Jurassic Park

Released on June 11, 1993, Jurassic Park starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough in Spielberg's adaptation of Crichton's 1990 novel (screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp). The film's technical achievement was its star: ILM's revolutionary CGI dinosaurs, led by Dennis Muren, combined with Stan Winston's full-size animatronics created creatures that looked utterly real on screen. John Williams' soaring score and the Hawaiian locations — filmed partly on Kauaʻi and at Kualoa Ranch, Oʻahu — completed the immersive world. The film grossed over $914 million, dethroning Spielberg's own E.T. to become the highest-grossing film ever, a record it held until Titanic arrived in 1997. It won three Oscars for sound, sound-effects editing, and visual effects.

For an entire generation, Jurassic Park reignited dinosaur obsession. Kids carried dinosaur lunchboxes to school, collected the action figures, and watched the film until the VHS tape wore thin. The film demonstrated that practical effects and digital innovation could coexist, setting a standard that influenced blockbuster filmmaking for decades. More immediately, it made dinosaurs cool again and taught millions of children to say 'velociraptor' with absolute confidence.