I’m not really sure why, but I’ve always been a big fan of the Jurassic franchise. Maybe it’s just because dinosaurs are cool? I’m not sure, but I’ve always loved the franchise a whole lot. I played the old Genesis games and the addicting arcade shooter (it’s where I used most of my tokens at my local Chuck E Cheese), I watched the movies a ton, I read the original Michael Crichton novels over and over, and I relished the unique themed section of the Islands of Adventure amusement park in Orlando.
Suffice to say, I’ve consumed a lot of the media surrounding this franchise (even some of the weirder bits, like that extremely-forgotten Telltale Jurassic Park game, that was a whole thing). But I’ve had a blank spot in my repertoire of Jurassic media for a while now, and the other month I sought to rectify that. Partially inspired by having just seen Jurassic World Rebirth in theaters, and partially due to just wanting to watch a new show.
Over on Netflix, there’s a little show called Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, and I decided to give it a watch in its entirety.
And it’s…really good?
A vast majority of television shows intended for young audiences tend to fall into the camp of just being flashy colors, fast-paced animation, silly jokes, and little-to-no substance. But a certain subset of this brand of entertainment manages to elevate the medium into something enjoyable for not only a broader audience, but also presents a story with discernible substance. Think shows like Gravity Falls, The Owl House, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Camp Cretaceous thankfully falls into this latter category (buoyed by being a show intended towards the slightly-higher demographic of preteens and such, and less-so younger kids).
So while I’m not about to say Camp Cretaceous is a hidden masterpiece to the same level of quality as Avatar: The Last Airbender, it’s in good company with being a far above-average show aimed for younger audiences that is still quite compelling for an older viewer (evidently, considering my preteen years are a ways behind me at this point).
So what is the show about?
Set right before the events of 2015’s Jurassic World (so we all know where this is going), Camp Cretaceous focuses on a group of six teens who are all chosen to join the titular Camp Cretaceous as a trial run of what is intended to be a full summer camp experience held at Jurassic World. There’s a big treehouse lodge, behind-the-scenes dinosaur tours, cool experiences and adventures, and lots of fun to be had. What could possibly go wrong…aside from the carnage wrought by the Indominus Rex when it breaks loose and flips the status quo of Jurassic World on its head.
To be clear right off the bat, Camp Cretaceous is 100% canonical to the events of the movies. So canonical, in fact, that it connects and intersects with the films in so many interesting ways that I genuinely don’t feel like its a stretch to say that this show’s existence makes these movies better and more fleshed-out. You can feel the genuine intentionality in making a show that is respectful of the films and unites with them at certain storytelling beats, but still carves its own path. There’s a season three scene that intersects with the opening of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom so ingeniously I almost clapped.
Point of fact, Camp Cretaceous was executive produced by none other than Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow!
Actually, while we’re throwing names around, the show also makes liberal use of John Williams’ iconic score, utilizing the leitmotifs we’ve come to know and love to great success (yes, before you ask, I definitely had a big dumb smile when a few notes of Indominus Rex’s iconic theme played). But the show also has plenty of its own tunes, including a fun and dynamic main theme for our heroic group of kids. And would you know it, but the original soundtrack was made by Leo Birenberg, one half of the duo responsible for one of the greatest soundtracks of all time, the music to Cobra Kai!
Anyway, once the dinosaurs start running amok, all bets are off for our core cast of six kids, and their two out-of-their-depths camp counselors. The group of kids are dinosaur nerd Darius, habitually terrified Ben, athletic loner Yaz, viral influencer Brooklynn, lazy rich kid Kenji, and energetic farm girl Sammy. The two counselors are go-getter Roxie and lovable loser Dave. Outside of some quick cameos from the likes of Dr. Wu, that’s as far as we go in terms of characters for season one. It’s a rather contained affair, all things considered.
Well, the cast is contained. The dinosaurs sure aren’t!
Camp Cretaceous certainly has a whole host of dinosaurs roaming the island, and it isn’t afraid to constantly shove our protagonists into the path of mortal danger from one new sharp-toothed threat after another! I really appreciated how the show utilized one or two main dinos as a sort of season-long threat, which made it really easy to view certain dinosaurs as genuine antagonists rather than just wild animals who pop up from time-to-time.
Season one mostly revolves around the Indominus Rex as the inciting incident, and then more personally for our cast they tango with Toro the carnotaurus. Season two introduces a trio of baryonyx who roam the park together looking for their next meal. Season three features the insanely creepy and terrifying Scorpios Rex who ravages the park. And the final two seasons include a massive and intimidating Spinosaurus and a pair of crafty velociraptors. But even aside from these scene-stealing baddies, there’s plenty of other deadly (and a few friendly) dinosaurs our cast confronts.
