.
00:03:40
Chris\]=[
Right. In the movies, you get is the part where I was in Jurassic World. We have that attack where Grady is training his people and one of them falls into the raptor pit.
00:03:53
Chris\]=[
It almost mirrors that moment.
00:03:53
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:03:54
Chris\]=[
exactly That's kind of what I was talking about last time. That's one of the scenes. It was almost an exact parallel to the between the two. I thought that was kind of interesting.
00:04:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yes.
00:04:03
Chris\]=[
And they do that throughout those two movies because that
John Hammond: Book vs Movie
00:04:05
Chris\]=[
one was supposed to be basically this movie again in some ways. And they just did it upgraded.
00:04:08
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Now, I know you said you haven't seen Camp Cretaceous, but there's also a scene where somebody falls into and ah ah an area and again, mirrors that same theme there too.
00:04:18
Chris\]=[
Interesting.
00:04:21
Chris\]=[
It's an intense moment no matter where you are. So Raptors being as smart as they are, it it gets intense.
00:04:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
but yeah yes
00:04:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yes it does So, okay. So that's the opening of the story. Then we are introduced to the park and it's a little different again from book versus film. How, how Grant, or I should say why Grant and Ellie arrive and how they arrive and how they're introduced to the other players. And then the whole tour of the park is a little different.
00:04:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Talk to me a little bit about your thoughts on that. What did you like better? i think that it, it, it, for to adapt it from page to screen. I think they made the right call on things, but talk to me about your thoughts on that.
00:05:06
Chris\]=[
Yeah. So when they meet ah with Grant, ah it comes it's John Hammond that comes in. But before that, in that scene, you've got them digging up what is a adult raptor, which in the book, it's a baby raptor they're pulling out of the ground or no they're excavating or seeing there.
00:05:22
Chris\]=[
And so that was an interesting difference there when I looked at him. I mean, the big raptor is a bigger spectacle, I guess. And then he has his claw that he carries around with him the rest of the time that kind of points to him being the raptor guy,
00:05:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Iconic Scenes and Dynamics
00:05:33
Chris\]=[
like digs up raptor bones and
00:05:35
Chris\]=[
Later on, we see that drop, and that's a big moment for him when he drops it and decides, well, dinosaurs are around now. I got ah i i got other things to worry about. then, yeah, with Hammond coming and picking him up versus the lawyer, I was like, okay, I guess that's a little more personal, a little more of him inviting him to this big spectacle, and I liked
00:05:52
Chris\]=[
And he gave us that look at Hammond's personality and the way the his bubbliness and his joy for this park. It made you want to go.
00:06:00
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right, exactly. That's the first look into the fact that this is not going to be the same character from the book. Like, like he's the one that went and welcomed them to Jurassic Park. He wanted to invite them personally, and he already knew it was a celebration, and he wants to fund their research for the next three years.
00:06:12
Chris\]=[
Yeah,
00:06:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So first look into the difference in character of John Hammond, which i really I really liked, but I'm partial to film Hammond.
00:06:24
Chris\]=[
it was fun.
00:06:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:06:27
Chris\]=[
And then with the two are starting, I mean, that they in the book, the tour was less, I think, less polished. I felt like the they talked about the entrance doors when they get to that and all those things being like a a wooden rough sign in the book.
Dinosaur Tracking and Monitoring
00:06:41
Chris\]=[
Whereas in the movie, we have those the the ones that are so iconic. Now, the big giant gate. Welcome to Jurassic Park and all that. So they had the moments that were not necessary to have be exactly the same, but gave a different feel when you're watching it versus when you're reading it.
00:06:58
Chris\]=[
And.
00:06:59
Sarah-Daye McDougall
One thing I noticed when I was trying to think of ideas to make a reel for Instagram for this episode, um comparing page to screen was the welcome to Jurassic Park.
00:07:10
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And Hammond says that in the film. And I feel like that's a very iconic piece of the film.
00:07:17
Chris\]=[
Oh, yeah.
00:07:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But it does not say that in the book. And the only welcome to Jurassic Park you get is them reading the sign, welcome to Jurassic Park. So was a bit of
00:07:25
Chris\]=[
And they said it sounded like it was just written out with. Yeah.
00:07:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, to not let somebody say welcome and make it this big thing.
00:07:29
Chris\]=[
Yeah.
00:07:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And, you know, I think in the film, they had just seen the dinosaurs for the first time. And that's when he's like, welcome to Jurassic Park. And it's just this very emotional moment that we don't get in the book.
00:07:43
Chris\]=[
Right. And the movie has the moment of, um well, the T-Rex, we've clocked going 65. You have a T-Rex? What? Say that again? we have a T-Rex.
00:07:52
Chris\]=[
And he's just so excited about everything he's got.
