The movie and novel, Jurassic Park is an artistic piece about the resurrection of dinosaurs by man. It is a science developed from research and mutation of different genes and specimens, combined in a lab to form the eggs, which later hatch into various species. They live together in an island far away from human population and its creator chooses to open it up for the public. However, it becomes chaotic when the animals turn on humans, and everyone in the island becomes horrified. It is a thrilling piece on both adaptations though the novel sounds more horrifying than the film. Michael Crichton, the novel’s author, centered on the film being an adult only by using scenes of violence and blood-thirsty monsters. He incorporated various technical advancements, which the scientists use in the creation of dinosaurs. However, Steven Spielberg, the film director, changed its tone to one that fits the young audiences, which made it captivating to watch for all ages. Despite the stories being similar in most ways, not all scenes described in the novel made it to the film, while some scenes have a twist to fit in the movie.
Isla Nublar
The book describes the island, Isla Nublar as the haven for survivors of the park. In the book, most of the survivors are able to escape from the park through boats, which ferry them to distant ships (Skipper, 2014). Later, the island blows up and kills the remaining inhabitants, who suffer from napalm-y deaths. The island was an essential part of the book, which readers felt it was left out deliberately though it provides an opportunity for its adaptation in other franchises. The Jurassic Park trilogy composes of four films, with each of them being quite similar to the other (Skipper, 2014). However, the Isla Nublar did not make it in any future films, a major disappointment to the people who followed the novel.
Muldoon and his Bazooka
Muldoon is a game warden, who trains all the dinosaurs in the park. He points out the concern over some of the creatures and how the scientists are pushing themselves too far in realizing their dreams (Grubbs, 2015). However, he has a strong and brave character in the novel, especially when he uses a bazooka to kill a raptor. In the movie, Muldoon is the envy of clever girls and has a softer personality. He does not use assault weapons when saving people but a combination of skill and tricks. In most scenes, he tries to face off the creatures on a one on one combat in a bid to overpower them. Spielberg avoids the spilling of blood and obscene scenes in the movie and results to lesser and appealing ways of telling the narrative.
Raptor Siege
Raptors are the fastest and cunning dinosaurs, whose hunting skills are quite magnificent in that they trick their victim and push them to the edge then attack (Rosier, 2015). Muldoon has a good relation with the Raptors as he trains them in daily combats and hunts. In the novel, most of their hunts are quite harsh and bloody, something that was quite hard to portray in the movie. For instance, the scene where John Hammond, Dr. Henry Wu, Robert Muldoon, and Ellie trick the Raptors by using Ian Malcolm as bait is not in the movie. In the novel, their strategy does not play out as planned as the Raptors charge on Wu, tear and eat him alive. Such horrifying scenes would not be appropriate for the young viewers since Spielberg’s adaptation was to make it a family movie.
Tyrannosaurus Tonguing
In the novel, the Tyrannosaurus charges towards Lex and Tim, who are quite lucky to escape it by entering a small cave (Shultz, 2013). However, the Tyrannosaurus tries to reach them using his tongue and ends up wrapping it around Tim’s head and drags him towards the cave’s opening. It is quite a horrifying scene to act out, but Spielberg dodged the bullet by substituting Lex and Tim with a snake-fearing paleontologist. However, the tonguing part does not occur in the new scene, which is quite unnoticeable. Regardless of the case, it was a brilliant idea to avoid such a horrifying scene, especially for the young ones. It was an important part of the film, but one has to appreciate the skills exhibited by Spielberg in the movie.
Dennis Nedry is the son of the island’s proprietor and a security expert. However, he is not happy about his position and makes various flaws while on duty, such as leaving the park’s gate open (Vlastelica, 2015). He is an essential part of the movie as he ‘opens’ up for the dinosaurs. In his quest to make things right, he takes a van and rushes to the gate but realizes that the dilophosaurids escaped from the premises. He meets his death while rushing back to the vehicle through a stab on his stomach. The piercing was quite severe as illustrated in the book since he held his intestines while slowly dying away. The horrifying scene could not be a part of the film, because of its severity. However, the death illustration was similar in both instances apart from the last part. In the movie, he flows down the stream and into the ocean.
