When Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park hit theaters back in 1993, no one had seen anything like it. Sure, Spielberg was mining the same brand of monster movie tension he did with Jaws 20 years earlier, while Michael Crichton's source novel was essentially his '70s movie Westworld reworked with dinosaurs instead of mad robot cowboys. But the dinosaurs were the big draw, and immediately set a new standard for visual effects.
Never before had any big movie monster been represented so brilliantly on-screen. By modern standards there were in fact relatively few digital shots in the movie, and many of the dinosaur effects were performed using physical on-set animatronics. But Spielberg's ability to combine these older techniques with the pioneering digital work created something truly amazing--and utterly believable.
As the series continued--with The Lost World (1997), Jurassic Park III (2001), and Jurassic World (2015)--the visual effects have gotten more sophisticated, but the draw of the movies remain the same: incredible dinosaurs, usually hunting down humans--some big, some small, some friendly, and others terrifying. So with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom set to hit US theaters later this month, here's a look at all the dinosaurs in the series so far, ranked in order of how awesome they are.
20. Apatosaurus
This gentle, majestic beast sadly doesn’t get to do much but be prey for the rampaging Indominus Rex in Jurassic World. The Rex attacks a herd of Apatosaurus, and slaughters them, leaving only one fatally wounded survivor.
19. Ceratosaurus
The Ceratosaurus has a cool horn but doesn't get to do much. No sooner does it make its debut appearance in Jurassic Park III, than it's off again, having smelt the giant pile of dinopoop that Dr. Grant and the Kirby family are inspecting.
18. Pachycephalosaurus
The rather tricky pronunciation of this dinosaur's name leads The Lost World's hunter Roland Denbo to nickname one of his captured prey "Friar Tuck." Cloned versions also appear in Jurassic World, butting heads as entertainment for visitors (and dislodging their tracking implants in the process, allowing them to easily escape).
17. Corythosaurus
Corythosaurus means "helmet lizard," which is a very cool name. But sadly it only gets to appear once, glimpsed briefly in the background of the Jurassic World III scene where Velociraptors are chasing Billy to get their eggs back.
16. Parasaurolophus
This distinctive herbivore makes regular appearances throughout the series, most notably when one of their herd is cruelly captured by the hunters in The Lost World.
15. Triceratops
One of the Jurassic series' most famous dinosaurs, these creatures look tough but are docile and peaceful. The Triceratops in the first movie is best known for both being sick and providing dung-related comic relief, while a Triceratops kid becomes Pteranodon prey in Jurassic World.
14. Mamenchisaurus
This huge, long-necked beast features only briefly in The Lost World, but it's in a cool shot, as one of the hunters rides his bike between the creature's legs.
13. Stegosaurus
One of the most famous of all the dinosaurs, the Stegosaurus is the first creature seen in The Lost World. Dr Harding almost gets eaten by one when she gets too close to take some pictures. Don't mess with Steg.
12. Gallimimus
The star of one of the first movie's most famous scenes, the Gallimimus are crucial to introducing us the amazing creatures on Isla Nublar. As Dr Grant and the Murphy kids roam the park they encounter a flock of Gallimimus racing towards them to escape the hungry T-Rex.
11. Dimorphodon
A flying menace, the Dimorphodon were residents of Jurassic World's aviary, and escape when the Indominus Rex smashes its way into their home. They are smaller than Pteranodons, but it's equally scary when both species go on an airborne rampage after being set free.
10. Brachiosaurus
The first dinosaur encountered in the entire franchise. This huge beast is seen by Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler upon their arrival on Isla Nublar, and the sheer scale and grandeur of this encounter remains an incredible moment of cinema.
9. Spinosaurus
The Spinosaurus is one of the biggest of all the carnivorous dinos, dwarfing even the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The power of his creature is demonstrated in Jurassic Park III, when it takes on the T-Rex and wins. Unfortunately, later in the movie it also swallows a satellite phone, allowing its potential human prey to escape every time it gets near them.
8. Dilophosaurus
The Dilophosaurus really only has one key scene in the series, but man, it’s a good one. While attempting to smuggle dinosaur embryos off the island in Jurassic Park, crooked programmer Dennis Nedry disables the park's security, allowing the dinosaurs to roam free. He encounters the terrifying Dilophosaurus, which spreads its colourful trill and sprays him with venom, before devouring him. Bye Dennis!
7. Compsognathus
It might be small, but the Compsognathus is seriously deadly. These little critters bite hard and attack in massed groups, quickly overcoming their prey with sheer speed and numbers, as hunter Dieter Stark discovers in The Lost World.
6. Mosasaurus
This 18-meter aquatic creature was created for the park in Jurassic World and placed in a 3 million gallon pool for the entertainment of visitors. Being submerged in water means it can't cause quite as much mayhem as its dino-colleagues, but it does still get a couple of snacks, firstly unfortunate employee Zara Young, and in the final scene, the rampaging Indominus Rex.
5. Ankylosaurus
These awesome armored beasts are only glimpsed briefly in Jurassic Park III, but get more screen time in Jurassic World. As Zack and Gray are trapped upside down in their gyrosphere, an Ankylosaurus fights to a brutal death with the Indominus Rex, while the rest of the herd runs off.
4. Pteranodon
These flying predators have memorably intense scenes in both Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World. Their long, razor-sharp beaks and ability to swoop down upon their prey make them one of the scariest dinosaurs in the franchise. The Jurassic World sequence in which a group of Pteranodon toss poor Zara Young around in the air before dropping her into the mouth of the Mosasaurus in particularly nasty.
3. Indominus Rex
The biggest attraction in Jurassic World, the Indominus Rex is the terrifying genetic hybrid of a variety of dinosaurs species, including the T-Rex and Velociraptors, plus creatures like tree frogs and vipers. As inclined to hunt for sport as much for food, we learn that originally there were two of these creatures before one, er, ate his own brother. This bad, mad beast is responsible for most of the chaos in Jurassic World, before he is ultimately stopped by Blue, the T-Rex, and the hungry Mosasaurus.
2. Tyrannosaurus Rex
The baddest beast in the Jurassic universe, the T-Rex features in some of the scariest, best known scenes in the series. But it's also something of a hero, and essentially saves the day at the end of the original movie. After spending the next couple of decades living wild on the island, the T-Rex returns for Jurassic World and plays a crucial part in defeating the Indominus Rex.
1. Velociraptor
No dinosaur is more closely associated with the Jurassic series than the 'Raptor. Strong, fast, intelligent, and deadly, they are the true dino-villains of Jurassic Park and play a big part in both The Lost World and Jurassic Park III. And of course, Jurassic World provides the first heroic Velociraptor in the shape of Blue, who has been trained by Owen Grady.
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