00:07:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:07:54
Chris\]=[
And and I thought that was a fun moment.
00:07:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I don't know in the film if they say this, but in the books they do reference that they have 15 different animals in the park. I don't know that the film...
00:08:07
Chris\]=[
Yeah, I think the film did not. I don't think the book was much more specific about which dinosaurs they had and how many, like the whole counting the dinosaurs was a big thing in the book and the counting of the eggs in the end. And whereas I don't think they ever talked
Mr. DNA and Cloning Explanation
00:08:19
Chris\]=[
about, we have to scan the park for the number of animals in the movie. That was never a part of the movie experience.
00:08:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. um Which was a really interesting part of the book was the scanning. And again, going back to how Grant was there almost on his own research mission as a part and in the book.
00:08:36
Chris\]=[
Right.
00:08:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And that was one of the things that he was like, m i like it just having this underlying understanding. mystery and trying to figure out how these compies got off the island throughout like that thread that carries on throughout the book, which was not in the film.
00:08:51
Chris\]=[
Right. and
00:08:55
Chris\]=[
And then tracking down the nests and having to seeing how the dinosaurs have learned to or are acting while they're alive and versus the the bones you can't tell anything from in certain areas.
00:09:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. And they do see the nest in the movie. And he does comment on, you know, how it's the frog DNA where they're able to breed and he sees the nests. So they do kind of keep those little Easter eggs from the books throughout the film, but that it's not a plot point like it is in the book for Grant's character.
00:09:18
Chris\]=[
Mm-hmm.
00:09:23
Chris\]=[
Oh, and we missed a big character in the last episode. Mr. DNA. He's...
00:09:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, ha you're right.
00:09:29
Chris\]=[
No, I haven't. Oh.
00:09:32
Chris\]=[
That's i know i haven't but i'
00:09:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Do you watch elementary?
00:09:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. They have a Halloween episode and one of the teachers dresses up as Mr. DNA. And I think another teacher dresses up as the mosquito in the amber.
00:09:42
Chris\]=[
oh
00:09:47
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And it's just funny.
00:09:47
Chris\]=[
that's fun
00:09:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Nobody understands who they are. So it was, it just reminded me of that. But yes, of course, Mr. DNA.
00:09:54
Chris\]=[
that video experience was fun. Like the idea of the way you can
Character Relationships: Grant, Ellie, Malcolm
00:09:57
Chris\]=[
explain this stuff when it's a visual medium versus being, uh, done on a, in a book you just have to hear it. It was, it was cool to have them going through that little experience.
00:10:06
Chris\]=[
Like you're at Disneyland watching a, watching a show and then, you know they have, they decide to stop it to go talk to Dr.
00:10:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:10:12
Chris\]=[
Woo.
00:10:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Dr.
00:10:12
Chris\]=[
But, uh, yeah, the fact that they just throw out the, frog DNA thing without just having to explore,
00:10:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Wu. Yes.
00:10:19
Chris\]=[
you know, we're not telling you which things are in it. Did you use frog DNA? It was the book way of him having to ask. And that in that case, they just threw it out there in the video and it was fine. So, but explaining how DNA is done all that through the video was a good medium, I think.
00:10:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:10:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, and then another change on the tour is them like going on an actual tour of the dinosaurs and them not being around. And then Dr. Malcolm's like, is there going to be any animals on this tour or not?
00:10:44
Chris\]=[
Actual dinosaurs. Yeah.
00:10:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And then they get to the Triceratops.
00:10:46
Chris\]=[
yeah
00:10:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And that's when they get out of the car. And that scene does happen in the book where she tries to figure out what's wrong. And I really like that that was very similar from page to screen.
00:11:01
Chris\]=[
You know, I think the vet was a bigger character in the the book than he was in the movie. He was just kind of a random worker in the movie, whereas he was
Jurassic Park and The Lost World Connections
00:11:08
Chris\]=[
more integral to like almost almost a love interest to the to Ellie in some ways. Like they talk about how she has that effect on people.
00:11:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I know. And um yes, yes, I agree. um But I don't remember Malcolm being as interested in Ellie in the book as he is in the film.
00:11:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And i I don't know that Grant and Ellie were established as a couple in the book, and they sort of are in the movie.
00:11:35
Chris\]=[
They aren't a cup on the book. They talk about her being, yeah they talk about her being engaged in the book to somebody else, to adopt some other doctor, which we do see in the second movie, I believe, or the third one.
00:11:42
Sarah-Daye McDougall
That's right. Yes, yes, that's right. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So it is nice to see the later installments of this franchise take, you know, little Easter eggs from, from the books.
00:11:55
Chris\]=[
Pull some of that stuff forward, yeah.
00:11:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. course the girl on the beach scene, which is in this book is not in this film, but it is the opening to the lost world.
