Rerun Article: The Living Dinosaurs? pt. 1

So today I pulled another one of my ancient articles out of the word works. I hope you all enjoy it.

Days till:

It is: 38 days till Labor Day

It is: 54 days till the first day of Autumn

It is: 117 days till The Good Dinosaur's theatrical release!

In the Spotlight:

Believe it or not, we're already beginning to get tidbits about what Jurassic World II is going to be like. Wired published an article not too long ago in which they interviewed Colin Trevorrow, director of Jurassic World, to see what information he was able to reveal about the sequel. In the interview, he said:

"[It will not be] just a bunch of dinosaurs chasing people on an island. That’ll get old real fast." - Colin Trevorrow

 While I do want the fifth Jurassic Park movie to feature either Isla Nublar or Isla Sorna (preferably the last one because we haven't seen it since Jurassic Park III), I'm not sure it would be a good idea to have the plot focus on one of the two islands. This has already been done twice. But since the fourth movie has been called Jurassic World rather than "Park", the movie-makers a free to carry the plot away from the island. In fact, Trevorrow even suggested that the plot would not take place in a theme park.

"I feel like the idea that this isn’t always going to be limited to theme parks, and there are applications for this science that reach far beyond entertainment. And when you look back at nuclear power and how that started, the first instinct was to weaponise it and later on we found it could be used for energy." - Colin Trevorrow

What should we expect to see in this film? Again, Trevorrow provides us some potential answers.

"And this isn’t something necessarily that was in the book but is a seed that I wanted to plant in this movie, is that might be able to grow in more of these movies if they decide to make more of them, is: What if this went open source? It's almost like InGen is Mac, but what if PC gets their hands on it? What if there are 15 different entities around the world who can make a dinosaur?" - Trevorrow

"And Dr Wu says in the film, when he's warning Dr Mesrani [actually Masrani], 'we’re not always going to be the only ones who can make a dinosaur'. I think that’s an interesting idea that even if we don’t explore fully in this film, there is room for this universe to expand. I shouldn’t use the word universe, because people will think we’re making a Jurassic World universe -- we’re not."

Of course, I have no clue what this sequel is going to be about. But Trevorrow's words definitely sound promising! Jurassic Parkfans have a lot to look forward to on June 22, 2018 when Jurassic World II is released!

Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan

A theatrical poster for The Dinosaur Project (PHOTO CREDITS)

On the 1^st of this month, my latest Netflix movie came in the mail. It was entitled The Dinosaur Project. (I would have brought this up earlier, but I was requested to write on another topic as Easter approached) Now I heard about this movie in late 2012, so naturally I was pretty excited to get it. This film is about an expedition made by about eight people who take a journey to the heart of Africa’s jungles to prove the existence of a large beast that might live there – Mokele-mbembe, “. . . Africa’s Loch Ness Monster, but much more plausible,” as one of the film’s characters puts it, which might be a living dinosaur or dinosaur-like animal. The explorers going on this journey are: the leader, Jonathan Marchant, the medic, Liz Draper, their sponsor organizer, Charlie Rutherford, their local guide, Amara, who is skeptical on the existence of dinosaurs in the Congo. These explorers are accompanied by a two person camera crew, Jonathan’s son, 15-year old Luke, who had stowed away to be on the expedition, and the helicopter pilot. Once they arrive in Africa and start flying over the jungles, everything goes on without a hitch . . . until they run into a huge flock of what they call “birds” (but they aren’t birds, instead they are flying reptiles called pterosaurs). These “birds” swarm the chopper and cause it to tumble down into the jungle below. Now the group is trapped in the jungle. As the group struggles to survive, it turns out that the dinosaurs living in these jungles are weirder than ever, certain people in the group aren’t what they seem, and there’s more than dinosaurs to worry about out there! The interesting thing about this movie was that it was filmed from the perspective of “lost and found” footage of an ill-fated expedition. So many of the shots in the movie are shot from small cameras that are stuck on shirts or backpacks and others are from the camera that the camera crew has. Now here’s my take on this movie: I found the film to adventurous and thrilling. But if you decide to watch it, please note that despite the picture on many of the film’s theatrical posters, there is no T. rex in it. In fact, there aren’t very many of the dinosaurs the general public is familiar with. I have a list of the creatures in the film (in order of appearance):

• Giant “Birds”: (actually a pterosaur called Pteranodon)

Pteranodon

• Unidentified Bat-Like Reptiles: these strange reptiles also go unidentified. Their bodies and wings resemble that of a bat or pterosaur, but their heads look more like a giant weasel. In the film, these creatures hunt in packs and despite being able to fly, they prefer running and don’t hunt over water...
• Unidentified Dinosaurs (“Cryptosaurus”): while these animals are carnivorous, the babies are rather docile, even friendly, toward humans. The younger ones love to play in the water. The neck frill is used to scare away potential predators and if the babies like you, they might “spit” a special liquid on you so their parents won’t see you as food. At first I thought they were ornithopods, but ornithopods probably weren’t as home in the water as much as the dinosaurs in the film and they didn’t have neck frills. The ornithopods I had in mind (such as Leaellynasaurua and Hypsilophodon) weren’t as large as the adults in the movie. This species was probably made up by the movie-makers and so for the sake of names, I have dubbed it “Cryptosaurus”, meaning “Secretive Lizard”.

A few of the film's characters trying to attach a camera to "Crypto"  (PHOTO CREDITS)

• “Mokele-Mbembe”: this large reptile is one of the few animals that actually gets identified in the movie. It has a long neck and is a plesiosaur, probably of the genus “Elasmosaurus”. While the one spotted in the movie can stick its neck high out of the water, real plesiosaurs couldn’t do this. Also, in reality, some scientists actually think that mokele-mbembe, if it exists, is a sauropod or long-necked dinosaur.

A pair of Elasmosaurus

• Unidentified Water Reptile: while on a river, the group is attacked by an unidentified water reptile. The creature isn’t seen from a very good angle, so I can’t really say what it is. All I know is that it has a mouth full of teeth and a bad attitude! During the beginning of the film, it is said that plesiosaurs like mokele-mbembe were often found near pliosaurs, large plesiosaurs with short necks. So maybe this Unidentified Water Reptile is a giant pliosaur such as Liopleurodon.

