Camp Cretaceous Review: Colin Trevorrow's 2015 blockbuster Jurassic World not only pushed forward the Jurassic Park legacy ahead, but also was a soft reboot on the entire series. Was it a good film though? The debate is still out there. Jurassic World is entertaining and has some fun dino action, but the human characters were either caricatured or annoying. Especially the kids. At least one thing Camp Cretaceous does right among quite a few others, is that it does the kid characters justice, which not a single JP film has done since the original Steven Spielberg masterpiece. Jurassic World: Dominion - Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum's Roles Will Not Be Limited to Cameos.

A spin-off series based on Jurassic World, this eight-episode animated series is streaming on Netflix since September 18. It follows a teenager Darius (Paul-Mikél Williams) who wins a trip to Jurassic World by beating their 'unbeatable' video game to be a part of Camp Cretaceous. Throughout the series, we learn that his fervent desire to do so has something to do with his father.

On his arrival at the famous Isla Nublar, Darius meets his fellow campers - the spoilt rich brat Kenji (Ryan Potter), the vain vLogger Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega), the nerdy Ben (Sean Giambrone), the over-enthu Sammy (Raini Rodriguez) and the reticent but athletic Yasmina (Kausar Mohammed). They are put under the supervision of two camp counsellors, Roxie (Jameela Jamil) and Dave (Glen Powell). Darius becomes the self-professed dino expert of the group, more enthu about the island and its prehistoric inhabitants than the rest.

And since most of them are pesky kids, they have some nearly run-ins with dinos from day one itself, from raptors to a very vindictive Carnatorous, whom Kenji and Darius nickname 'Toro'. Ben also befriends a baby Ankylosaurus, whom he names Bumpy.

Also, did I mention that their stay on the island coincides with the events of Jurassic World? So the camp gets into more peril, when Indominus Rex runs loose, leaving mayhem in its wake. The kids set their differences aside and work together to survive among the rampaging dinosaurs.

Watch the Trailer of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous:

One thing that the existence of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous doesn't get right is why movies like Jurassic Park and its sequels do to its fans. By bringing the extinct dinosaurs alive on the screen through a blend of robotics and CGI, it makes to viewer meet a breed of creatures from an era where humans never existed. Such magic goes missing in an animated film or series, though that's the only one flaw I saw in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.

For the series, directed by Zack Stentz, turns out to be very enthralling experience with some great human and dino moments. There are plenty of thrilling sequences, from a detour into the raptor pen to a thrilling boat chase in the Mosasaur lagoon, that are plenty breath-taking.

The animation is spiffy, even the creature designs are cool. Frankly, despite the lack of live-action dinos, Camp Cretaceous turns out a better JW saga than both Jurassic World and its reviled sequel, Fallen Kingdom. And it had a lot to do with how it improves upon these films, based on how it writes the human characters.

The kids of Camp Cretaceous surely behave in the meddlesome ways of other irksome Jurassic Park child characters have done in the past. But with the focus almost entirely on them, the series gives them a chance to develop well into likeable characters. Even though it is set in Jurassic World, there is no alpha male like Owen Grady to protect them, so the stakes feel real.

Like with John Hughes much-loved The Breakfast Club, each character belongs to a clique, but the magic happens when they get to break out of it. Like, for example, Brooklynn's vanity comes with the fear of having her life ruled by, in her own words, Internet randos. The usually self-centred Kenji gives sanguine advice to Brooklynn about being empathetic to a person who she accuses of betraying her. Darius feels defeated when he realises that his bookish knowledge of dinosaurs aren't enough for survival. Perhaps he wouldn't have felt so if he had heard Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park III, where he called InGen's creations as 'monsters' and not dinosaurs.

The best moment in the series happens when these brave band of survivors find themselves in a monorail, after a series of near-misses with death. Contemplating if they are truly friends by now, the group finds this moment as an opportunity  to bare their souls to each other, before they return to saving themselves from dinos!

The adult characters are also more than bearable, even if they get less scope than the young protagonists. At least the two camp counsellors that the park is way more dangerous than they thought, and that's before they find out that the I-Rex is on the loose.

Even as Camp Cretaceous improves on its human characters, it continues to have fun with the Jurassic Park tropes. Even for a show presumably targeted at kids, we have dinos munching on humans. There are many occasions where at least one character complain why not one thing in the Park works properly. There is also corporate espionage, with one of the main characters turning out to be a spy. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom Movie Review: Dinosaurs Rule, Humans Suck As Jurassic Park Franchise Takes a Dark Turn.

The continuities with Jurassic World are also admirably done. Dr Henry Wu (this time, voiced by Greg Chun) gets another memorable moment that gives us a glimpse of his narcissism. We also have Simon Masrani (The Irrfan Khan fan in me skipped a heartbeat) and Claire Dearing get name-dropped. Also, the Carnotaurus we see in Camp Cretaceous is also most likely the one we encounter in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, before he gets chomped down by T-Rex. And how can you not mention a Jurassic Park product, without harping on how maestro John Williams's signature tune gives me the goosebumps every time it is played. Even for an animated series!

Yay!

- Pretty Thrilling and Enjoyable, With Well Rounded Characters

Nay!

- We Sure Miss the Live-Action Dinos

Final Thoughts

Even though it is an animated series, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is probably the most well-developed sequel to Jurassic Park. With eight episodes each with a runtime of about 25 minutes, the series is a thrilling ride among our fave dinos, with a promising cliffhanger to a sequel series.

Rating:4.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 28, 2020 07:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).