Nedry's Plot and Chaos Theory
00:12:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:12:05
Chris\]=[
Right. I forgot they used that. And then in The Lost World, we see um more about ah Malcolm's ah family life and his dating life. He mentions it in the movie here um about how he's always looking for the future Mrs. Malcolm um and or Mrs. X mouth um Malcolm.
00:12:23
Chris\]=[
And in The Lost World, we see him having a kid, which was more
00:12:23
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:12:27
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:12:28
Chris\]=[
I almost wish they'd mentioned that he was a father in this because he because he was trying he was another one of those people that was kind of pushing Grant to be this father figure to these kids again, just like Ellie.
00:12:41
Chris\]=[
I have. I read both of them at the end of last year just as I was kind of getting ready for the podcast and starting to read them. I just went ahead and read both of them because I like the guy who reads them too, the and narrator on Audible.
00:12:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I do. I do too. Yes.
00:12:52
Chris\]=[
He's one of my favorite readers. So um I went ahead and read through them both, and they were really fun.
00:12:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, okay.
00:12:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
and I'm going to pull that up just so we can credit him real quick, unless you know it off the top of your head.
00:13:03
Chris\]=[
Normally I would, but I'm totally blanking it.
00:13:06
Chris\]=[
He reads all the Clive Cussler books is that my dad got me interested in a long time ago, and so I've followed him on that stuff for a long time.
00:13:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
The audio book is narrated by Scott Brick.
00:13:17
Chris\]=[
That's him, yeah.
00:13:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
At least mine was.
00:13:19
Chris\]=[
Yep, that's all right that's the one
00:13:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So, Okay. um yes, I just wanted to give the audio book because I also listen to audio books. That's how I read this
Action Sequence Portrayals
00:13:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
book. And I do agree. He is a great narrator. So credit where credit is due.
00:13:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
The Lost World. did is the is it Is the girl, his daughter in the book, is that all the same?
00:13:40
Chris\]=[
Well, we don't see his daughter in this at all. He mentions that he's always looking for another wife, but he doesn't mention having a daughter at all. And I wish he had. I wish they had because it would have established his character as having more stakes. I feel like.
00:13:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
in the lost world, is it similar to the movie? The book?
00:13:54
Chris\]=[
Yes, the book, the book. Oh, yeah, yeah, that's what you mean. OK, yeah, he's got the daughter in the book as well. And she I think she might actually be one of the people that goes like hides away and comes with them instead of being. i got to watch the film again.
00:14:06
Chris\]=[
I didn't pay much attention to that one yet, but.
00:14:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
She does. She hides away and comes with him, his daughter.
00:14:09
Chris\]=[
Okay. Yeah.
00:14:10
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:14:10
Chris\]=[
So I think that's, yeah, that's the same thing in the book.
00:14:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And then he's, he's going to the island because Sarah is there. No, is Sarah the daughter or Sarah the girlfriend?
00:14:20
Chris\]=[
I don't remember, but I'm sure we'll, we'll last world to be another episode.
00:14:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. We'll come back and cover this one another day.
00:14:25
Chris\]=[
I'm sure at some point we'll refresh ourselves first.
00:14:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. But yes, to go back to your point, it would have been nice for him to have some sort of line. I was just curious if... I don't think my Michael Creighton knew at the time that was the route he was going to go, because like we mentioned in our last episode, he is presumed dead at the end.
00:14:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Like they literally talk about a funeral for him.
00:14:46
Chris\]=[
Right.
00:14:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So I don't think he expected to bring that character back.
00:14:52
Chris\]=[
He had no intentions of writing a sequel for originally, so it was going to be a standalone.
00:14:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I see. Okay. Yeah. So yeah. Had he known or, well, when did The Lost World come out? Because they could have added a line.
00:15:06
Chris\]=[
Ninety seven.
Raptors and Animatronics
00:15:08
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So no, it was after the movie too. I wonder if that's why he wrote the sequel.
00:15:12
Chris\]=[
Yeah, let me check.
00:15:14
Chris\]=[
Lost World, the film, came out in 97. Let's see. Book was 95. Yeah.
00:15:19
Chris\]=[
was ninety five
00:15:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So still after the film. So, So, um yeah, so they didn't know, you know, he had no idea that was going to be the character arc for Malcolm.
00:15:23
Chris\]=[
yeah
00:15:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But I agree with you, it would have been nice to have some sort of line there. Yeah.
00:15:36
Chris\]=[
and if they'd killed Malcolm off, you wouldn't have had all these, we wouldn't have had all these revisits to Malcolm in the newer movies either of him being this chaos person talking to the courts and all that and the world Jurassic World stuff, which really brings the world together, I feel like, in a lot of ways to those ones.
