In 1993, Steven Spielberg made history when he incorporated animatronics and – begrudgingly – CGI for the first time ever in a live-action film for Jurassic Park. The results earned him multiple Academy Award wins, including for Best Visual Effects, and established CGI as a legitimate tool for creating movie magic. The same authenticity and ambition threads through the Jurassic Park franchise, though with a more liberal use of CGI for the later films. For the end of the trilogy, Jurassic World Dominion director Colin Trevorrow told Variety that he brought back a major use of animatronics, as well as more dinosaurs that were “in the paleontological record.” That is to say that the biggest dino of the entire franchise, Gigantosaurus, really did exist.
With Dominion heralding the end of this Jurassic trio, Trevorrow wanted to go bigger than before. He wanted to go gigantic. In order to do this, the director sought the expertise of CFX Supervisor John Nolan (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) to construct the massive animatronics necessary to realistically bring dinosaurs to the big screen. Nolan teamed up with VFX and Industrial Light and Magic to introduce more dinosaur breeds to the film, including the long-awaited feathered dinosaurs. In an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, shortly after filming wrapped, Trevorrow said “It’s the first time that we don’t have dinosaurs that were completed with frog DNA, and therefore inaccurate for those who really pay close attention…it means a lot to me that this feels like you’re actually in that moment in Earth’s history.”
In conjunction with two real-life paleontologists, Steve Brusatte and Jack Horner, Trevorrow made certain that all the dinosaurs used for the film once walked the earth. The new species that fans can expect to see are the feathered breeds, Therizinosaurus and Pyroraptor; an adorable baby Nasutoceratops; the head-butting Stygimoloch which technically made an appearance in Fallen Kingdom, but not quite like this; and of course, the Gigantosaurus. For any paleontology fans whose main gripe has been the naked raptors, Nolan and the VFX crew worked diligently with feather samples, foam latex, fans and silicone to create a more accurate Pyroraptor.
Of the process, Nolan said:
“It’s such a perfect example of how the three disciplines of special effects, visual effects and creature effect complement each other.”
Though more CGI is used in Dominion than Spielberg used nearly three decades ago, Trevorrow enlisted Nolan’s use of mechanical rigs in collaboration with special effects methodically. Using an animatronic baby Nasutoceratops at the opening of the film, one that the actors can hold and carry, sets the tone for what’s in store for fans. All close-ups of any dinosaurs in the film are the physically constructed and manually operated versions, something that can thrash and wreak havoc on set. Wider shots of the dinosaurs walking are partially-constructed and programmed so that the movements of the rig work seamlessly with the CGI. So while Nolan and the team didn’t fully construct an accurate-to-scale Gigantosaurus, they hand-crafted the massive head and neck, and “It’s the biggest dinosaur that has been in films. His head is as big as a car and is absolutely huge.”
The end of an era, Jurassic World Dominion brings the characters from both trilogies together. The ensemble cast stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dewanda Wise, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill.
Jurassic World Dominion is in theaters now. Check out the synopsis below:
“Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.”
