Jurassic Park Toys - Collector Cards and an unexpected conclusion
I was 5 years old when JP came out. So, I can say that I experienced the dinomania, but I have a very blurry memory of it... consequently, I'm always eager to discover new things from that time period, that could help me to re-experience it. And, by luck, the other day I found something amazing... the collector cards that came with the JP toys, back in 1993. I have some memory of them, mainly of Grant with the Pteros. I deeply enjoy JP drawings (such as concept art and fan art), so it was great to see these cards... not only is the art incredible, but they also reminded me of a time long gone, when there only was the original JP movie, and anything could happen.
In fact, they are so amazing, that I'm sure they deserve a deep analysis, which I will do, like if we were back in '93, before anyone ever dreamed of TLW and Sorna. Before we go on, please note that all these images belong to www.jptoys.com - head over there, and see the original toys!
Alternate Timeline
The cards in this category feature situations that I believe to be impossible to fit in the movie universe.
Here, you can see Malcolm being attacked by a Dilo. Obviously, it could never happen. Malcolm only saw herbivores in the Welcome2JP scene, and then the rex. Notice how mysterious the jungle looks... anything could be there!
This one could be dubious, and belong to a Functional JP category (more on that later), but a man dressed in black must be Malcom for sure. So, the above arguments can be used again. And please, notice the jungle again...
This one is definitely dubious... in a Functional JP situation, the baby Dilos could have escaped from the hatchery, and worked their way to the control room (perhaps that was the reason it is protected with such high security systems?). However, this card came out with the Nedry toy, so that worker is supposed to be Nedry; however, Nedry doesn't recognize the Dilo in the movie, which means that he has never seen a Dilo before - hence this card scene doesn't belong to the movie universe.
This is another card that could make it to the Functional JP category, but the man in the blue shirt is supposed to be Grant. Him being Grant doesn't define this card as being in the alternate timeline category, but I believe that the other man is a JP worker, not Tim... if he was Tim, maybe then this card could belong to the Unseen Scenes category (yes, more on that later!), but no way a kid like Tim could help Grant with the stego. Once again, notice the background... the park seems huge!
Functional JP
These cards feature scenes that could happen in a functional JP, with workers taking care of the dinosaurs... that could be the case of the park before the movie events (maybe we could see scenes like these in a future JP prequel!), or an alternate timeline where JP is sucessful.
A worker hunts down an escaping Ptero. Notice the use of the road in the scene, to remind us that we are in the park.
A worker is hunted by a Dilo . This scene can be the moment when InGen finds out that the Dilos can spite! I know that this man could be Nedry (Nedry also wears a red shirt in the control room card), but as this card belongs to the Dilo toy, we can't know for sure.
Muldoon in the hatchery with some baby Raptors. Everything's fine with this card... look how cute the dinos are, playing with each other!
Yes, taking care of Raptors is a hard job! In this card, I like the hazard black-yellow stripe (which I also use a lot in JP-RL design).
Unseen scenes
These cards feature situations that could have happened during the movie events, but that remained unseen to the movie watcher.
The rex attack scene. Classic, and still awesome.
Tim watches a Brachio being born. When the kids arrive, all the adults are having lunch, so it is possible that the kids also visited the labs, and happened to see this. We know that Hammond likes to watch every "Hatchling Surprise!", but we also know that it doesn't always happen (the baby raptor scene, early in the movie).
Ellie tries to sedate a trike. For all we know, it could happen between the sick Trike, and her return to the control room. Now, the next cards are the ones that I find the most interesting of all...
Grant with some baby Pteros. This scene could happen when he and the kids roam the park, seeing more dinos than just the Brachios and the Gallis. Once again, notice the jungle!
The same situation as the above card. Look at Grant's hat... if they knew how important the hat is to him in JP3...
Ok, this is one arguable: should it belong in the Alternate Timeline? Maybe, but we can try to believe that this young rex is in fact an Alioramus remotus , which is a dinosaur that could easily be mistaken with a young rex (as someone that knows a lot more about dinosaurs than I do told me). It's a little far fetched, but later you'll understand why I'm doing this exercise.
This scene could happen after Grant finally met Ellie again, while they return to the visitors' center. In their walk, they find a Dimetrodon! And clearly, Grant is shocked...
Another scene that could happen in the same time interval... somewhere in the visitors' center, before finding the kids, they face a lonely raptor and manage to escape.
I must say that I daydreamed a lot with these cards, imagining the possibilities. And the conclusion that I arrived to was that a JP cartoon series was possible using these cards concept.
The main problem with a JP cartoon is how are they going to get people in the island every episode, and let the dinosaurs escape once again. It seems impossible.
Well, the other option (that I've never heard of before...) would be to follow Grant and the kids in their journey through the park, from the rex attack site, all the way to the visitors center.
Every episode they would face a different species of dinosaur, and learn something about it. They could even use some ideias from the book, like finding some tools in a maintenance building. They could show us a little more of the park. They could do so many things with this concept.
Would it be realistic to believe that their journey was so long? No, but cartoons aren't realistic.
And would it be realistic to believe that they faced so many dinosaurs, and always managed to escape? I don't know... In the book Lex rides a baby Trike. In the Primeval tv series, the characters face dangerous predators without using guns most of the time. So, considering these examples, for a cartoon it would be realistic.
