Connections between Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and the Jurassic World live-action film have been confirmed. It’s been nearly 30 years since the first film adaptation of author Michael Creighton’s acclaimed novel arrived, and the franchise is still going strong.
The most recent addition to the concept of dinosaurs being brought back to life in our current era is Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. The animated series kicked off on Netflix last month and so far has been quite enthusiastically embraced by fans and critics. Following six teenagers who’ve been selected for a new summer camp on Isla Nublar, it isn’t long before the inherent problems within Jurassic World begin to affect the young campers directly. The series offers fresh takes on familiar issues within the franchise – mainly in that for once, it’s children who are in charge rather than being led and rescued by adults. This independence is referenced throughout the series in obvious ways, though not every detail about the new series is straightforward. Some specifics have required a keen eye, and direct connections with the Jurassic World film franchise haven’t necessarily been confirmed.
During the Camp Cretaceous virtual panel at this year’s New York Comic-Con, connections between the animated series and the live-action Jurassic World film were officially confirmed. As can be learned from the embedded Screen Rant YouTube video above, the exact gyrosphere that Zach and Grey were in when the Indominus was attacking during Jurassic World is indeed a real and intentional part of Camp Cretaceous. Another nod included in the animated series to the live-action film was when the teens are trying to figure out how to drive a van. After agreeing that a car can’t be much harder to drive than a gyrosphere, one of the teens’ remarks that the gyrosphere had a Jimmy Fallon tutorial. Of course, Fallon has a cameo in Jurassic World, when Zach and Grey first climb into the gyrosphere. Also discussed is how the kids of both the animated series and the film connect in the face of danger.
The more that fans look and compare the stories and characters of Camp Cretaceous and Jurassic World, the more similarities there’s bound to be. Before releasing the animated series, much effort was made to ensure that Camp Cretaceous fit the mold of what a Jurassic series should be. At one point, original Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg had advised Camp Cretaceous’ creators that he didn’t want them to do a “kiddie version” of everything that has come before in the iconic franchise. This is entirely understandable, and without attention to detail, the animated series likely wouldn’t have received much praise from the films’ fans.
As things currently stand, Camp Cretaceous season 2 has already been confirmed, meaning that fans are sure to see more connections with the films in future episodes. This isn’t to say that the animated series doesn’t have its own thing going on, nor does it mean that the series can’t build new connections that could be taken up in future Jurassic films. It does mean that the world that this franchise inhabits will continue to grow and expand, sometimes in ways fans of the movies could have never imagined.
Key Release Dates
Jurassic World Dominion
Release Date:2022-06-10