Oh, I suppose I got a little ahead of myself, didn’t I? Yes, our main cast don’t manage to make it off of the Jurassic World island by the end of season one. Actually, the majority of the story takes place on that island. The seasons only average about eight episodes, so while each season does have a core focus, theme, and goal to accomplish/threat to overcome, the larger-scale of the plot doesn’t necessarily advance much due to the low episode count (and twenty-two minute runtime of episodes).
Like many CGI-animated shows, Camp Cretaceous has a few moments that look a bit off (especially in season one). However, by a large, I was impressed by how good the show looks, and by the later seasons it’s downright pretty (the water effects, in particular, are shockingly great). This show definitely had some budget put into it, and it shows. It shows in some of the casting choices too, like Glen Powell as Dave the counselor, or (of all people) Jenna Ortega as Brooklynn, who does a phenomenal job as the character!
All of the acting is really good, actually, which is another aspect that can be a concern in shows aimed at younger audiences. Everyone puts in a good performance portraying believable teens stuck on an island filled with dinosaurs. For that matter, the characters themselves are great too. No one is overtly annoying (or at least doesn’t eventually learn/improve themselves and become a better person), and everyone gets their chances to shine or be in the spotlight.
If I had to narrow down my picks for favorite characters, my top two choices would be Brooklynn and Yaz. I loved basically all of their scenes, and definitely got excited whenever an episode focused primarily on them.
Brooklyn represents an archetype I enjoy a lot, which is that of a character ill-suited for a survival situation slowly learning to become pretty awesome. She’s not wholly out-of-her-depth, but she definitely didn’t intend to stream anything to her followers more than some dino tours. Fighting for her life wasn’t on her itinerary, and seeing her wrestle with that and come out all-the-stronger because of it is really engrossing. Plus, she’s extremely vigilant towards justice, leading to some great verbal (and sometimes physical) bouts against a few of the human villains our protagonists contend with.
The inverse of Brooklyn, Yaz is a character who starts the series awesome (she’s an athletic prodigy, after all), but has to have her mental/emotional state tested by one veritable beatdown after the next. I mean, this girl endures a broken ankle, nearly drowning, some pretty serious PTSD, and still comes out on top with her head held high. I’ve made mention before of how much I love seeing protagonists knocked low but still staying strong and holding onto hope, and Yaz really embodies that. In particular, a season three episode centered around her is phenomenal, and my favorite episode of the whole show.
One thing worth pointing out is that despite looking like (and being advertised) as a children’s show, I’d be pretty hesitant to show Camp Cretaceous to anyone younger than our core cast is (so, around the 14-16) range.
The Jurassic franchise is known for having lots of people be eaten by dinosaurs…and yeah, that still happens quite a lot here too! Maybe off-screen a bit, but it still happens, and the sound effects are still pretty gruesome. There’s a fair few harrowing and tense scenes that evoke that classic Velociraptor kitchen moment from the first film (I definitely jumped at a few points throughout the series), the Scorpios Rex (pictured below) is legitimately super freaky, and I pretty viscerally flinched during that part where Yaz breaks her ankle…among other moments of peril and danger that are shockingly intense for a show aimed at a younger audience.
Of course, I enjoyed all of those aspects! I’ve always loved darker stories!
So, with all of that being said, is there anything that Camp Cretaceous gets wrong? Kinda sounds like the best show ever made with how I’ve been hyping it up so far. Well…yeah, I mean, it isn’t flawless.
I mentioned how occasionally the animation can look a little off. More than that, it can sometimes mess with a scene’s intentions. While the animation works flawlessly sometimes, other times it lessens the impact of a moment with an uncanny facial expression or stiff movement. The plot can sometimes meander a little, leaving you to wonder where exactly things are going. The villain of season four FAR outstays his welcome, and isn’t very good to begin with (great acting, though). And it’s not hard to shake the general sense of cynically realizing that “these kids aren’t actually in danger of dying, are they?“. It’s not too hard to ignore that last one and just have fun though, unless you’re a grump.
Ultimately, I’d highly recommend Camp Cretaceous to any younger fans of the Jurassic series or of dinosaurs in general, and to any mega fans of the Jurassic franchise like myself. As long as, if you’re of older age, you acknowledge it’s ultimately a show for preteens and don’t expect the world of it, you’re bound to be entertained.
They spared no expense pulling together this surprisingly enjoyable endeavor!
9/10
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 