Jurassic Park

Factual error: In the early scene where Dennis Nedry meets a man to plan the embryo theft, the subtitle says that they are in San José, Costa Rica. However, the sleepy coastal town in the movie within sight of the ocean bears no resemblance to the real San José (a cosmopolitan capital of almost 1 million people, situated 50 miles from either coast). Even the book makes this error. (00:13:10 - 00:14:45)

Factual error: Near the beginning, at the "Montana Badlands" dig site of Drs Grant and Sattler, a large shrub identifiable in several shots is creosotebush, a warm-desert plant that doesn't grow anywhere near Montana. Could this be California? (00:08:00)

Gregory Forbes

Factual error: The way the car "slides" down the tree as Grant and Tim are climbing down is very unrealistic. Rather than hugging the trunk like it does, the branches (some of which are thick enough) would deflect it away from the trunk. (01:13:30 - 01:15:00)

Factual error: When the goat leg falls down onto the glass roof of the tour vehicle, the wound on it is much too clean. Whether it is actual meat, it looks like it was cut with a knife. Dinosaurs, like crocodiles had conical teeth and had to tear or rip their prey apart - unlike cats or dogs, whose premolars act in a scissor-like way and actually cut the meat. The wound surface should be frayed and messy. Also, a T-Rex wouldn't even be able to tear apart a goat, because it's too small to step on it and tear at it at the same time. Instead, he would chew and shake it a few times to shatter the bones, then swallow it whole.

Doc

Factual error: At the beginning of the film we are shown an amber mine in the Dominican Republic. This amber is only 45 million years old, Hammond would never bother buying the amber from there as dinosaurs disappeared from the fossil record 65 million years ago.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: This is assuming that Hammond would restrict himself to a specific period of the earth's history, which makes no sense. Of course Hammond would also be interested in Paleogene or early Tertiary fossil blood! All the proto-birds, giant birds (just think about a Gastornis! What a sensation in a zoo!), not to mention giant mammals like the Megatherion, proto-elephants, proto-rhinoceroses.

Doc

There is absolutely no suggestion in Jurassic Park - film or book - that Hammond has any interest in any animals except for dinosaurs. We see no facilities for cloning extinct birds or mammals, nor are they mentioned in his promotional film. The post is correct.

It's specifically mentioned in the book that Hammond was buying huge quantities of amber, even museum-quality jewelry. He was likely getting hold of everything he possibly could to increase chances of finding blood-carrying insects.

LorgSkyegon

There is also absolutely no suggestion that he wouldn't be interested. Surely these would make excellent alternatives / backups in the event he couldn't source enough mosquitos of the era he was most interested in.

As has been pointed out on this site before, inventing deux ex machina explanations for plot holes and factual errors does not invalidate them. Cloning non-egg laying mammals would require vastly different technology to that seen in Jurassic Park. Nowhere in the film is it indicated that Hammond is interested in anything except dinosaurs, nor that he is in any way equipped to clone anything but them.

Hammond buying up any mosquito-containing amber is not a plot hole. He didn't say he wanted exhibits from 45 million years ago, but he also didn't specifically say he wasn't interested. Lack of a statement in a film is not a plot hole.

Jurassic Park mistake picture

Continuity mistake: While Lex and Tim are hiding in the kitchen, when the large serving spoon falls it cuts to the closeup of the two Velociraptors and the tall shelving unit has vanished, but in the next shot when the one of the raptors leaps onto the counter that tall shelving unit is back.

Super Grover

More mistakes in Jurassic Park

John Hammond: All major theme parks have had delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked, nothing.
Ian Malcolm: But, John, if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.

More quotes from Jurassic Park

Trivia: The T-Rex roars are a combination of tiger, elephant, alligator, whale, and dog sounds.

More trivia for Jurassic Park

Question: Where do the staff and crew of Jurassic Park go after the dinosaurs escape? I mean you see a staff member tending to the triceratops, there were many scientists in the dinosaur lab, and would assume that there would be many more people on the island but they are nowhere to be seen after the dinosaurs escape.

mitch_ando9

Chosen answer: They all left on the same boat Nedry was trying to get on with the embryos. You can hear Samuel L Jackson's character announce that the boat will be leaving at a specific time and everyone had to be there or be left behind.

Shannon Jackson

More questions & answers from Jurassic Park

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.