00:15:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, definitely. I really do. i i love a broad universe and continuity and that's why I like Marvel so much.
00:15:57
Chris\]=[
Mm-hmm.
00:15:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
it is nice to see those little ties coming through from from film to film.
00:16:04
Chris\]=[
MCU cast math, deep, hot, wet continuity, i think he calls it, right?
00:16:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. Something along those lines.
00:16:10
Chris\]=[
I love that line.
00:16:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. um And he's taught Chris is talking about the MCU cast, which is a podcast. um This is how we met you and I. So if you're looking for a Marvel podcast, um they are a great option for you.
00:16:20
Chris\]=[
Yep.
00:16:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But back to Jurassic Park. After the tour kind of wraps up, we we kind of get into the main part of the story, and that is when Nidri kind of paul pulls his stunt.
00:16:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And he has met with the the other character earlier. He's gotten his can of shaving cream, and that is where he's stealing the eggs. So now he has...
T-Rex and Raptors: Iconic Status
00:16:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
but He has started his plan and he is he's going to go steal the eggs and that's where everything just kind of breaks down because he gets attacked and dies.
00:17:05
Chris\]=[
Because he didn't plan for the eventualities of chaos theory that something will go wrong.
00:17:10
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. And that is the storm that comes and he gets, he gets off track and then he runs into this dinosaur and that's, that's the end for of Nedry there.
00:17:12
Chris\]=[
Exactly.
00:17:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But how do you feel about the way they portrayed this whole storyline in the film?
00:17:25
Chris\]=[
So in the film, when he's driving down the road in the Jeep, one of the things I see that is different is he runs into the sign that points to the to the water, to the boat dock, and it's got a little arrow on it that points one way, and but it can be twisted around one way or the other, so he has no idea, so he just kind of spins it, and and it's supposed to take him to things. So he starts going the wrong way from that, in which we don't really in the book get a science and ah any indication of what causes him to go the wrong way in the book, but I thought that was kind of funny that there was just a sign that he hit with his car that causes the whole reason he didn't make it.
00:18:00
Chris\]=[
I liked that the way they did in the movie, I think. Him getting getting ah off track and all that and having just this panic attack of the people at the beach planning to leave before he can get there and running out of time because he didn't give himself enough time.
00:18:15
Chris\]=[
It's fun and it shows you kind of that not everything goes the way you want when you're trying to do the wrong thing or the right thing.
00:18:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:18:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. Yes. i I do like the visual of everything this scene.
00:18:24
Chris\]=[
Chaos theory.
00:18:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And, you know, the the storm and the lightning it causes that level of anxiety in the film. then you can see his acting, of course, is causing all this anxiety. And it's really, you know, this is the turning point. This is the reason why everything is going to happen for the rest of the film.
00:18:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And and What I really, really like is the visual of the shaving cream can and therefore the eggs or I guess DNA that he's stealing the embryos.
00:18:52
Chris\]=[
Embryos.
00:18:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Thank you. um Falling down that waterfall. And so basically he didn't even accomplish his mission and he's created this crazy intense survival all these characters and he didn't even get right.
00:19:09
Chris\]=[
Put everyone else in jeopardy, yeah.
00:19:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And he didn't even finish the mission.
Dinosaur Breeding and Science
00:19:15
Chris\]=[
Mm hmm. Yeah, it fell down as he was getting back into the car and you're like, OK, now if you drive to the beach, you're just going to show up with nothing.
00:19:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. Right.
00:19:21
Chris\]=[
So your point you've you've ruined your whole mission now.
00:19:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, exactly. And I just really like that visual. And again, that's what a film can do that a book cannot just really drive.
00:19:30
Chris\]=[
hmm. But in the book, they did describe the the brutal attack of the dinosaurs a little more in depth because you can explain what's happening to him more and not that it's just a tarry substance.
00:19:41
Chris\]=[
It's actually a a um a um poison that's getting into his eyes. And they explained that if he'd had the antiviral, if he'd came back and washed his eyes out with the antiviral, he would have been fine.
00:19:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. Right.
00:19:51
Chris\]=[
But he was blinded by them. And then he was torn open. And you know it's very graphically described. And it's a lot of ah interesting descriptions that you don't get in the movie of what's happening to him.
00:19:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:20:02
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. Yes. And we mentioned last time that it's a very brutal death scene.
00:20:05
Chris\]=[
Mm-hmm.
00:20:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And when, yeah, when you say graphic, it's definitely very graphic. um We won't get into the details on the podcast. We'll keep this PG-13, but um it is, it's rough.
00:20:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
It's a rough to read. I kind of, I skipped through it my second read because I was like, yeah, i don't need to listen to that again. Same with the babies. I'm like, yeah, i don't need to listen to the babies being eaten again.