Liopleurodon

As for the movie itself, there are great actors and the creatures are very realistic. I enjoyed the movie, but I only wish that it were a bit longer (it’s roughly 1 ½ hours long), had more dinosaur scenes with more identifiable dinosaur species and a more conclusive ending. Yes, the ending was a little abrupt. It is also unclear at times if some characters have died or simply disappeared and might still be alive. I found out after I got the movie that it was rated PG-13, but considering the rating, it was very mild for a PG-13 movie. As far as I could tell, there was no “sexual references”, only a few “choisy” words (the only ones I remember are maybe two or three barely audible, "Oh my G*d!" and maybe two da*ns) and not at all gory. Also, a BIG surprise for a dinosaur movie, there weren't many mentions of evolution and millions of years (maybe only a few times). The only blood I saw was just the scares that the characters had, and while they looked realistic, they weren’t gory either. If you consider watching this movie, I’d recommend parents should watch it first before letting their young ones watch it because some of the creatures might scare some kids. Overall though, while this is no “Jurassic Park” substitute, it was still a great enjoyable movie, and I’d recommend it to all dino-lovers!

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via one or both of the email addresses above.

The Mystery of the Cambrian Explosion: Solved!

I've definitely had an interesting week between juggling work, writing my blogs, fanfiction, novels and all that other stuff I do. But the week's almost over and I'll finally be able to relax a bit. I'm glad! Today's article isn't as long as some of my others, but it still has a lot of interesting information. So I hope you guys enjoy it!

Days till:
It is: 45 days till Labor Day
It is: 61 days till Fall
It is: 124 days till The Good Dinosaur

In the Spotlight:
Jurassic World is a huge theatrical success. In fact, it was just reported that it is the third-highest grossing film of all time!!! Grossing $1.520 billion (and counting), it's only third behind Titanic ($2.186 billion) and Avatar ($2.788 billion). That's incredible! With all the movie finally released in theaters, it looks like the hype for Jurassic World is nearing its end...or is it?

NOPE! In fact, Variety just reported that the Jurassic freight train has only just left the station: Jurassic World II (or is it Jurassic Park 5?) is officially in the works!!! Exciting, right? It even has a release date of June 22, 2018, only 1064 days away! OK, I know that's a bit of a wait, but it'll fly. Especially if you're over the age of 15. Trust me.

In addition to this news, Variety also reported (in the same article) that Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are returning for the upcoming film! Will we see Rexy and Blue return as well? Who knows? However, I suspect we'll also be seeing Dr. Henry Wu in the next film, as his exit was a bit inconclusive in Jurassic World. In any case, I'm so excited!

If Jurassic World II is too long of a wait for you, perhaps you can get excited about Pixar's latest movie, The Good Dinosaur. A new trailer was just released and it is awesome! Check it out:

Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan

The Cambrian Explosion is one of the most unexplained mysteries in the history of paleontology...for evolutionists anyway! (IMAGE CREDITS)

According to evolutionists, the process of evolution is generally a slow one, generated by natural selection and mutation. Over long periods of time and countless generations, new animals develop from older ones that are either fit enough to survive in the ecosystem they live in or they perish and become extinct. As time moves on, the fittest animals survive to give rise to new kinds of animals. But is this view really supported by the fossil record? Allow me to introduce to you: the Cambrian Explosion!

Trilobites are one of the most common fossil discoveries in Cambrian rocks.

The “Cambrian Explosion” is a term used to refer to the “explosion” of new life forms that appear in the deepest rocks that commonly bear fossils called the Cambrian, and the rocks beneath it, appropriately called the Precambrian. Geologists and paleontologists who subscribe to the evolutionary worldview believe that 530 million years ago or so (that's over 200 million years before dinosaurs allegedly appear), about 40 major marine animal phyla appear to pop into existence over a period of somewhere around 10 million years. Now do bear in mind, the appearance of 40 animal phyla in 10 million years isn't exactly an “explosion”, and some animal fossils have been found in Precambrian rock layers, but this period of time is still relatively quick for so many different groups of animals to arise.

Hallucigenia was one of the many creatures that allegedly evolved during the Cambrian Explosion.

The fossilized remains of many strange and wonderful creatures have been discovered in Cambrian rocks all around the world and include critters we would be familiar with today such as mollusks, sea stars, crustaceans, sponges and worms. Less familiar creatures have also been found, like the pillbug-like arthropods known as trilobites and a three-foot long, shrimp-like predator with large compound eyes and flexible arms for grabbing food called Anomalocaris. What brought about all these new animals?

The bug-eyed Anomalocaris was a top predator of Cambrian reefs.

Well, scientists have puzzled over this mystery for hundreds of years. Even Charles Darwin knew about the Cambrian Explosion over 150 years ago, and he admitted it cast several problems with his concept of evolution. You see, with animals as unique and diverse as the ones of the Cambrian, longer amounts of time and many, many more generations of animals would be required to bring forth those we find regarding the Cambrian Explosion. But not only is there not enough time given, but we also don't find the fossilized ancestors needed to support this idea. (As I said before, we have found creatures in Precambrian rock layers, but they are too different from those of the Cambrian to be related). I mean, the best ancestors evolutionists have been able to come up with closely resemble the animals they are supposed to have evolved into and no great evolutionary change is present.

The problems with the evolutionary view of the Cambrian Explosion don't end here. Evolutionists believe that creatures from these rocks descended by a common ancestor sometime during the Precambrian eon. If this were true, than we should expect to find a multitude of closely related species in the Cambrian; but this isn't what we find. In fact, not only are many of the animal species unrelated, but we don't find enough of them. And as if there still weren't enough problems, another one that has been pointed out is the amount of differentiation between animals in the Cambrian rock layers and those found in rock layers higher up. These creatures seem as different from fossils found in the Cambrian rock layers as those found below them! Yet, the creatures found above the Cambrian are supposed to be over 100 million years older. In other words, 100 million years of evolution (which is a more normal rate for the process, if it had occurred) happened in roughly 10% of the time during the Cambrian Explosion! Surely there is a better way to explain the Cambrian Explosion.

Certainly there is a better way to explain the Cambrian Explosion than the theory evolutionists have come up with!

In fact, there is. When we look at Cambrian fossils buried in the ground, we notice they are of global extent...as if a global catastrophe had buried them. There's one event in history that we know was capable of this feat: the Genesis Flood of Noah's time. Using the only history book that accurately describes the events of the Flood, we can find answers regarding the Cambrian Explosion.

