Jurassic Park vs. Jurassic World: Trailer Comparative Study

View fullsize

Come with us on a Jeff Goldblum-esque journey as we scientifically compare the Jurassic Park trailer to the Jurassic World trailer...

I've been a little surprised with the amount of negativity aimed at the Jurassic World trailer that launched on Tuesday. I actually really dug what I saw in the trailer and feel like if you're going to make another Jurassic Park film, this is probably the way to do it. In fact, a lot of it felt really familiar to the first film... As an experiment, I decided to compare this trailer to the original trailer for Jurassic Park from around 1992 in terms of structurally how they were presented as well as narratively what they were conveying.

Here's the results:

:15 (Both Films)

In 1992, Jurassic Park begins its trailer by introducing us to the world that we know: archeologists excavating a fossil while a narrator who sounds like Littlefinger from Game of Thrones sets the stage that mankind has always searched for its past. In 2014, Jurassic World opens on a young kid at an airport, his mother tells her how proud she is of him going on the trip but at the first sign of danger: run. Okay, so in 1992 we have to establish to audiences how and why dinosaurs have been brought back to life but in 2014, we automatically assume that it's possible and that people have knowledge of the dangers (even the past events) of a Jurassic Park. Not much comparison here quite yet.

:29 (Both Films)

In 1992, Sir Richard Attenborough tells us that he owns an island off the coast of Costa Rica and it immediately cuts to a beautiful shot of the InGen helicopter traveling to Isla Nublar. Incidentally, at the exact same time into the Jurassic World trailer in 2014, we see a similar shot of the plush boat traveling to the exact same island. Now we're talking.

:47 (Jurassic Park) / :42 (Jurassic World)

The 1992 trailer needs to drop in a little more exposition to establish how these dinosaurs have been genetically engineered, while the 2014 trailer hits us right with the familiar Jurassic World gates. However both trailers both literally and figuratively tell us that the "Park is Open" (the 2014 trailer by dropping it as a full-screen text card) followed by a shot of a Downtown Disney-looking environment... around the same time that the 1992 trailer opens the doors to the iconic atrium in a similar over the shoulder shot.

:58 (Jurassic Park) / :53 (Jurassic World)

John Hammond tells us in the 1992 trailer that his creatures are going to capture the imaginations of every living creature... and we immediately reveal character reactions to the Brachiosaurus. What happens in the 2014 trailer? We see hordes of audiences at the park with their imaginations being captured and, sure enough, at around the same time get a similar reaction to our friends, the brachiosaurus.

1:08 (Jurassic Park) / 1:04 (Jurassic World)

Jurassic Park: King Kong reference. Jurassic World: Jaws reference.

1:25 (Jurassic Park) / 1:29 (Jurassic World)

Dr. Alan Grant ominously begins explaining the science to us talking about the dangers of genetic modification while in the new trailer, Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire discusses genetic modification. Both lines of dialogue set up what will fundamentally be the harbinger for what's to come in the remainder of the trailer's events.

1:32 (Jurassic Park) / 1:30 (Jurassic World)

At the conclusion of Dr. Grant's speech, your subwoofer gets a workout with a big thump to the LFE channel as you see the iconic waterglass shot from the first film. Meanwhile, in 2014 as Claire's speech comes to a conclusion, your subwoofer also gets a workout from a big thump revealing this weird genetically modified spinal column-type thing.

2:00 (Jurassic Park) / 1:56 (Jurassic World)

In Jurassic Park, we learn that the fences are down all over the park and Samuel L. Jackson can't get anything back online without Dennis Nedry... then it cuts to this fantastic shot of Dr. Sadler surveying post-attack wreckage. In Jurassic World, Chris Pratt warns against the danger of something that escaped its fence and cuts to this image of his character: surveying post-attack wreckage.

2:04 (Jurassic Park) / 2:02 (Jurassic World)

Both trailers getting into their action montage sequences - both hit a similar palms sweating moment because our main characters are up in the air without a net at roughly the same time (Jurassic Park: the characters climbing over the high-reaching electric fence, Jurassic World: the characters jumping off a waterfall). A bit of a stretch, but identical moments eliciting the same type of response.

2:07 (Jurassic Park) / 2:05 (Jurassic World)

Jurassic Park: "Oh no." / Jurassic World: "Oh god."

2:14 (Both Films)

The young boy character sees something with a high eye-line that makes their jaws both drop.

2:21 (Both Films)

Raptors!

2:28 (Both Films)

Raptors... who learn how to open doors (Jurassic Park) / Raptors... who learn to ride with Chris Pratt (Jurassic World). And both trailers end on that note of the dinosaurs evolving in ways that we would never expect them to have.

Conclusion: Did you like the first movie? There's a good chance you might like the new one.

Jurassic World Trailer Drops

View fullsize

Whadda they got in there? Jaws? E.T.? Maybe the Matterhorn?

So much for waiting for the big reveal on Turkey Day... Universal Pictures did an about-face and released the trailer for the new Jurassic World film today. Clocking in at over two-minutes, the trailer gives us a really good feel for what this film is going to be and I have to say: I'm pretty $#@! excited. Dr. Ian Malcolm told us that life was going to find a way but apparently, so did humans and Jurassic Park (now World) is a thriving theme park akin to the the Disney empire. But, as they famously say, something goes wrong. And what goes wrong was incredibly unexpected on my part. Check out the trailer, now and let us know what you think!