00:20:24
Chris\]=[
yeah
00:20:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So yeah.
00:20:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, we agree that the film did a really great job portraying this particular storyline.
00:20:33
Chris\]=[
With what they had options for. Yeah, they did good job with it.
00:20:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. So because of this, the power is out and they have no way of getting it on. And because the power is out.
00:20:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
the animals are breaking out. And that brings us to our next key plot point, which is the T-Rex escape, which is a really exciting read. I think that's in the last episode i mentioned, my mom was reading Jurassic Park and in Key West and was scared a dinosaur was going to come out of the trees and get her. Right. And I think this is the scene where you, when you're reading, I mean, the movie did a great job, but when you're reading this, it's really like, Oh my gosh, what's going to happen.
00:21:12
Chris\]=[
Yeah, the book definitely had the the suspense in that moment for sure. And the movie does do a good job with, you know, you you first see the the goat that's now missing and he's looking through the goggles and trying to figure out what's happening.
00:21:24
Chris\]=[
And then you see the head the finally coming into a and into the the shot. and
00:21:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
first first, first, first, we get the thump.
00:21:30
Chris\]=[
oh my.
00:21:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
the he he felt He felt the thump.
00:21:33
Chris\]=[
Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah. The water.
00:21:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And that you know that's another iconic scene, I think, from
Music and Audio Effects
00:21:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
the film is that the water showing the vibrations from, yes.
00:21:42
Chris\]=[
The
00:21:46
Chris\]=[
tremors. Yeah.
00:21:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And then, yes, the goat and then the head. And in the book, he describes it. I really love to describe the description in the book because he's like, he looks over, Tim looks over, and he's like, he sees a tree and then he's like, this is not a tree. And then he zooms up and he sees the T-Rex head.
00:22:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And then they notice,
00:22:05
Chris\]=[
We're looking too low.
00:22:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. And then, and that's when I really liked in the book, the conversation over the walkies between Grant and Tim, where Grant is trying to stay calm, and but they they get the situation.
00:22:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And keep in mind, in the film, of course, we can all see what's happening because we need to be able to see the film. But in the book, we can't see anything.
00:22:25
Chris\]=[
Right. You didn't need that as much.
00:22:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Only Tim can see what's happening because he has the night vision goggles. And so Grant is trying to stay calm being like, are you seeing like, is is this really what is happening? And he's not trying to say, is the T-Rex getting out because he doesn't want to scare anybody.
00:22:42
Chris\]=[
Right.
00:22:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But the book just does such a good job of creating that suspense. But the film does a really excellent job of creating a very exciting scene for the movie as well.
00:22:56
Chris\]=[
Absolutely. I think they they nailed it on that. Like though the way the yeah the wires break as he starts to put his claw down. Ding, ding, ding, ding. Separating, making room for him.
00:23:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
and so
00:23:07
Chris\]=[
And he comes into full scene. Yeah, it was I'm sure in the it would have given you yeah ah nightmares and chills watching that happen.
00:23:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
nightmares exactly yes um and again you know we've already talked about how good the cgi and animatronics are so you know to be in the 90s and to see that and to see this giant t-rex coming and breaking into this car man it must have been yeah um pretty intense i think i went to my nightmares
00:23:31
Chris\]=[
and Until about last year, I had that same car.
John Hammond's Character Arc
00:23:34
Chris\]=[
So I was driving one of those ninety s late 90s explorers.
00:23:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, fun.
00:23:38
Chris\]=[
And so I was like, oh, there goes my car.
00:23:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, no.
00:23:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay, so the T-Rex is one of the main baddies in Jurassic Park, but our another main baddie is the raptors. Talk to me a little bit about your thoughts on how the raptors are portrayed in the book and how they're portrayed in the film.
00:23:58
Chris\]=[
Yeah, in the book, we see more of like you know the same kind of dynamic, where there you've got this pack leader and the the way they work together. and the movie, they talk about how they killed the other ones. like that they You had your alpha that killed the other a whole bunch of other ones and had its just couple few raptors that it worked with.
00:24:16
Chris\]=[
I liked in the book seeing more of the baby raptors and the fact that we have one at the beginning that they actually the kids get to hold and experience a baby raptor.
00:24:27
Chris\]=[
And then the we see one towards the end as well. It just added more nurturing effect to the, that the raptors also have that nurturing effect.
00:24:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, definitely. um And I really like how...
00:24:41
Chris\]=[
But are also terrible.
00:24:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah um I do like how the... rap ah Well, the raptors and the T-Rex and the compies even. I just like how the dinosaurs are carried over from film to film um and how they they have their own personalities.
00:24:54
Chris\]=[
Hmm.