Baby Raptor
As the novel comes to an end, Tim and Lex find a baby raptor in one of the dinosaur nurseries. Unlike the adult raptors, it is quite friendly and playful to them, which makes them take it up and run away with it (Skipper, 2014). However, they come face to face with adult raptors, placing them in a dilemma on the appropriate move to take. Tim, the eldest one, takes the baby raptor and tosses it to them. In his mind, he thinks the baby will distract the raptors and provide them a chance of running away. However, the Raptors rip apart the baby raptor, but it provides the opportunity to escape. Lex takes one last look at the beasts and sees them fighting over the baby’s limbs. In the movie, the nursery is present, but Lex and Tim do not take any baby from the nursery. Omitting the scene was a good strategy for maintaining the film’s regulation as a family movie.
Hammond’s death
The gruesome scene did not make it in the film since it was quite horrifying when the pack of pro compsognathus tore the flesh of John Hammond apart (Rosier, 2015). Hammond was the brains behind the park, and he made a huge investment from it. However, in the movie, he does not die but comes face to face with the reality of his creations. He has a cuddly, naïve and eccentric character and brings on board his grandchildren, Tim, and Lex, to the park, though they end up being in harm’s way. In the movie, Hammond falls down a hill and in the process breaks his ankle. He crawls to the nearest tree to rest then a pack of pro compsognathus approaches and nip him. Their bites have a venom which puts their victim to sleep and later feast on it.
Most of the writers state that the novel was only appropriate for the adults due to its illustration of the dinosaurs, death and the island at large. Its author, Michael Crichton would opt to illustrate it the same way in a movie, though Spielberg had other views about it. The novel was one of a kind as it incorporated research on dinosaurs and its various type. Apart from that, its fiction was marvelous depicting from the various characteristics demonstrated in the novel such as the raptors killing mechanism and Tyrannosaurus’ physical nature. Making it a movie would be a huge sell but it ought to be an educative piece, which will help the young generation understand some of the historical aspects. The movie adaptation was quite essential in realizing the objective and the best way was to do without some of the scenes.
Despite the omission of some scenes, the movie does not lose its early adaptation of the novel. The two stories are quite similar, with only a few variants that are not noticeable. Technology limitation was another factor to consider since some of the scenes were quite hard to play them out in real life. In conclusion, most novel-adapted films have variants that make it distinctive and oriented towards the audience, a move that helps in the overall adaptation by its audience.
Bibliography
Grubbs, J., 2015. 12 Un-Adapted Scenes From Michael Crichton's Novels That Should Totally Be In 'Jurassic World'. [Online] Available at: http://www.bustle.com/articles/88762-12-un-adapted-scenes-from-michael-crichtons-novels-that-should-totally-be-in-jurassic-world[Accessed 12 May 2016].
Rosier, T., 2015. Jurassic Park book vs movie: what’s different in the film?. [Online] Available at: http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/blog/index.php/2015/05/29/differences-between-the-jurassic-park-book-and-the-film/[Accessed 12 May 2016].
Shultz, C., 2013. Book vs. FIlm: Jurassic Park. [Online] Available at: https://litreactor.com/columns/book-vs-film-jurassic-park[Accessed 12 May 2016].
Skipper, B., 2014. 10 Craziest Jurassic Park Book Scenes That Should Have Made The Movie. [Online] Available at: http://www.gamesradar.com/10-craziest-scenes-jurassic-park-book-scenes-that-should-have-been-filmed/[Accessed 12 May 2016].
Vlastelica, R., 2015. In Jurassic Park, Spielberg made a family favorite from an adult book. [Online] Available at: http://www.avclub.com/article/jurassic-park-spielberg-made-family-favorite-adult-219492[Accessed 12 May 2016].