Before the Flood, fossil evidence suggests that the flora and fauna contained within the Cambrian rock layer represents a single ecosystem. This Cambrian Ecosystem was a hot-water reef near the edge  of the continental shelf in the pre-Flood world and was home to a variety of different forms of marine life. Imagine swimming through this reef, with shoals of ancient fish swimming past you, strange squid-like creatures with shells called ammonites drifting above you and on the seafloor, dozens of trilobites are sifting their food out of the sand. Among these creatures, predators stalk the water; an Anomalocaris or two might be seen nearby, swimming through the reef on the lookout for their next meal. What happened to what must have been a beautiful, thriving ecosystem and how did these creatures become deposited near the bottom of the geologic column?

Anomalocaris, trilobites and other creatures from these rocks lived in the hot-water reefs near the edge of the pre-Flood continental shelves.

The Bible reveals in Genesis 7:11 that “fountains of the great deep” broke apart, spewing hot water from the earth's crust and creating violent tectonic movements. Creation paleontologists and geologists believe these forces would have eliminated any pre-Flood fossils (therefore creating mostly empty Precambrian layers). But it didn't stop there! Tectonic forces caused the edges of the continental plates to crumble and form underwater landslides which dragged loads of Cambrian animals and plants to their doom where they were deposited in water-lain sediment and later fossilized.

When we use the Bible as our guide to the past, the cause for the Cambrian Explosion in the fossil record becomes clear. But as creation scientists find answers to questions, more will undoubtedly come to replace them, so our quest for answers about our past is far from over. Isn't it wonderful that God gave us curious minds that want to investigate and learn more about the exciting world we live in?

Using the Bible as a history book (rather than merely as a cute bedtime story), we can learn a lot about trilobites and the Cambrian world that they lived in.

References:
www.answersingenesis.org/fossils/fossil-record/one-lifes-unexpected-explosion
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion
www.evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/VIIB1cCambrian

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via my email address.

Rerun Article: Accidents That Changed the World

Welcome back everyone! Today, I've pulled out an old article I published years ago, and I've also discovered some movies that we're going to progress-tracking for the next couple of years. Let's get started!

Days till:

It is: 52 days till Labor Day

It is: 67 days till the first day of Autumn

It is: 131 days till The Good Dinosaur's theatrical release!

In the Spotlight:

Well, this week, I don't have much news regarding any of the movies I've been following, but I did my research and found several other movies I'm going to start following so I can track their progress. And I was worried I wouldn't have a movie to follow the progress of after Jurassic World...

The Good Dinosaur (November 17, 2015)

Finding Dory (June 17, 2016)

Ice Age: Collision Course (July 15, 2016)

Toy Story 4 (June 16, 2017)

How To Train Your Dragon 3 (June 29, 2018)

The Incredibles 2 (TBD)

Wow! We've got a lot of really cool movies coming up! The anticipation for Jurassic World might be over, but it looks like we have a lot to look forward to within the next few years to fill Jurassic's shoes. AWESOME!

Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan

Penicillin is a group of antibiotics that is famous for saving countless millions of lives. But do you know what and where it comes from? Well, penicillin is actually derived from Penicillin fungi! Isn't it amazing that God has created special types of fungi that can help cure people from serious diseases? Penicillin has been around for a long time, and quite obviously, it's still widely used today. Penicillin is one of those handy things that we tend to take for granted these days. Have you ever questioned who thought of the idea of using penicillin for medical uses? Well, would you believe me if I told you that it was a . . . (how can I break the news to you?) . . . MISTAKE! That's right!

The discovery that penicillin could be used for medical uses was accidental. How did it happen? It all started when, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist, pharmacologist and botanist, returned from a vacation on September of 1928 to check on an experiment he was conducting before he left. Before going on his vacation, Alexander put a number of Petri dishes to the side of his work bench so that another person could use the bench while he was gone. When he returned to check on his experiment, he found that one of his dishes had been contaminated by some type of mold, and this mold had apparently killed the germs he had been growing in the dish for his experiment. This intrigued him greatly. Alexander then decided to run a few tests on the mold and found it to be non-toxic, but deadly to harmful bacteria. A light bulb clicked on in Alexander's head – he had discovered penicillin!

This is Alexander Fleming, the man who accidentally discovered penicillin.

The accident of the discovery of penicillin has saved millions of people. But did you know that there are many other handy inventions that were also created by pure accidents? Read on to find out more about accidents that changed the world!

The year was 1943 when a naval mechanical engineer named Richard James was working on metal springs to support the instruments on the ship during the rough and stormy seas. All of a sudden, he accidentally bumped a little spring off the shelf and he watched with glee as it “walked” from a series of arcs, to a stack of books, on top of a tabletop and down onto the floor where it stood itself back upright. This gave him an idea. Yes, you guessed it – the Slinky was born!

He came home to his wife Betty and spawned the idea to make and sell toy springs that could “walk” across differently elevated objects, as if walking down steps. She was skeptical at first, but neighborhood kids loved the idea, so the pair began to work on this idea. Betty was the one who gave this new toy its name: Slinky (meaning “sleek and graceful”).

As with any new product, the James' had difficulty selling their new toy to department stores, but Gimbels finally granted them permission to sell. Gimbels soon learned that they made a wise decision, as 400 units of Slinkies were sold withing 90 minutes!

Slinkies were invented ages ago, and they're still around today!

Dr. Spencer Silver decided to make a really strong type of glue in 1968, and guess what he accidentally made instead – a weaker glue! You can bet he was pretty bummed! Spencer decided to try promoting his invention, but no one bought it. However, it was a good thing that a colleague of Spencer – Art Fry – likes the idea of a weaker glue. His idea was to use this glue to anchor his bookmark to his hymnbook and it worked wonderfully. The glue was strong enough to keep the bookmark in place, yet weak enough to leave the book page unharmed!

This nifty invention was a hit with 3M and they launched the product in stores in 1977. They dubbed the invention, “Press 'n Peel”! Not surprising with a name like that, the results were very discouraging, but 3M didn't give up just yet. Next, they issued free samples, and 94% of the people who tried the samples liked the product. Finally in 1980, they released their product in stores, this time under a arguably better name. Meet the “Post-It Notes”!

As we all know, Post-It's are still in a very high demand today. I know very well how useful they are – if there's something I need to remember, all I have to do is write it on a Post-It and “post it” on a wall or on the door to my room. Thanks for the mistake Dr. Spencer!