00:24:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I mean, we can't talk about a cast because... their cgi and animatronic but i wish i had the names i believe in the first one at least the raptors were puppets like a person was inside a raptor soup and i wish that i had the names of those actors but i will i will try to find that and put that in the show notes but yeah the raptors and the t-rex are kind of the the big main characters as far as the dinosaurs go
00:25:08
Chris\]=[
Oh, yeah, i think I've seen that, yeah.
00:25:17
Chris\]=[
Absolutely.
00:25:25
Chris\]=[
In the book, the T-Rex, there's two of them. There's the the adults, and then there's a younger juvenile that we see more of that the movie didn't do.
00:25:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:25:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Bringing it back to Camp Cretaceous, they also have a mother-daughter T-Rex. Now they, in the book, I don't think they're like together. I think they're two different beings.
00:25:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But in Camp Cretaceous, they are more motherly towards the the baby T-Rex.
00:25:51
Chris\]=[
which is what we see in a lost world little more. So too, they have the family of T-Rex in that book.
00:25:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:25:55
Chris\]=[
So, and this one, it seems like they must've been part of different breeding groups or something.
00:25:56
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, that's right.
00:25:59
Chris\]=[
And so they weren't as nurturing towards each
Action and Suspense: Book vs Film
00:26:02
Chris\]=[
other anything.
00:26:02
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. And the baby is the one that gets Ed Regis in the book, which is Gennaro in the film.
00:26:06
Chris\]=[
Right.
00:26:09
Chris\]=[
Right. um And so, I mean, and and then with the T-Rex escaping, we also have to mention that we do get the, the guy on the toilet getting eaten, you know, editor yeah.
00:26:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. Yep.
00:26:19
Chris\]=[
And that's a big moment.
00:26:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Ed in the book. Yeah. Yes. No
00:26:21
Chris\]=[
I think that's the toy I had as a kid was I had the big diet, the big T-Rex that would actually eat the, it might've been from the second movie.
00:26:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
No way.
00:26:27
Chris\]=[
It might've been the, uh, the guy in the, uh, cage that goes through, but yeah, it would, it was either that or the toilet guy. i think it was a toilet guy getting pushed through the body of this T-Rex and it would come out of the stomach. So I was wishing I had the toy still cause I was like, i I was looking at reading about reading these books im like and like, man, I wish I still had that.
00:26:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
oh my
00:26:43
Chris\]=[
I looked it up and it's worth a whole bunch of money now. I'm like, now I really wish I had that toy still.
00:26:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I bet. Oh, man.
00:26:47
Chris\]=[
Yeah.
00:26:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
can't remember if i had any Jurassic Park. I definitely like them because, like I said, I know that I went to the theaters to see the third one, and that's because I had seen the first two.
00:27:00
Chris\]=[
Yeah,
00:27:01
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But I don't remember if I had any like, Jurassic Park toys. I must have. ah i should have asked my mom that, too.
00:27:08
Chris\]=[
yeah that would have been fun.
00:27:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So let's talk about... the actual um dinosaur breeding. We briefly mentioned it, and I think you even mentioned that was it was more of a plot point in the book than it is the film. It's very briefly mentioned in the movie. It's just a part of that tour. We get Wu for just a little bit.
Ellie's Expanded Role and Character Adaptations
00:27:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
He's also a bigger character in the book.
00:27:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
you think we could have seen some more of the science or do you think that they had just enough science in the film?
00:27:38
Chris\]=[
I think for the general audience, the amount of science they had explained what we needed to know in the movie. And so we didn't need to get super deep into the process of, okay, what DNA did they use to split up here? That's why they just said frog DNA instead of amphibian DNA.
00:27:54
Chris\]=[
I think that the a little bit of the eggs showing that, yeah, they are breeding here was enough for the the movie. So for the book, yeah, it was really interesting to go back and hear all of what they were doing.
00:28:08
Chris\]=[
the different proprietary ways they were breeding these characters. It really helped deepen that experience.
00:28:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm. Yeah, um I think you're right. And I think having, um like you mentioned, Mr. DNA um to really, well, he he talks a lot, but it's really nice to the show not tell um and to have us go on that ride with the characters and have Mr. DNA explain what's happening um in a fun, like you said, amusement park style um really fit for the film.
00:28:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But I do wish we had a little bit more of the background
00:28:39
Chris\]=[
I
00:28:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
knowledge that we have from the book.
00:28:47
Chris\]=[
i think Jurassic World does that more with the knowledge that like they they explain a little more in the lab. They spend more time with that part of it when they're talking about the new dinosaurs and all that stuff. But...
00:28:58
Chris\]=[
The way that Hammond talks to himself in the beginning of the ah DNA, Mr.
00:29:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:29:04
Chris\]=[
DNA stuff, too, is kind of funny. Ow, that hurt him, John. Well, it's all part of the process.
