Summary
As one of the most culturally significant movies of the 1990s,Jurassic Parkhas inspired countless tributes in movies and TV shows. Steven Spielberg weaves his magic into every frame ofJurassic Park,resulting in plenty of iconic moments. The helicopter ride to Isla Nublar, the T. Rex’s first appearance, and the Velociraptors prowling the kitchen can all be referenced easily as a shorthand for the entire movie.
TheJurassic Parkfranchisehas developed into a box office behemoth, but none of the sequels have yet matched the original in terms of cultural impact or famous moments. Only a few movies have come close. It’s hard for many TV shows and movies to resist the temptation to refer toJurassic Parkwhenever dinosaurs are worked into the plot, but these references are mostly positive tributes to a beloved family film.
Jurassic World Rebirth: Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know About The Next Jurassic Park Movie
Even though Jurassic World: Dominion wrapped up several major story arcs, it has officially been announced that Jurassic World 4 is happening.
With 35 seasons' worth of pop culture pastiches, it’s only natural thatThe Simpsonshas referred toJurassic Parka few times.The Simpsons'“Treehouse of Horror” episodesparody horror movies each season, and they have often borrowed elements fromJurassic Park.However, one of the show’s most obvious references wasn’t a Halloween special. The season 6 episode"Itchy & Scratchy Land" follows the Simpson family as they travel, by helicopter, to a theme park where the attractions go haywire and start trying to kill people.
Rick & Mortyallows Dan Harmon and the writers to deconstruct the tropes of different film and TV genres.Anatomy Parkisn’t just a riff onJurassic Park,but also the scores of lesser imitators it inspired. Rick shrinks Morty down and sends him inside the anatomy-themed amusement park he built inside an alcoholic drifter. From there, Morty has to team up with a crew of scientists and soldier-types to evade the rogue exhibits running rampant in the park. In this case, they aren’t dinosaurs, they’re diseases that resemble terrifying aliens. John Oliver plays a white blood cell with a striking resemblance to John Hammond.
LikeJurassic Park, The Flintstoneshas played an important role in shaping the way that people see dinosaurs. Although the dinosaurs in the 1960s cartoon weren’t meant to be realistic, they still perpetuated the false idea that they dinosaurs existed alongside humans. The 1994 live-action movie features a nod toJurassic Park,as Fred passes by a children’s park of the same name.Steven Spielberg was a producer forThe Flintstones, but it’s unknown if this Easter egg was his idea or not. It wouldn’t be a surprise ifElizabeth Banks' upcomingFlintstonesrebootalso paid tribute to Spielberg’s movie.
The image of the water rippling with each booming footstep of the T. Rex is one of the most iconic scenes inJurassic Park,and one of the most frequently parodied.Shrek 2’s giant gingerbread man, Mongo, is big enough for his footsteps to create ripples in two teacups, and his war cry sounds just like the T. Rex’s inimitable screeching roar.The firstShrekmovie also has aJurassic Parkreference, as the Dragon eats Lord Farquaad in the same way that Rexy eats Gennaro. TheShrekmovies contain dozens of movie references for older viewers to pick up on, and theupcomingShrek 5will undoubtedly keep this tradition alive.
In the same way thatToy Storyuses Woody to poke fun at the Western genre and Buzz Lightyear to parody sci-fi movies, Rex is often the butt of the joke inJurassic Parkhomages. He’s laughably inept and generally quite polite, and this juxtaposes with the supposedly fearsome reputation of dinosaurs. One of the franchise’s most obviousJurassic Parkconnections comes inToy Story 2,as Rex chases a toy car to hop back in with his friends. There’s a shot which shows him edging closer in the rearview mirror, just like the one inJurassic Park.
The Incrediblesis filled with references to classic superhero movies and comics, but its cultural palette is more diverse than that. Syndrome’s island, Nomanisan, takes inspiration from Bond villain hideouts, and it also has a lot in common withJurassic Park’s Isla Nublar. Aside from the lush greenery, Nomanisan also has some more specific features which resemble Jurassic Park, like the monorail which leads through a set of gates, and some high-tech control rooms.The IncrediblesandToy Story 2aren’t Pixar’s onlyJurassic Parkreferences.The Good Dinosaurfeatures a more overt homage, as a T. Rex battles with a group of velociraptors.
Dexter’s Laboratoryfollows a prodigious child scientist who performs advanced experiments in the lab underneath his home, so aJurassic Parkreference never seemed too far away. As Dexter tries to resurrect a T. Rex, he is forced to use a dog’s DNA to fill the gaps in the dinosaur’s genetic code. This gives the T. Rex the instincts and behaviors of a dog.Like most of Dexter’s experiments, this one ends up backfiring horrifically, and once again, Dee Dee is to blame. Somehow, Dee Dee manages to convince her parents that the dinosaur is just a large dog, and she is allowed to keep her new pet.
Samuel L. Jackson plays a minor role inJurassic Park,but he still delivers one of the movie’s best quotes.“Hold onto your butts"has been repeated by several movies and TV shows, includingKong: Skull Island,which gives Jackson the chance to wheel out one of his most memorable movie quotes.Kong: Skull Islandhas a lot more in common withJurassic Park,including the Triceratops skull seen on the island and the helicopters. Some of the similarities are coincidences, not references, becauseKong: Skull Islandis mostly referring to the original 1933King Kongmovie.
Seinfeldhas plenty of movie references, and they often make use of Wayne Knight’s characters. The actor who plays Newman has featured in plenty of big hits. For example, the season 3 episode “The Boyfriend” features Knight in a re-enactment of his role inJFK,testing out a “magic loogie theory” instead of the magic bullet theory. “The Old Man” features a much subtler reference.One of Knight’s most famous lines inJurassic Parkis"We’ve got Dodgson here!“Newman shouts out"We’ve got Al Jolsonhere!“while flipping through some old records in “The Old Man”.
6The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
The Naked Gun Plays On The Oscars Ceremony Of The Same Year
The Naked Gunmovies parody dozens of detective movies, but the team behindAirplaneandTop Secretalways find ways to fit in more cultural references. The year afterJurassic Parkwas released, the third and finalNaked Gunmovie featured a bomb plot at the Academy Awards. One of the movies up for nomination isGeriatric Park,a play onJurassic Parkin which a man is attacked by an enormous old man with a Zimmer frame.The opening credits sequence forThe Naked Gun 33 1/3has another reference toJurassic Park,as a police car is crushed by a T. Rex.