Our last accidental invention happened in 1945 when Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer, was working with an active radar set that emitted microwaves (hint, hint) called a magnetron when he noticed his Mr. Goodbar was starting to turn into a “mush-bar”. This gave him a marvelous idea – he sprinkled a few popcorn kernels around the radar set and they popped! He just couldn't get enough of this effect, so the next thing he tried was an egg – and the egg was a success (a messy one at that, because the egg exploded into the face of one of the experimenters). These microwave-emitting devices were perfect for cooking food!

After learning that this invention could have it's upsides, Percy made a high density electromagnetic field by giving microwave power from his magnetron into a metal box and placed food in the box and BINGO! The food's temperature rose and the rest is history – we now have the microwave oven!

Where would we be without our handy-dandy microwave ovens?

So as you have just learned, many things we take for granted today were actually invented by pure chance, pure accidents, pure mistakes! Maybe mistakes aren't so bad after all; on the contrary, maybe they're really just a blessing in disguise!

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via one or both of the email addresses above.

Jurassic World pt. 3: The Dinosaurs

I've had a very interesting time since last Friday to say the least! I saw some awesome fireworks on July 4th, and I've been pretty busy getting ready for my youth group's upcoming "Youth Rally" (more on that a little later). I've also got the final article of my three-part series on Jurassic World. Let's start with...

Days till:
It is: 59 days till Labor Day
It is: 75 days till The First Day of Autumn
It is: 140 days till The Good Dinosaur's release

In the Spotlight:
OK, I don't have much to share about upcoming movies for this week. Hopefully this will change next week!

Topic of the Week by Christian RyanAs promised, after looking at the background for the #1 movie worldwide, Jurassic World, and its characters, I am going to close this three-part series with a little information on all the dinosaurs that appear in the film!

PS. Warning – Spoilers ahead!

Apatosaurus

Apatosaurus is the largest dinosaur in Jurassic World.

The majestic Apatosaurus is the largest dinosaur in Jurassic World, and one of the largest land animals that has ever existed. These Jurassic-habitat long-necked dinosaurs, or sauropods, can reach 75-90 feet in length and weigh up to 36 tons! Thankfully, these behemoths are only herbivores, consuming ferns and conifer branches. As it can't chew, it has to swallow its food whole, using stones the animal swallowed to grind up the food in the gut.

Apatosaurus is one of the dinosaur species to appear in both the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo and on the Gyrosphere ride. With a gyrosphere vehicle, tourists are able to ride up right alongside these incredible beasts. Thanks to their size and long whip-like tails, they are almost immune to attack from predators. However, as is later evidenced in the film, they are no match for the genetically-engineered Indominus rex, who kills five and injures another during her rampage across Isla Nublar.

Apatosaurus has been featured in both Jurassic Park novels by Michael Crichton. However, it was replaced with Brachiosaurus in the first Jurassic Park movie and the eccentrically long-necked Mamenchisaurus in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. So it's nice that Apatosaurus finally gets some limelight, something this species doesn't experience very often in recent movies. (I mean, when was the last time you've seen an Apatosaurus in a dinosaur movie?).

Triceratops

With three horns on its head, Triceratops looks aggressive, but these dinosaurs are rather passive unless provoked.

Even though Triceratops is quite a popular species of dinosaur and one of everyone's favorites, it hasn't played a huge part of any of the previous Jurassic Park films. However, several specimens appear in Jurassic World and could be seen on the Gyrosphere ride and in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo.

These herbivores can be as long as a school bus – up to 30 feet long – and weigh 10-12 tons! This makes them one of the largest non-sauropod dinosaurs to exist in North America. These animals roamed the Cretaceous plains in herds, grazing on low-growing plants, such as ferns and cycads. In the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, baby Triceratops could be hand fed special dino-feed by park guests. When they reach adulthood, Triceratops possess three-foot horns above their eyes and a massive shield-like frill on the back of their skull. In the wild, these features were used for protection against predators, such as the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex! Despite their fearsome appearance, Triceratops in Jurassic World are “gentle giants”, not attacking a human being unless provoked, and even like to be petted behind their frills.

Stegosaurus

Prior to the recreation of the species in Jurassic World, scientists thought the Stegosaurus had a second brain in its rump!

The five-ton, 30-foot long Stegosaurus can be found on Jurassic World's Cretaceous Cruise, the Gyrosphere ride and of course, the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo. These herbivores browse on ferns and cycads and are one of the most recognizable dinosaurs thanks to their 17 kite-shaped plates running down the neck, down its back and the base of the tail. For defense, the Stegosaurus boasts four meter-long spikes that would have been used to swing at predators.  The plates of Stegosaurus are not used for defense however; they are primarily used for display, to attract mates and deter rivals and for species recognition.

Ankylosaurus

The heavily-armored Ankylosaurus was the dinosaur version of a tank!

Ankylosaurus makes only a brief appearance or two in Jurassic Park III. Its role in Jurassic World is substantially larger and this dinosaur is even mentioned by name (out of the film's 13 dinosaurs, only six or seven are mentioned by name at some point).

Ankylosaurus can grow 30 feet long and weigh six tons as adults. They feed on low-growing plants and have been called “living tanks” by paleontologists. This is because they are one of the most protected dinosaurs ever discovered. Their bodies are covered in spiky armor and fused bony plates. Even its eyelids are made of bone! As if this wasn't enough, Ankylosaurus also has a rounded club at the end of its tail that was quite capable of breaking the legs and ribcage of even a Tyrannosaurus!

When Gray and Zach are in the a gyrosphere, they venture into the restricted area of Isla Nublar and find a herd of Ankylosaurus in the forest. Unfortunately, it turns out that Indominus rex is hunting here as well and she successfully kills an Ankylosaurus. The fact that I. rex can kill the heavily armored Ankylosaurus goes to show you just how dangerous this theropod really is!

Parasaurolophus

With its long head crest, the Parasaurolophus is capable of giving haunting, beautiful cries.

Parasaurolophus is the most recognizable hadrosaurs, duck-billed dinosaurs, in Jurassic World (the other hadrosaur in the park is Edmontosaurus, which does not appear in the film) thanks to its crested head. The crest on this animal's head is elongated and hollow; the dinosaur uses it to emit haunting, beautiful cries to communicate with other Parasaurolophus. An adult Parasaurolophus can grow up to 40 feet long and weigh 2 tons. They are herbivores and live in large herds in the Gyrosphere area of the park.