00:29:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah. And it's just it just adds to the cuteness that the film character is and like that just the contrast between the
00:29:15
Chris\]=[
Right.
00:29:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Just that he is that loving. he really is just fun and playful and just want he really wanted this to work for the like dinosaur fans.
00:29:27
Chris\]=[
the park's his baby and he he thinks this is a really great idea.
00:29:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:29:30
Chris\]=[
So he put invested everything into it.
00:29:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
Omitted Book Scenes
00:29:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
He did. Oh, poor guy. um Are there any other kind of points from book to film that you wanted to talk about or any side stories from the book that were were left out that you wish you had seen?
00:29:44
Chris\]=[
I feel like the river scenes were a big part of the book that we miss out entirely of here. That whole experience of going down the river with the T-Rex following them and the for the for Grant and the kids was really where we see them bond a little more so than just what we see of them walking through the field. And this those scenes were in the book, too.
00:30:03
Chris\]=[
I liked the river and then the tunnel where they find the baby raptor and all that. I think it was a missing plot that didn't need to be there. They got there, but it was fun.
00:30:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I do bet I'm going to pull up the times because back in the 90s, films were not as long as they are now.
00:30:21
Chris\]=[
um
00:30:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Does it tell me?
00:30:23
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, it was two hours and seven minutes. um But I was going to say in today's world, we probably could have gotten that scene because a two and two and a half hour movie is not uncommon.
00:30:34
Sarah-Daye McDougall
A three hour movie is not uncommon anymore.
00:30:34
Chris\]=[
True. Apparently.
00:30:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So I think if it was today, I think we would have gotten that river scene.
00:30:43
Chris\]=[
That's fair. And I mean, i don't think it would have added or taken away from the book or from the movie all that much, but it was another fun moment of the book that gave you some more stakes as to what was happening around.
00:30:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:53
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. I also think if it was May today, we would have a lot more corporate greed shown in the film.
00:31:00
Chris\]=[
That's true. the The analogies would be a little more more put into the film and more pressed out to the to the audience.
00:31:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:31:07
Chris\]=[
Like, hey, look at what's happening here. Remind you of anything?
00:31:14
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. so any other any other point plot points that you want to talk about before we kind of get into our comparative analysis?
00:31:21
Chris\]=[
No, none of the other ones stuck out to me at this point. I think that was the biggest one that I felt like was missing. And like you said, the ah the lab stuff was a little bigger in the book, but yeah, I'm good.
00:31:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
All right. Well, tell me which medium told the story better or did both succeed in their own ways?
00:31:39
Chris\]=[
The book was better, but I do think they accomplished. I love the movie, too. So I say the story was better in the book. The experience was good across both of them.
00:31:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, I do agree that both are good. I actually, and I don't know if this is because I grew up on the film, but I do think I like the film better. It also might be because I'm a wimp and it is a brutal book.
00:32:02
Chris\]=[
That's fair. That's fair. I mean, I i i like i tend to read a lot of more intense books different for different genres and things. So it was not a hugely problematic book for me. but And i think that that some of those things add stakes to me as well. But I do think the movie did a good job with its portrayal.
00:32:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, it really did. And the book is really good. So listeners, if you haven't read the book and you have seen the film, definitely give the book a try because that it's definitely worth a read.
00:32:31
Chris\]=[
Absolutely.
Final Opinions: Book vs Film
00:32:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay, so we're going to end our episode with our bookmarked moments. So what we will do is we will tell, you'll tell me what you liked to best about the adaptation, what you really didn't like about the adaptation, and then what was the most memorable moment of the book or the film.
00:32:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So let's start with what did you like best about the adaptation?
00:32:56
Chris\]=[
I think that you can never quite get the effect of a T-Rex roaring unless you are are watching the movie. So the as far as the difference between the adaptation, the what I liked best was getting to experience the ah ah thrill of a T-Rex roaring, of the the different noises dinosaurs make.
00:33:16
Chris\]=[
I think that was the best part. What about you?
00:33:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
That's a good one. It is iconic.
00:33:21
Chris\]=[
Oh, yeah.
00:33:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I think I really liked the the role they gave to Ellie and how they kind of – her role was a lot more robust in the film than it was in the book.
00:33:31
Chris\]=[
Absolutely.
00:33:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And i'm glad that they fleshed that out a little bit for her.
00:33:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And what was your least favorite at ah ah aspect of the adaptation?
00:33:40
Chris\]=[
I think that the kids were my least favorite part of the whole adaptation.
00:33:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
oh
00:33:46
Chris\]=[
I mean, I didn't like him in the book either that much. They just, they were almost a little too, little overdone, feel like. But I mean, if I think about what it would be like to take an eight year old and an 11 year old into scary, scary park and with monsters, it seems about right.
