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Computer-generated special effects have become so common that some readers may be surprised to see Jurassic Park 3 classified as a live-action/animation hybrid. In truth, Jurassic Park 3 represents the ultimate evolution of the classic Willis O’Brian/Ray Harryhausen-style animated adventure. Anyone who ever thrilled to King Kong or One Million Years B.C. owes it to himself to see Jurassic Park 3.
Jurassic Park 3’s plot, like the plot of virtually all of Harryhausen’s films, is simple: a group of humans must survive an environment chock-full of oversized and angry carnivores. (Of course, in this type of film, the carnivores need absolutely no motivation in order to act angry; Ray Harryhausen's dinosaurs typically leapt on the screen, teeth bared, and with trumpet blasts on the soundtrack.) The main hero is Dr. Alan Grant (played by Sam O’Neill), a cross between Indiana Jones and the science professor we all wish we had in college. The environment in question is Jurassic Park, a secluded island off the coast of Costa Rica, and the carnivores are dinosaurs brought back to life through the modern magic of DNA and cloning. In essence, this is an extremely streamlined version of the plots of the previous Jurassic Park movies, minus the unnecessary padding and science lectures. Indeed, there are a couple of in-jokes to this effect, mainly at the expense of chaos-obsessed mathematician Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum)who appeared in the first two films but not in the current one.
The animation, it goes without saying, is stunning. The various dinosaurs not only have distinctively different body language, but they also even seem to think. The decision to give the ostrich-sized Raptors a rudimentary form of dolphin-like speech was a wise one; it allows us to watch these incredible dinosaurs solve problems. Naturally, the many dinosaurs in the film are not necessarily paleontologist-approved, but Harryhausen’s dinosaurs weren’t the most biologically accurate creatures either, and Jurassic Park 3 isn’t a documentary anyway. Nevertheless, I guarantee that some of the children watching the film will consider (however briefly) that science is the career for them. I also liked how, unlike in the typical Harryhausen film, the sudden appearance of a dinosaur does not automatically end with its death.
Aside from the outstanding animation, the rest of the film is admirably craftsmanlike. The dialogue is amazingly concise and condensed – virtually no lines are spoken that do not move the plot forward. Joe Johnston is a meat-and-potatoes director compared to Steven Spielberg (who directed the previous two movies), but this isn’t a bad thing. Johnson’s previous work as a director in Jumanji, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, and The Rocketeer is a virtual textbook in how to create a believable fantasy film that is neither talky nor dull.
Jurassic Park 3 looks even better coming from a summer filled with animated or semi-animated films that were either commercial or artistic flops. It’s a great example of the type of film we haven’t seen much since Harryhausen retired in the 1980s, and a great example of how entertaining a mainstream Hollywood film can be.
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