Gallimimus
 

Gallimimus can run 30-50 mph if they're ever out in the open.

Don't be fooled by the ostrich-like body, toothless beak and long, skinny legs, because that's where the similarities between the modern ostrich and Gallimimus stop! These dinosaurs have sharply clawed hands and a tail, features the ostrich does not. Gallimimus makes a small appearance in Jurassic World; they are seen running alongside a jeep in Gallimimus Valley, near the Gyrosphere area. These dinosaurs are capable of reaching speeds of 30-50 mph and prefer to dine on soft vegetation found throughout Gallimimus Valley.

Gallimimus is notable for being the very first species of dinosaur ever seen from Jurassic World, as it first made its appearance in the first teaser for the film, all the way back in November!

Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus has a skull up to 10 inches thick!

If you're looking for Jurassic World's Pachycephalosaurus, look no further than the Pachy Arena. These “thick-headed lizards” have an incredibly thick skull, which can be up to 10 inches thick! In the wild, these animals would ram their heads into predators and rival Pachycephalosaurus to protect themselves and to win mates.

This dinosaur is only on screen for a blink, but it's nice to see Pachycephalosaurus return to the franchise nonetheless, as we haven't seen it since The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.

Mosasaurus

Mosasaurus is the first marine reptile to appear in the Jurassic Park movies!

Unlike most of the creatures at Jurassic World, the Mosasaurus is not a dinosaur, but a species of sea-going lizard. It was similar to modern monitor lizards, but was 50-60 feet long and weighed 15-20 tons! It was one of the largest predators ever to stalk the Cretaceous oceans. Mosasaurus had a fearsome array of teeth to catch just about anything else in its environment – fish, birds, other marine reptiles, and even great white sharks! An extra set of teeth on the roof of the mouth ensures prey does not escape the Mosasaurus' jaws!

In Jurassic World, Mosasaurus can be seen leaping to catch (young) great white sharks in the Mosasaurus Feeding Show, similar to how killer whales might act in SeaWorld. Here, sharks are not the apex predators and Mosasaurus is queen. She has a superb sense of smell and thanks to a powerful tail, she can propel herself forward with ease. Mosasaurus is also capable of leaping from the water to snag flying reptiles, such as a hapless Pteranodon.

Mosasaurus also plays a role in defeating Indominus rex near the end of the film. When the I. rex is cornered against the Isla Nublar Lagoon by Blue and Rexy, this giant marine lizard breaches and catches the hybrid like a killer whale catches a seal and hauls her into the water for consumption.

Velociraptor

Charlie and Blue are two of the park's four Velociraptors. Pound-for-pound, these dinosaurs the most dangerous in the entire park.

One of the most intelligent dinosaurs in Jurassic World are no doubt the Velociraptors. They are swift – capable of running 40-50 mph if they're ever out in the open – agile and hunt in packs. Raptors, which stand five to six feet tall and 13 feet long, are incredibly dangerous dinosaurs and were not yet ready for public display. Instead, a pack of four Velociraptors is being trained and studied by ex-military man, Owen Grady.

The pack consists of: Charlie, the rookie, Delta, the stalker, Echo, the runner-up in the pecking order, and Blue, the beta. Having raised them since birth, Owen has established himself as alpha of the pack. As Owen explains to Claire at one point in the film, he doesn't control the raptors, but instead developed a relationship with them based on mutual respect. The relationship Owen has developed with the Velociraptors is a tenuous one, to say the least, as they still seem quite intent on ripping his guts open.

Velociraptors are wonderfully adapted for hunting and killing prey. They have powerful senses of sight, hearing and sense of smell. Dozens of needle sharp teeth line their jaws. But the most impressive weapon of a Velociraptor is the six-inch retractable claw on each foot. The dinosaur uses them to slash into the prey's body, killing it quickly.

These abilities didn't go unnoticed by head of InGen Security, Vic Hoskins. He was amazed by Owen's ability to “control” the raptors and wanted to use these and similar animals for use in the military. Owen declines the offer. Later, after Indominus rex escapes, the raptors are released and used to track down and kill the hybrid, but instead of attacking, the raptors bond with the larger theropod and accept I. rex as their new alpha. The raptors kill several humans before Owen is able to reestablish his initial bond with these dangerous creatures. Together, and with the help of Rexy and the Mosasaurus, Owen and his “raptor squad” defeat the Indominus rex. Velociraptor truly is – pound for pound – one of the most dangerous dinosaur ever to exist.

Indominus rex

Indominus rex is Jurassic World's first genetically-modified hybrid.

When public interest in the park began to decline, Jurassic World's investors thought genetic modification would up the wow factor – they wanted something bigger, scarier and with more teeth. So Dr. Henry Wu set out to create a brand new species of dinosaur to wow audiences and called it Indominus rex. Though he revealed the base genome was Tyrannosaurus, he refused to reveal what other DNA of other animals was used in the beast's creation.

Indominus rex, meaning “untameable king”, would have been 50 feet when fullygrown and the most fearsome dinosaur ever to be displayed at Jurassic World. She was intelligent, huge and fast, able to run up to 30 mph...inside her enclosure! Though Indominus might bear some resemblance to a T. rex, the park website also revealed this beast to include DNA from Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Carnotaurus and Giganotosaurus. Like sharks, crocodiles and other theropods, I. rex would replace teeth throughout her lifetime to ensure she always had a nice set of them ready for the next chomp.

This beast showed her intelligence by tricking several people, including Owen, into entering her enclosure and “assisting” her in her escape. She was able to kill several more people as more of her abilities were revealed throughout the course of the movie. She could camouflage to look almost invisible against her surroundings, she could cancel out her heat exchange to hide from thermal-detection cameras, it seemed she was largely unaffected by bullets, and she was even capable of controlling Owen's raptor squad, causing them to turn on the humans. Through Jurassic World, Henry reluctantly reveals that some of the creatures whose DNA was used to create Indominus rex incuded the tree frog (able to control its thermal exchange), cuttlefish (for camouflaging ability) and for some reason not yet known, the DNA of Velociraptor. After causing many deaths of both human and dinosaur alike, she eventually meets her demise when Blue, Echo and Delta turn on her and Rexy joins the assault. When Indominus rex is trapped against the Isla Nublar Lagoon, she is snagged by the Mosasaurus and pulled into her watery doom.

