Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (****)
I required only one thing from this show – for people to get eaten. And boy, did it deliver.
Season One
I’m sure I wasn’t the only person nervous about the idea of the franchise being watered down for this kid’s show. If you’re going to make a Jurassic World themed show, you can’t make the dinosaurs all friendly (or at least unimposing). Part of the reason we love dinosaurs is because they’re intimidating. If you take away a T-Rex’s teeth, it’s going to lose fans quick.
This is definitely a show for kids, but I still found it immensely enjoyable because it followed the Jurassic Park formula uncompromisingly. People get eaten. Kids scream in horror. Characters run and hide from ominous razor-toothed dinosaurs. That’s what I’m here for! We don’t often see fear as a central element in children’s entertainment – fear and family-friendly don’t go together very well. But some of the best stories told with young audiences in mind include fear because it’s such a primal and relatable form of excitement. This show is packed with tense moments and hold-your-breath shots of adrenaline. There’s a line that they won’t cross because young kids are in the crowd, but they definitely push the envelope and keep the dinosaurs as scary and awesome as they were in the original film.
One of the coolest things about this show was how it ended. I initially wondered how they were going to make a Season Two – or if they ever intended to. The way they wrapped up this story was a little anti-climactic (our characters accept an unexpected ending with hardly any resistance), but it sets the stage for a very different next season.
This is exactly the show I would’ve loved to watch as a young kid – which is probably the reason I have such respect for it today.