Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 1 Review

September 15, 2020 at 3:32pm
By Jason Stettner

This is a Netflix Original animated series that’s definitely focused on the younger audience. It takes place canonically during the events of the first Jurassic World film which is interesting as minor events cross-over. It follows a group of kids as they’re enjoying this special new camp that’s being started up. They get to enjoy the sights of the island while learning valuable skills.

Each of the kids have their own sort of reasoning behind how they got there, and it’s largely told through the perspective of the most regular individual that also has a bit of a sorrowing connection as to why he’s so into the dinosaurs that surround them. This is a rather interesting series as it’s sort of entertaining and at the same time very focused on the younger ones. Still, it has some fairly dark moments to it that are on brand with the whole Jurassic Park cinematic franchise.

There’s an interesting build-up, and not necessarily a conclusion that many would expect. With those darker tones it may very well surprise long time fans of the franchise. As I do understand the kid angle may deter some from checking it out. The episodic structure works well and it’s neat to see the various kids play off one another as you learn more about them. I would have liked more split up segments though, as while there are some it is largely group based action.

Which is strange as typically I’m more into larger group moments in films or shows. Whatever the case, it would been better to understand the strengths of the various individuals more. The kids just seemed largely tied to their reasoning behind why they were there, and not much beyond that. It does have some story surprises, tales of intriguing potential espionage and a familiar face or two. They definitely don’t hold back from references and connections to the overall cinematic universe.

I was actually fairly impressed by the animation quality here. It’s really good, and decently full of depth. The dinosaurs really do shine, as do some of those wow moments that come into play. It’s still somewhat light in terms of scope, but for the most part it’s one of the better Netflix animation efforts.

It’s got a neat look to it, and again some really stand out scenes which is somewhat expected from any Jurassic Park film. The action is well done, and the characters looked solid within their more intensive moving moments. They do a good job of framing that conflict, the intense scenes where those dinosaurs are causing problems.

I was probably most impressed by the production of the creatures though, those dinos are fantastic looking and varied greatly here. Music wise it’s on brand with the series, and again it fits well into the overall universe in a number of ways. I think they did fine when it comes to the atmosphere and look of this one, it fits well.

The Conclusion

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 1 is a generally solid perspective on the events of the first entry in this soft rebooted series, being very much for the younger audience. They seem to tackle some issues that I believe are more present with younger ones in regards to social media exposure and dealing with friendships. The latter of which is to a smaller degree, but you get my point in how it looks at these issues.

It’s just splashed against the carnage of a park getting over run and being evacuated which is neat. I’d actually really like to see smaller spin-offs of this universe as they would potentially being fun to explore and this kind of shows that. Something of a more intimate tale, while still having that grand bit of action happening in the backdrop. It’s a slow opening to establish the camp style, and from there it really does change quite a bit. I found it to be interesting, and something different.

It’s dark in nature, but doesn’t necessary show anything along those lines. Again, it’s right on brand for the cinematic universe and a fine extension of that original film. You’ll see the dots connected at a few points which is neat. I enjoyed watching it, it would be interesting to see where they might take it going forward as it ended up going somewhere I hadn’t predicted by the end.

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 1 Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Netflix

Rating Overall: 6.7