As everyone found out the hard way, Indominus rex was not a good theme park attraction...because she never was meant to be; she was actually designed to be used as a military weapon. While Masrani wanted a new dinosaur to impress park guests, Hoskins wanted a dinosaur that could be trained and used for war. So Henry Wu decided to kill two birds with one stone and created both. Even after seeing the damage I. rex caused, Hoskins wanted a pack of smaller versions of the same dinosaur. Thankfully, he was unable to meet his desire when he was brutally killed by Delta.

Indominus rex, according to the director Colin Trevorrow, is a dinosaur that embodies human want for more money – greed. No matter how inconvenient, stupid, or in this case, dangerous an idea may be, human beings will be willing to try it for the love of money.

Pteranodon

Pteranodon is an aggressive flying reptile, not a dinosaur.

Pteranodon has gotten increasingly larger roles in Jurassic Park films. While absent from the first movie, this pterosaur, or flying reptile, makes a cameo appearance in the second film, and has an entire scene devoted to it in Jurassic Park III. Now, it has another rather large role in Jurassic World.

The head-crested Pteranodon is Jurassic World's largest species of pterosaur and is housed in the park's Aviary alongside Dimorphodon. These giant pterosaurs have a wingspan of about 18 feet and weigh 70 pounds. Though they normally eat fish, but Pteranodon is also very aggressive and will prey upon humans if the opportunity arises...and it does when I. rex crashes through the Aviary, allowing them to fly out. They soon take down Simon Masrani's helicopter before wreaking havoc in Jurassic World's Main Street, plucking guests up with their powerful talons. One victim turns out to be Zara, Claire's personal assistant. The Pteranodon however accidentally drops her into the lagoon and as it dives to retrieve her, the Mosasaurus leaps from the water and engulfs both Zara and the helpless Pteranodon.

Dimorphodon

For its size, Dimorphodon is rather aggressive.

Just because it's small doesn't mean Dimorphodon is harmless. This pterosaur has a wingspan of about eight feet and primarily feeds on fish and insects inside the Aviary where it coexists with Pteranodon. Once I. rex breaks into the Aviary, the Dimorphodon and Pteranodon swarm across Main Street. Instead of picking people up, the Dimorphodon prefer to attack people with their teeth and foot claws, as Owen Grady soon finds out. He is however saved by Claire, who shoots the pterosaur down and is thanked with what is probably a first kiss from Owen.

At one point in Jurassic World, a Dimorphodon is seen flying above the ocean surrounding Isla Nublar. This individual is shot down by a military solider, but it does raise a question of what happened to the dozens of other newly-freed pterosaurs? Perhaps this is a question to be answered in the sequel.

Dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus makes a non-physical cameo in Jurassic World.

Though Dilophosaurus doesn't make a physical appearance in Jurassic World, it does have an “appearance” that I believe deserves a mentioning. As many will recall, Dilophosaurus made its one and only physical showing in the first film, where it killed Dennis Nedry as he tried to steal dinosaur embryos. When Jurassic World goes haywire, however, Claire, Owen, Zach and Gray find themselves being pursued by Delta through the Innovation Center. Gray uses the holographic display of Dilophosaurus to distract Delta, giving the humans time to escape.

Tyrannosaurus (Rexy)

Rexy, the true queen of Jurassic World, stands 13 feet tall, 40 feet long and weighs 9 tons!

No visit to Jurassic World is complete without a stop at T. rex Kingdom, which houses not just any ordinary T. rex, but Rexy herself, the adult female Tyrannosaurus rex from the first Jurassic Park. This monster was apparently recaptured sometime before Jurassic World's completion and appeared for a special feeding show every two hours.

Rexy is the largest carnivore yet to appear in the franchise (the Spinosaurus of JPIII wasn't fully grown), standing 16 feet tall, 40 feet long and weighing nine tons. Rexy's species is also one of the largest carnivores ever to stalk the planet. Tyrannosaurus made their home in Cretaceous western North America and were the apex predators of their environment, hunting other dinosaurs such as Triceratops and Edmontosaurus.

Rexy was absent for most of the movie until near the end when she was freed by Lowery and lured onto Main Street to fight the Indominus rex. The two behemoths faced off and Rexy was nearly killed. But before I. rex could make the killer bite, Blue rushed in and attacked her, giving the T. rex time to right herself and continue the fight. Inadvertently working together, Rexy and Blue force the hybrid against the lagoon where she is killed by the Mosasaurus. Having won the fight, Rexy leaves Main Street peacefully. The last time we see Rexy is at the film's climax when she walks onto Masrani's old helipad looking over the park. In the daylight, the scars on her neck from the Velociraptor that she fought in the first film can still be seen. With Indominus rex defeated, Rexy gives a mighty roar, declaring herself official queen of Isla Nublar – Jurassic World!

This ends my three-part overview of Jurassic World. The long wait has been well worth it and I have actually seen the movie twice already! That's how much I fell in love with it, and for good reason. It has great characters, an terrific plot, and an awesome set of dinosaurs. It's pretty much been confirmed that a sequel is in the works. What will happen in Jurassic World 2? Can we really know at this point? I suspect a clean-up operation might be required on Isla Nublar, to ensure the dinosaurs and other “prehistoric” reptiles stay on the island where they're supposed to and not cause havoc on the mainland.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading my blog posts regarding Jurassic World. The time between pre-production, production, post-production and the final product have been some of the best years of my life. I can't wait for Jurassic World 2 to relive the experience again!

Jurassic World was one of the most awesome experiences of my life!

References:
wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cloned_animals_in_Jurassic_Park
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/apatosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/triceratops
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/stegosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/ankylosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/parasaurolophus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/gallimimus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/pachycephalosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/mosasaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/velociraptor
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/indominus_rex
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/pteranodon
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/dimorphodon
www.jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/dilophosaurus
www.jurassicworld.com/dinosaurs/tyrannosaurus
Jurassic World (2015)

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via my email address.

* I know this image is crazy blurry, but I couldn't find any others from the Jurassic World movie of Rexy that weren't.

Jurassic World pt. 2: The Characters

The Fourth of July is tomorrow! Can you believe it? On July 4th, as you probably already know, we spend the day celebrating those brave men and women who fought to defend out rights in this country from those who tried to take them away from us.

As usual, I have decided to post a little tribute to independence Day in the form of actress Cozi Zuehlsdorff singing “Star-Spangled Banner” at a recent baseball game in Florida. Please enjoy!

One word: beautiful! I can't get enough of this girl's singing! Cozi Zuehlsdorff is the bomb!

