Jurassic Park (3D)

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Jurassic Park (3D)
• a review of Jurassic Park (3D) completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 15 April 2013.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Jurassic Park (3D) is the updated version of the classic adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel by Michael Crichton. The story centres upon Jurassic Park, a nature reserve established on a remote South American island by billionaire businessman John Hammond (Richard Attenborough). Hammond and his team of dedicated scientists have populated the park with a variety of genetically engineered dinosaurs. This technological breakthrough was made possible by extracting and manipulating the DNA from dinosaur blood found in the stomachs of ancient fossilised mosquitoes.

As the reserve nears completion, Hammond invites selected guests to view the site, in the hope of attracting recognised experts to take on management roles at the park. These visitors include palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill), his partner, palaeobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and chaos mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum).  Hammond’s grandchildren, Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello) are also given the opportunity to see the park and its amazing creatures.

Initially, the visitors are all suitably impressed and astounded at the re-created dinosaurs and carefully replicated habitats. Unfortunately, their wonder turns to fear when the park’s computer system is disabled and several dinosaurs escape the high-voltage confines.The remains of the film shows their desparate fight for survival.

Humans versus the natural world; Genetic engineering.

The film contains frequent violent episodes involving dinosaurs and their prey.  There are also some episodes of violence perpetrated by humans on dinosaurs.  Examples include:

• Several park employees are knocked to the ground as a dinosaur is released from an enormous crate. One man is attacked and dragged into the cage
• A tyrannosaurus dismembers a live goat
• A tyrannosaurus rocks a car containing Lex and Tim, eventually breaking through the glass sun-roof, rolling the car, and tearing off tyres
• A tyrannosaurus smashes through the toilet cubicle where lawyer Gennaro is hiding, then bites his whole head and torso.  Although not shown, viewers are led to imagine that Gennaro is bitten in half
• Nedry is cornered by a vicious dinosaur, which spits poisonous liquid on his face and torso, and presumably kills him
• Dr. Sattler runs to escape velociraptors, and then discovers the dismembered body of a man who had been killed by dinosaurs
• Lex and Tim are chased by savage velociraptors
• A tyrannosaurus attacks and eats several velociraptors
• Unidentified park employees fire taser guns at a dinosaur
• Dr. Grant kicks a velociraptor in the head.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are many scenes in this movie depicting rampaging dinosaurs and people in peril that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including:

• Numerous scenes involve salivating, aggressive dinosaurs, with close-ups of mouths, eyes and claws. Sound effects featuring the dinosaurs’ biting and chewing movements add to the scariness of these images.
• Several scenes build tension and promote the idea of approaching menace, through the use of sound effects such as deep growling, heavy thudding footsteps, and violently shaking bushes.
• Scenes where children are in danger from dinosaurs may be particularly scary for this age group
• In one perilous scene we see a young boy climbing over a deactivated twenty metre high 10,000 volts electric fence. When the boy is halfway down the fence is turned on and the boy receives a shock and is thrown from the fence
• Close-up shots of Lex, Tim, Dr. Sattler and other characters depict stark terror on their faces
• Many scenes contain terrified screaming by Lex, Tim, Dr. Sattler, Nedry and Gennaro
• A live cow is lowered into an enclosure to be eaten by dinosaurs - we hear it bellowing and the sounds of it being eaten
• After a goat is torn to shreds by a tyrannosaurus, a large piece of the remaining bloody bone and flesh lands on the window of Lex and Tim’s car
• Close-up shots of Lex, Tim, Dr. Sattler and other characters depict stark terror on their faces
• Many scenes contain terrified screaming by Lex, Tim, Dr. Sattler, Nedry and Gennaro
• Several scenes build tension and promote the idea of approaching menace, through the use of sound effects such as deep growling, heavy thudding footsteps, and violently shaking bushes.

• Children in this age group will also be disturbed by the scenes described above.

• Children in this age group are also likely to be disturbed by the above-mentioned violent and scary scenes

• Younger children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above-mentioned violent and scary scenes

Product placement

There is some product placement in this movie, including:

• Jeep
• Jolt Cola
• Moet champagne
• Ford
• Some Apple products.

Sexual references

There are some very mild sexual references in this movie, including: 

• Dr. Malcolm touches Dr. Sattler’s hand in a suggestive manner.
• Dr. Malcolm comments to Dr. Sattler (in a provocative manner), “I refuse to believe you aren’t familiar with the theory of attraction”.
• Dr. Malcolm inquires whether Dr. Sattler is “available”.

Nudity and sexual activity

• None noted.

Use of substances

There are some mild depictions of substance use in this film, including:

• Ray Arnold is constantly depicted smoking a cigarette
• Dr. Malcolm drinks from a metal hip flask
• Celebration drinking of champagne.

Coarse language

There is some mildly coarse and threatening language in this film, including:

• Okay, who’s that jerk?
• That crazy son of a bitch
• Hold onto your butts
• That is one big pile of shit
• crap.

In a nutshell

Jurassic Park (3D) is the 3D update of a classic, well-devised film that operates at a range of levels.  Taken at face value, it offers a fast-paced science fiction adventure which has attained almost iconic status in recent years (due partly to its pioneering use of computer-generated special effects).  Beyond this immediate layer, Jurassic Park also contains an exploration of the role of humans on the earth, questioning the drive for dominance over the planet and nature itself. 

Given the multiple frightening and violent scenes, with realistic dinosaurs and some gory and disturbing scenes, this is not a film for younger children. Although the original film was classified PG  for "Medium level violence", the new version is classified M for "Violence". The 3D effects make it much more intense and scary for children, particularly on large screens. It is therefore not recommended for under 14s with parental guidance strongly recommended for 14 year olds.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• courage
• loyalty

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with older children the long-term, global consequences of human actions on the planet and the implications of using new technologies, like cloning, just because we can