Give this idea some thought, imagine all the possibilities that lie in the concept, and admit that you would love to see such a cartoon :)
And that's it. Hope you enjoyed seeing the cards (visit jptoys.com for more cards and toys), the rumblings about the categories, and the JP cartoon concept. Join us next week!
But, until then...
In fact, they are so amazing, that I'm sure they deserve a deep analysis, which I will do, like if we were back in '93, before anyone ever dreamed of TLW and Sorna. Before we go on, please note that all these images belong to www.jptoys.com - head over there, and see the original toys!
Alternate Timeline
The cards in this category feature situations that I believe to be impossible to fit in the movie universe.
Here, you can see Malcolm being attacked by a Dilo. Obviously, it could never happen. Malcolm only saw herbivores in the Welcome2JP scene, and then the rex. Notice how mysterious the jungle looks... anything could be there!
This one could be dubious, and belong to a Functional JP category (more on that later), but a man dressed in black must be Malcom for sure. So, the above arguments can be used again. And please, notice the jungle again...
This one is definitely dubious... in a Functional JP situation, the baby Dilos could have escaped from the hatchery, and worked their way to the control room (perhaps that was the reason it is protected with such high security systems?). However, this card came out with the Nedry toy, so that worker is supposed to be Nedry; however, Nedry doesn't recognize the Dilo in the movie, which means that he has never seen a Dilo before - hence this card scene doesn't belong to the movie universe.
This is another card that could make it to the Functional JP category, but the man in the blue shirt is supposed to be Grant. Him being Grant doesn't define this card as being in the alternate timeline category, but I believe that the other man is a JP worker, not Tim... if he was Tim, maybe then this card could belong to the Unseen Scenes category (yes, more on that later!), but no way a kid like Tim could help Grant with the stego. Once again, notice the background... the park seems huge!
Functional JP
These cards feature scenes that could happen in a functional JP, with workers taking care of the dinosaurs... that could be the case of the park before the movie events (maybe we could see scenes like these in a future JP prequel!), or an alternate timeline where JP is sucessful.
A worker hunts down an escaping Ptero. Notice the use of the road in the scene, to remind us that we are in the park.
A worker is hunted by a Dilo . This scene can be the moment when InGen finds out that the Dilos can spite! I know that this man could be Nedry (Nedry also wears a red shirt in the control room card), but as this card belongs to the Dilo toy, we can't know for sure.
Muldoon in the hatchery with some baby Raptors. Everything's fine with this card... look how cute the dinos are, playing with each other!
Yes, taking care of Raptors is a hard job! In this card, I like the hazard black-yellow stripe (which I also use a lot in JP-RL design).
Unseen scenes
These cards feature situations that could have happened during the movie events, but that remained unseen to the movie watcher.
The rex attack scene. Classic, and still awesome.
Tim watches a Brachio being born. When the kids arrive, all the adults are having lunch, so it is possible that the kids also visited the labs, and happened to see this. We know that Hammond likes to watch every "Hatchling Surprise!", but we also know that it doesn't always happen (the baby raptor scene, early in the movie).
Ellie tries to sedate a trike. For all we know, it could happen between the sick Trike, and her return to the control room. Now, the next cards are the ones that I find the most interesting of all...
Grant with some baby Pteros. This scene could happen when he and the kids roam the park, seeing more dinos than just the Brachios and the Gallis. Once again, notice the jungle!
The same situation as the above card. Look at Grant's hat... if they knew how important the hat is to him in JP3...
Ok, this is one arguable: should it belong in the Alternate Timeline? Maybe, but we can try to believe that this young rex is in fact an Alioramus remotus , which is a dinosaur that could easily be mistaken with a young rex (as someone that knows a lot more about dinosaurs than I do told me). It's a little far fetched, but later you'll understand why I'm doing this exercise.
This scene could happen after Grant finally met Ellie again, while they return to the visitors' center. In their walk, they find a Dimetrodon! And clearly, Grant is shocked...
Another scene that could happen in the same time interval... somewhere in the visitors' center, before finding the kids, they face a lonely raptor and manage to escape.
I must say that I daydreamed a lot with these cards, imagining the possibilities. And the conclusion that I arrived to was that a JP cartoon series was possible using these cards concept.
The main problem with a JP cartoon is how are they going to get people in the island every episode, and let the dinosaurs escape once again. It seems impossible.
Well, the other option (that I've never heard of before...) would be to follow Grant and the kids in their journey through the park, from the rex attack site, all the way to the visitors center.
Every episode they would face a different species of dinosaur, and learn something about it. They could even use some ideias from the book, like finding some tools in a maintenance building. They could show us a little more of the park. They could do so many things with this concept.
Would it be realistic to believe that their journey was so long? No, but cartoons aren't realistic.
And would it be realistic to believe that they faced so many dinosaurs, and always managed to escape? I don't know... In the book Lex rides a baby Trike. In the Primeval tv series, the characters face dangerous predators without using guns most of the time. So, considering these examples, for a cartoon it would be realistic.
Give this idea some thought, imagine all the possibilities that lie in the concept, and admit that you would love to see such a cartoon :)
And that's it. Hope you enjoyed seeing the cards (visit jptoys.com for more cards and toys), the rumblings about the categories, and the JP cartoon concept. Join us next week!
But, until then...
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