Days till:
It is: 1 day till Independence Day
It is: 66 days till Labor Day
It is: 145 days till The Good Dinosaur's release

In the Spotlight:
Well, now that Jurassic World has been released and no news to share about The Good Dinosaur...I'm afraid I don't really have anything to put here. :-(

Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan

Besides the dinosaurs, the thing that makes this film great is its characters.

Last week, we explored the basic plot of the newly-released Jurassic World. I also gave a brief summary of some of the key points that help the plot progress later in the movie. Today I will spend going through the many characters that make this movie come alive.

PS. Warning – Spoilers ahead!

Simon Masrani

"The key to a happy life is to accept you are never actually in control." - Simon Masrani

Though not playing as large a role in the film as Claire or Owen, I feel that Masrani is perhaps one of the most important people in this motion picture. Simon Masrani, portrayed by Irrfan Khan, is the CEO of Masrani Global Corporation and the owner of Jurassic World. His company bought out InGen in 1998 (saving InGen from going bankrupt) and decided to rebuild the company to its former status. He succeeded. In 2005, he opened Jurassic World as a fulfillment of John Hammond's dream decades earlier. He was good friends with Hammond and admires him greatly, even repeating his catchphrase, “spared no expense”.

In Jurassic World, Masrani cares very much for public and dinosaur welfare. In fact, he cares more that people are having fun and enjoying the park and that the dinosaurs are enjoying life (though Claire asserts that they don't have a method to measure dinosaur happiness). When we first meet Masrani on-screen, he is two day away from gaining his helicopter piloting license, though he doesn't seem capable of keeping his chopper steady!

In 2012, Masrani sought out head geneticist of InGen, Dr. Henry Wu, when the public interest in the park began to decline, or at best, level. Masrani told Wu that he wanted a new breed of dinosaur to impress the tourists, one that was bigger, scarier and had more teeth than even Tyrannosaurus rex. Wu got to work and by 2015, InGen's first genetically-modified hybrid dinosaur was within a few weeks of being unveiled for the public. This hybrid was called Indominus rex.

Of course, things didn't go as planned and when Indominus rex freed herself from captivity, Masrani took it upon himself to help bring the creature down. He piloted a helicopter with an armed soldiers on board, ready to shoot the creature. But when Indominus crashed into the Jurassic World Aviary, freeing two species of pterosaurs, or flying reptiles – Pteranodons and Dimorphodon to be more specific – Masrani was unable to fly the chopper out of the way in time. Pteranodons attacked the helicopter and brought it down, causing it to fall into the Aviary before bursting into flames.

As Simon Masrani was one of my favorite characters in Jurassic World, I am sad that he died. However, fans of this franchise everywhere shall always remember him for his relaxed and wisdom, even in a desperate situation such as the Isla Nublar Incident of 2015.

Claire Dearing

"We have learned more in the past decade from genetics than a sentry of digging up bones." - Claire Dearing

If Simon Masrani was the head of the project, Claire Dearing, portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard, was the legs, particularly of Jurassic World. As the park operations manager at Jurassic World, it was her job to monitor pretty much everything that went on in the day-to-day life at the park. She tends to be a bit of a workaholic, which didn't allow for many other things to occur in her life. In fact, work kept her so busy she didn't even have time to visit her family much; it had been seven years since she last saw her nephews, Zach and Gray, and even when she did see them, it was when they visited the park and she was still too busy to hang out with them (she doesn't even remember how old they are). Instead, she appointed her personal assistant, Zara Young, to watch them. Despite her busy life, she had a very brief dating relationship with Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady; though she never wanted a second date due to their personality differences.

As Owen points out, Claire seems to view the dinosaurs in the park as nothing more than numbers on a spreadsheet. She even typically refers to these living creatures as “assets”. This all changes when I. rex – one of the “assets” she's monitoring – escapes. When she and Owen go into the park to save her nephews from this dinosaur, they come across a dying Apatosaurus that was fatally wounded by the I. rex. Emotionally bonding with the creature, it appears that she finally begins to change her view on these beautiful living creatures. Over the course of the movie, Claire toughens up a great deal, even to the point of taking down a Dimorphodon that attacks Owen with a gun and going face-to-face-and-flare with a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Owen and Claire rekindle their romantic relationship and they share a kiss. This has been the first on-screen kiss in a Jurassic Park movie, which I was particularly pleased about (I'm a bit of a romance fanatic). Finally! A kiss! Claire was another one of my favorite characters in this film and she successfully (but barely) makes it off Isla Nublar alive with the others, confirming to restart her relationship with Owen, “for survival's sake” and she even reconciles with her nephews and her sister, Karen.

Oddly, during the entire sequence of events Claire wears high-heels, preferring to walk (and run!) in them than go barefoot in the jungle.

Owen Grady

"I was with the Navy, not the Navajo!" - Owen Grady

It's impossible not to like Owen, unless you're Claire Dearing, that is. Owen Grady, played by Chris Pratt, is a bit of a mix between Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ian Malcolm from the first JP trilogy, but given an interesting new twist. Like Ian Malcolm, he's able to see problems with Jurassic World, but like Alan Grant, he still has a fascination for dinosaurs. Once working in the United States Navy, Owen was hired to conduct behavioral research on Jurassic World's pack of Velociraptors that he has raised since birth. He also had an extremely brief relationship with Claire Dearing in the past, but, as mentioned above, the pair split due to convoluted personality differences.

Owen's pack of Velociraptors consists of four females: Echo, Delta, Charlie and Blue, the beta. Owen himself is the pack's alpha. Now the raptors are not at all under Owen's control – they still seem intent on eating his face off and ripping his guts open. However, because Owen has developed a relationship with them based on mutual respect, he is able to study their behavior at relatively close quarters. Owen's tenuous relationships don't only consist of his bond with his “raptor squad”; he also shares a tenuous relationship with Vic Hoskins, head of InGen Security. He is bent on the idea of training the raptors to be used as military weapons, some Owen disagrees with. Later in the film, Owen uses his  raptors to track down the escaped Indominus rex as advised by Hoskins. The plan fails and the raptors turn on him and the others, now claiming the I. rex as their new alpha.

Near the film's climax, Owen reestablishes his bond with Blue, Delta and Echo as the four of them attempt to take down I. rex. He also is able to continue his relationship with Claire and makes it off the island alive.