00:34:01
Chris\]=[
But they took away from my experience a little bit in the way that they reacted to things and how, uh,
00:34:02
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:34:07
Chris\]=[
Ellie or in the book was, or I mean, Ellie, but Lex was so, so whiny throughout some of the scenes. It just like, okay, yes, I get that you're an eight year old, but can we pay attention and listen for a few minutes here?
00:34:20
Chris\]=[
And it was very much insistent all the time in the book of something always.
00:34:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:34:27
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. I think my least favorite part.
00:34:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I should have had this prepared beforehand. I know better. um And I just had one in my head and it disappeared. Yeah.
00:34:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, yes. Okay. Muldoon. he lives in the book, he dies in the film and I wish that he lived in the film because I do really like the character.
00:34:47
Chris\]=[
Yeah.
00:34:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I think that, Bob Peck did a really good job of playing that character and I really would have liked to see him survive the film.
00:34:55
Chris\]=[
yeah
00:34:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So, um, um, that is my least favorite aspect is that they, they changed that in the movie. Um,
00:35:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. What was your most memorable moment from the book or the film?
00:35:09
Chris\]=[
Most memorable moment. As soon as you say memorable, they my memory wipes. I can't remember anything that I saw in the book or film, right? No, that's just my ADD talking.
00:35:21
Chris\]=[
No, I thought the book is interesting because it had Hammond's death, which was very poignant to the, oh, you've got your guy that has everything. Now he's sitting in the, in a he went for a walk and is on the compound after everything was back under control.
00:35:38
Chris\]=[
He gets scared by the kids. They were in the control room and they hit the button that plays the artificial roar of the T-Rex. And he gets panicked and runs off the off the path and rolls down into a ditch and breaks his leg.
00:35:54
Chris\]=[
And so he ends up like, well, I'm only a couple of feet from my chateau. I'll be fine. And he just lays there and experience and gets to experience throughout the time he's there. compies come and just kind of look at him and he's just,
00:36:08
Chris\]=[
eventually he nobody comes looking for him it's kind of a it's an interesting look at humanity and the way that you know you can be the richest guy in the room and you can still be the one that dies of exposure basically nobody cared to let nobody look for him so that was interesting and i thought that i think that's one of my most memorable parts of the book
00:36:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah
00:36:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Nobody cares. Right. Yeah. Right.
00:36:27
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, it was. I mean, not only is his character like it's so jarring to see the difference in character and then to see his death played out that way. And you're just like, wow, like that.
00:36:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
It was I remember being very surprised by that the first time I read it. But my most memorable moment might be a bit of a comp out, but it is the music is just so iconic for this film.
00:36:50
Chris\]=[
I had that written down. I forgot to mention it, but I had that written down.
00:36:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And of course, John Williams.
00:36:54
Chris\]=[
That definitely played through my head all last night.
00:36:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
John Williams is the composer, um brilliant composer who is very um well known for lots of very iconic sounds. But, you know, you really don't have a Jurassic Park film without the the na na na na. na na na na So, yes, that is the most memorable.
00:37:15
Chris\]=[
It made the movie.
00:37:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, it really, really does. not only the music. I mean, when you said the Jurassic, sorry, the T-Rex roar, also very iconic sound. Yeah.
00:37:25
Chris\]=[
I was reading about how they made the T-Rex sound and it was like it was like a dog, a lion, like they combined all these animals into one big giant roar.
00:37:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. A baby elephant slowed down.
00:37:33
Chris\]=[
Yeah.
00:37:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. It's wild.
00:37:34
Chris\]=[
So.
00:37:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
but
00:37:35
Chris\]=[
Even that is pretty cool.
00:37:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:37:36
Chris\]=[
Audio audio tech stuff. and
00:37:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. They really were ahead of their time.
00:37:39
Chris\]=[
Impressive.
00:37:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I know we talked a lot about CGI last time, but man, were they ahead of their time with this film.
00:37:47
Chris\]=[
Absolutely. There's actually a song by ah Weird Al that's about Jurassic Park that's actually kind of entertaining too because he goes through the film and at one point he says, at least date the lawyer so he can't they can't all be that bad about the dinosaurs.
00:38:00
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I'll have to, I will have to, yeah, look that up after after we're done recording here.
00:38:01
Chris\]=[
Yeah, look it up.
00:38:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But Chris, thank you so much for joining me for these two episodes to talk about Jurassic Park. It was a lot of fun. And I know we've already talked about the fact that you will come on again for a bonus episode when the new film comes out so we can talk about that.
00:38:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I'm very excited for that.
00:38:22
Chris\]=[
Yeah, that'll be a lot of fun. Thank you for having me.
00:38:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Thank you, listeners. Thank you for joining us for Jurassic Park. We'll see you next week.