We recently got our first look at the Jurassic World trailer, the spot for Universal’s fourth installment in the blockbuster dinosauring-gone-awry franchise. And while I was listening to all of that crappy dialogue and looking at the pretty graphics, something felt weird. Kind of … familiar.
I couldn’t quite figure out where the déjà vu was coming from, but something made me want to watch the trailer for the first movie again.
As it turns out, Universal is recycling a lot of the same imagery from the older ad in hopes of making us excited about the movie in an almost subliminal way. Check it out:
Getting to the island
OK, this more than likely falls under “basic storytelling.” They have to get within nomming range of the dinos somehow. And the shots aren’t identical, but already, we’re looking at least similar.
The gate
The gate that lets people into the park is iconic; if it wasn’t there in the new trailer, we’d think something strange was going on. But here it is anyway so that you can remember thinking, “Hey, I know that thing they’re showing!”
Those Gallimimuses
Then we get to the obligatory, “Hey look, dinosaurs.” First, we see a bunch of people rolling along adjacent to some Gallimimuses.
Here’s the related shot in the Park trailer. Notice how the humans are still on the left, and the Gallis are on the right.
Oh hai, Brachiosaurus
The carefree sightseeing continues as our heroes meet a friendly, giant herbivore.
And 20 years ago:
Oh no, it’s the claw
Later on, things start to go wrong because how dare they play god, and people start looking less amazed and more “Don’t eat me; I’m stringy.” And in the middle of all that, this happens:
We get two steps from the Mystery Dino here, but look: The foot comes down and, we see it sink into the dirt and leaves. Sound familiar?
So of course we were going to see some of the same iconic stuff like the island and the gate, but Jurassic World is lifting entire shots to remind us that it’s related to that movie that made all of the money. And then, for good measure, they threw in a lot of. …
Shots of people looking at things offscreen
This is a staple in a lot of event-film trailers, but Steven Spielberg in particular is fond of shots of people looking up in awe. So just for fun, I’ve compiled every shot from both trailers of people looking in horror, amazement, or surprise at things that we, the audience, can’t see.
First, in Park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOQQgWKTvj4
Now, in World:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ40S8JTXk8
Eerie.