Zach & Gray Mitchell

"We're safe in here, right?" - Gray Mitchell

Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins portray Claire's nephews 15-year old Zach and 11-year old Gray Mitchell, respectively. Their mother sends them to Jurassic World so they can have an opportunity to spend some much-needed quality time with their aunt Claire, who turns out to be too busy to hang out with them anyway. While Gray is enthusiastic and excited about visiting Jurassic World, Zach could really care less, at least, initially. He does become interested in the park after attending the Mosasaurus Feeding Show. As with all brothers, Gray and Zach's dissimilarities tend to tick each other off – Gray is trying to enjoy the park as much as he can with his brother, while Zach mostly tries to ignore him through much of the movie as best he can.

The two of them are placed in the care of Zara Young, since Claire is unable to be with them. But when Zara takes her eyes off the boys for a moment, they run off to enjoy their park in their own way. They eventually find themselves at the Gyrosphere ride and have a dangerous run-in with Indominus rex. Once narrowly escaping her, they find the old ruins of the original Jurassic Park's Visitor Center and fix up one of the jeeps to drive back to Jurassic World.

By the end of the film, they get reunited with their parents.

Vic Hoskins

"Jurassic World is a global destination and that comes with a certain set of risks." - Vic Hoskins

Reaching his position as head of InGen Security by overseeing the clean-up operation of the Pteranodon that escaped Isla Sorna in Jurassic Park III, Vic Hoskins (portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio) and Owen do not see eye to eye. He wants to use Owen's raptors as weapons, something Owen sees as nonsense because the raptors are by no means “tame”.

When Masrani dies in the helicopter explosion, Hoskins takes charge of the park, bringing in a multitude of soldiers to kill Indominus rex. Having no better ideas, Owen agrees to Hoskins' offer to use the raptors to track down and kill the I. rex, but the plan fails when the I. rex becomes the raptor's new pack alpha, turning the smaller dinosaurs on the humans.

It is later revealed that Indominus rex was Hoskins' first attempt to create not a theme park attraction, but a military weapon! Early on in the I. rex project, Hoskins convinced Henry Wu to create a dinosaur that could be used in the military. As the I. rex turned out to be too large and uncontrollable, he revealed that Plan B was to create smaller versions of the same dinosaur. He was unable to act upon this plan however, because when in Henry's secret lab, he was cornered by the raptor Delta. Hoskins was brutally killed by the aggressive reptile, never to be seen again.

Henry Wu

"Nothing in Jurassic World is natural, we have always filled gaps in the genome with the DNA of other animals. And if the genetic code was pure, many of them would look quite different. But you didn't ask for reality, you asked for more teeth."  --Henry Wu

The only returning human character from the original trilogy in Jurassic World is InGen's chief geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu, played by B. D. Wong. After the Isla Nublar Incident of 1993, Henry Wu was one of the individuals that returned to the park to document the dinosaurs. He was astonished by his discovery that using frog DNA to fill in the gene sequence gaps of the dinosaurs he and his team cloned and was inspired to begin research on cloning hybrid species. He successfully cloned his own hybrid plant called Karacosis wutansis, or the “Wu flower”.

Masrani was attracted to Wu by his flower hybrid and appointed him to create a new species of dinosaur combining the DNA of several extinct species to impress tourists and encourage them to continue showing interest in the park in 2012. Unfortunately, this is where Vic Hoskins got involved – he convinced Wu to create a “prototype” hybrid that could be used as a military weapon: hence Indominus rex. Henry Wu was extremely secretive when it came to the genetic contents of I. rex, as although he revealed the base gene of the creature to be Tyrannosaurus, he refused to give any information regarding what other DNA had been used in its creation. Masrani later reprimands Wu for creating such a monster.

Hoskins has Wu later evacuated off the island with several dinosaur embryos as to ensure the survival of Wu's research.

Lowery Cruthers & Vivian Krill

"Someone has to stay behind." - Lowery Cruthers

Lowery Cruthers (portrayed by Jake Johnson) plays the important role of overseeing Jurassic World's technical operations, similar to Ray Arnold in the original park. Lowery has deep respect for Jurassic Park, even owning one of the park's shirts that he purchased off of eBay. Claire and Lowery loathe each other due to their different opinions regarding the park. She viewed his Jurassic Park shirt as “distasteful” because it is a reminder of the incident of 1993 in the original park. While Claire believes genetically modifying dinosaurs to meet public demand is the proper direction to take, Lowery disagrees, believing the regular dinosaurs, like the ones Jurassic Park had, were the best.

During the Indominus rex escape, Lowery remains in the park's Control Room long into the night, feeling obligated to help improve the situation in any way he can. He later (finally) proves quite useful to Claire when she demands that he free Tyrannosaurus rex from her pen.

Lowery is friends with Vivian Krill (Lauren Lapkus), another Control Room employee. Vivian has respect for Simon Masrani, whom she's saddened by his death. Just before leaving with most of the park's other employees for the mainland, Lowery attempts to kiss her goodbye before she tells him that she already has a boyfriend. So Lowery hugs her instead.

"Uh, I have a boyfriend." - Vivian Krill

Zara Young

"Can't he [Gray] slow down?" - Zara Young

Zara Young (portrayed by Katie McGrath) was Claire's British personal assistant and charged with tending to Claire's nephews, Gray and Zach. While she was preoccupied at the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo however, the boys ran away to explore the park on their own.

Later, she found the boys on Main Street. She was only with them for a short time however, as she was plucked from the street by one of the swarming Pteranodons. The pterosaur accidentally dropped her in the Isla Nublar Lagoon and as she was re-caught by a Pteranodon, a Mosasaurus swum up from the depths and consumed both of them whole.

This makes Zara the first on-screen, canonical, female death in the Jurassic Park movies, and the second in the franchise (the first being Dr. Sorkin's death, also by a mosasaur, in Jurassic Park: The Game).

Barry

"Something's wrong, they're communicating." - Barry

Last, but not certainly not least on our list of characters is the ever-faithful Barry, played by Omar Sy. Capable of speaking French, Barry is a close friend of Owen and also a Velociraptor trainer, though he does not appear to have developed the deep relationship Owen has with the pack.

Barry also makes it off Isla Nublar alive.

This wraps up my list of Jurassic World characters. In the final part of my Jurassic World overview, we'll be looking at is undoubtedly the most exciting aspect of the movie: the DINOSAURS!!!

References:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_jurassic_park_characters
Jurassic World (2015)

Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via my email address.