MovieChat Forums > Destination Moon Discussion > Woody Woodpecker scene and Jurassic Park

Woody Woodpecker scene and Jurassic Park

posted 17 years ago by Holden Caulfield
9 replies | jump to latest

I'm surprised nobody has noted the similarities between the Woody Woodpecker scene in Destination Moon and the animated short in Jurassic Park, which showed the park visitors how the dinosaurs were brought back to life. When Woody appeared onscreen I had a sense of deja vu and right away thought of Jurassic Park. It's been awhile since I've seen Jurassic Park but I'll list a few similarities.

- both are animated in the manner of a children's cartoon
- both scenes are simplified animated explanations of complex scientific processes
- they are being shown to groups of people (and us the movie goer) as an introduction to a grand scientific endeavor which is the heart of the movie
- the music and sounds in both have a similar feel
- both are humorous

That's all I can think of right now, the details of the Jurassic Park scene are escaping me. But it seems to me that Steven Spielberg was "paying homage" to destination moon.

[–] koverartsnet 17 years ago

You are absolutely correct. And paying homage to George Pal is just the kind of thing Spielberg would do.

Its such a good tool for advancing the premise of the story while playing to the movie goers, that it was a natural to use it to explain genetics in Jurassic Park.

I've long been a fan of this movie & the cartoon in JP just made me chuckle at the recognition that Spielberg had loved it too.

[–] Holden Caulfield 17 years ago

"Its such a good tool for advancing the premise of the story while playing to the movie goers"

I agree, there's something about using a cartoon to explain the science, especially the way these two movies go about it, (maybe Destination Moon more-so than Jurassic Park). Both childhood memories and adult learning are combined in a way that makes it immediately fun and very engaging at the same time.

[–] JPfanatic93 16 years ago

It's a good bet Spielberg saw this movie and was indeed inspired by the cartoon parts when creating a similar narration device for JP. Spielberg has seen a lot of fifties SF movies (he grew up with them) and has often referenced to them, so this is no different.

[–] scotbpens 15 years ago

Animated cartoons with a cheerful voice-over narration and/or a popular cartoon character have been used for educational, industrial, and corporate promotional purposes for decades. A cartoon very similar to the one in "Jurassic Park" was used in the 1967 satire "The President's Analyst" to demonstrate the "Cerebrum Communicator" -- a telecommunications chip implanted directly in the brain, invented by those wonderful folks at TPC (The Phone Company)!

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] EclipseGST303 15 years ago

Also the taglines are basically identical.

Destination Moon: 2 Years in the making.
Jurassic Park: 65 Million Years in the making.

[–] Moss-37 13 years ago

I immediatley saw the connection with the animation sequence,but also saw a pre curser to Jerry Anderson use of spaceship models in the lift off sequence...just like thunderbird one!

[–] jdforyou1983 (1469) 3 years ago

I loved the Woody Woodpecker scene