Blue Sky's Peanuts Trailer: Lucy's Setup the Football - Now What?

View fullsize

While it looks true to the source material, it's probably a safe bet that Snoopy won't be fighting a lawn chair any time soon...

20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Animation (the studio that brought you the Ice Age films and... the Ice Age films) have been long at work on a rebooted CG animation-based Peanuts to introduce the property to a whole-new generation of fans. The first-look trailer was supposed to be released at Thanksgiving, but apparently leaked a little early giving us our first glimpse at the series in motion.

The trailer definitely gets quite a bit right: keeping the animation to the same 2D-plane that's true to the Sunday strips as well as the classic Bill Melendez fueled television specials. The little bit of cloudy marshmallow-like depth that's been added to the almost painted look really makes the animation pop while also feeling familiar, and I actually really dig it. 

But, as many have pointed out, as soon as a Disney Radio sounding pop song kicks in things start to get a little hairy and the trailer ventures into Jim Carrey A Christmas Carol territory. It makes sense that Snoopy's ride is a flight of fancy (no pun intended) but as soon as it becomes a music video inspired "HEY KIDS, PUT ON YOUR 3D GLASSES!" moment, you can't help but shift in your seat a little bit and worry. But all-in-all, I'm feeling pretty positive about what we'll be seeing up on the movie screens this time next year.

Still though, die-hard fans take take comfort in knowing that Charles Schulz's son Craig, whom I actually had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing when working on the You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown DVD bonus features, is one of the co-writers of the film along with his son Bryan Schulz. That's two generations of Schulz family working together to keep the family legacy going. And no stranger to reboots that need to stay true to the source material Paul Feig is producing.

The new Peanuts film will be released November 5, 2015.

Star Wars Rebels Mid-Season in Review

View fullsize

Obi-Wan and his on the edge of giving into hatred Padawan Learner Anakin... wait... just kidding, that's Kadan and Ezra from Rebels. JK.

Star Wars Rebels, much like its predecessor Star Wars: The Clone Wars got off to a bit of a rocky start. While the "mini-movie" that kicked off the series had a lot of fun elements to it, there wasn't a whole lot of substance there, following in footsteps reminiscent of the Clone Wars "mini-movie" premiere which showed glimmers of promise but was ultimately forgettable.

The good news for Star Wars fans is that Clone Wars found its footing and became an incredible journey that, I could argue, was more satisfying and impactful than the three prequel movies. 

View fullsize

"Don't worry Tseebo, you have a long career ahead restoring artwork at the New York Museum of Fine Art and you'll meet a beautiful woman named Dana Barrett. Don't sweat the rest of the details..."

And good news for Star Wars Rebels: it appears to continue to follow in the Clone Wars series' footsteps. Progressively getting better and better with every passing episode. Now seven episodes into the series with "Gathering Forces", and at its mid-season hiatus, the one-off character building exercises seem to be out of the way and the show is spreading its more serialized wings. Seemingly one-dimensional characters are finally getting a little bit of depth and intrigue to them, and the stakes are abundantly higher for all the characters than they were in the first two or three episodes out of the gate. Ezra, the character meant to be the audience's point-of-view in this first handful of episodes has journeyed from street-rat, to vicarious aspiring Jedi, to a conflicted youth who is on the edge of giving into his anger and hate. His master, Kadan (who at first seemed like a Hollywood pitch meeting of, "It's Han Solo MEETS Luke Skywalker!") is now showing his lack of experience and training himself, having been a young member of the Jedi Temple at the time of Revenge of the Sith. 

View fullsize

Nobody will expect the Sith Inquisition.

Even the bad guys are getting a little more well-rounded as "The Inquisitor" who looks cool and certainly has a super-cool lightsaber as seems to be the pre-requisite for all Sith after Darth Maul, is starting to feel like a bit more than just the heavy who is always running two steps behind our heroes. Though I still question why he's so dedicated to hunting and tracking Kadan and Ezra and not venturing out throughout the rest of the galaxy on the hunt for other Jedi? I know Luke Skywalker was the one and only hope of the Force, so does this mean that Kadan/Ezra are quite literally the last two standing Jedi at this point in time?

View fullsize

One of these days, there'll be a Sith sporting yellow and blue lightsabers - and we shall call him Darth Ziplock.

But by far, the most intriguing aspect of Star Wars Rebels that's keeping me engaged at this point are the mysteries and larger storylines that it keeps hinting toward that I'm sure will play a bigger part in the remainder of this season and beyond. Hera continues to answer to a larger string-puller in the Rebellion who is known only as Fulcru" in these first seven episodes. There have been some theories as to Fulcrum's true identity, but in "Gathering Forces" the mystery source seems to be flying a vessel incredibly similar to Bail Organa's Tantive IV. This ragtag band of Rebels' destiny in the larger Rebellion is also a big question mark as it seems they're going to prove integral to plot points in the original trilogy (and possibly even the new J.J. Abrams headed sequel trilogy), so you can't help but hang on the introduction and current whereabouts of every character that the show introduces, including a Force-sensitive Imperial cadet who decided to hang back and investigate what happened to his sister at the Academy...

All-in-all, any worries that I had about the series being too squeaky-clean after the mini-movie seem to have been assuaged and the show has become must-watch television for me. You can feel it exuding potential for greatness now, much as Clone Wars did when it truly was firing on all cylinders. I have a feeling that the rest of the first season, and those to follow, are going to be a whole lot of fun.