The original Jurassic Park movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, wasn’t just a great movie. It changed Hollywood forever. It pioneered CGI technologies and brought extinct species to life, leaving audiences in awe. As a result, it became the highest-grossing movie of all time, and sequels continued for decades to come.
Fans are currently in the middle of the rebooted franchise, the Jurassic World trilogy, which has expanded the fictional universe so much that dinosaurs now co-exist with humans in the United States. Despite all the dinosaur action, the Jurassic Park movies still have some lines of dialogue that stick in your head after watching them. Here are the most memorable quotes from the Jurassic Park franchise.
Updated on November 12th, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: Fans can't get enough of the Jurassic Park franchise. What began with a novel by Michael Crichton exploded into a beloved action classic when the movie debuted in 1993. Nearly 30 years after that original movie, Netflix has an animated series set in the same world, and there is at least one more movie on the way. The franchise has become one of the most quotable as fans young and old binge the movies and get swept up in the spectacle.
John Hammond (Jurassic Park)
“Welcome To Jurassic Park.”
Are any of the Jurassic Park quotes as memorable as this one? John Hammond and his guests’ arrival in Jurassic Park has gone down in film history as one of the most iconic moments ever put on film. Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler look on at a live Brachiosaurus in complete awe – just like the audience. Richard Attenborough beautifully delivers the line, “Welcome to Jurassic Park,” with the weight that such a sweeping cinematic moment deserves.
Considering it was among the first CGI ever created, the effects on the Brachiosaurus hold up surprisingly well today, creating the same sense of awe and wonder that it did when the movie hit theaters in 1993.
Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park: The Lost World)
"'Ooh, ah.' That's How It Always Starts. But Then Later, There's Running And Screaming."
Despite his penchant for math (which certainly isn't for everyone), Ian Malcolm is often the voice of the audience in his Jurassic franchise appearances, which is why his character ends up with so many of the most famous Jurassic Park quotes. That's true in The Lost World as well. Unlike nearly everyone else who is still awed by the sight of a dinosaur for the first time, or the sense of adventure that comes with interacting with them, Malcolm knows the reality of the situation.
His, "later, there's running and screaming," remark appears to be true in every installment of the franchise. The main characters are always impressed by the prehistoric creatures, only to find themselves at their mercy later.
Owen Grady (Jurassic World)
"She's Learning Where She Fits On The Food Chain, And I'm Not Sure You Want Her To Figure That Out."
Several years after the first installment of the franchise, it's hard to imagine that someone would have managed to get a Jurassic Park theme park up and running, but that's the premise of the new trilogy. Owen Grady, a specialist in the behavior of predators, is the only person in the movie who seems to have the same level of respect for the dinosaurs as paleontologist Alan Grant.
Unfortunately, most of Owen's astute observations are ignored until he's needed to help rescue Claire's nephews. As he points out, a predator figuring out just which animals they can consider prey is a dangerous thing. Though he's asked for his opinions about the Indominus Rex, he's brushed off, and that proves to be a huge mistake.
Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park: The Lost World)
"If You Want To Leave Your Name On Something, Fine, But Stop Putting It On Other People's Headstones."
While Malcolm is a realist, Hammond is a dreamer. His whole aim with his Jurassic Park was to capture the wonder and thrill of discovering dinosaurs, something most children become fascinated by at a young age, even if it's just for a short time. Hammond's dreams, however, negate to take into the very real dangers they pose - repeatedly.
When Malcolm and Hammond meet up again in The Lost World, Malcolm is incredibly angry as the meeting reveals that Malcolm's current girlfriend is on Hammond's second island, the one where all of the dinosaur research and breeding was really done. Malcolm places the blame for all the lives lost on Hammond's shoulders, which isn't entirely fair since he was initially sabotaged, but Malcolm needs a target for his anger, and Hammond is it, providing the audience with one of the best Jurassic Park quotes.
Eric Kirby (Jurassic Park III)
"I've Been Alone In A Water Truck For Eight Weeks. I Think I Can Manage The Next Two Minutes Without You."
When the teenage son of a divorced couple goes missing on the island holding a bunch of dinosaurs, it's natural for them to be worried. They're lucky that it turns out their son is more resourceful than they are and can keep himself alive for two months in the hostile terrain.
What Eric doesn't appreciate is how clingy his parent gets as soon as they find him. They don't want to let him out of their sight, despite him being living proof that he can handle the most dangerous of situations on his own. The line itself is funny, but it also speaks to the difficulty a lot of parents have with their kids growing up and not needing them.
Gray Mitchell (Jurassic World)
"We Need More Teeth."
It's become a tradition in the Jurassic Park franchise for one of the dinosaurs the main characters spend time running from to save their lives. The tradition is born when the T-rex saves Alan Grant and the kids from the Velociraptors in the first movie even though the T-rex is the first dinosaur the audience sees go after several characters.
When Claire, her nephews, and Owen find that the Velociraptors aren't actually stopping the Indominus Rex in Jurassic World, it's the youngest member of the group, Gray, who offers up this solution to their problem. They just need a more intimidating predator than the one that's already after them. Not only does Gray's line echo an earlier point in the film, but it also allows the movie to bring the same T-rex in for a callback to the first installment as Claire leads the predator into the fray.
Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park: The Lost World)
“Mommy’s Very Angry.”
Jeff Goldblum was the only actor from Jurassic Park’s central trio who returned for the sequel, The Lost World, but it was great to see Ian Malcolm take the spotlight, even if it meant Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler were nowhere to be seen (and they were dearly missed).
In The Lost World, the T. rex’s baby is taken from her. After hearing the T. rex’s roar from afar, alerting the doomed humans that she knows her child’s missing and she’s not happy about it, Malcolm quips, “Mommy’s very angry.”
Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park)
“That Is One Big Pile Of S***.”
Bluntness is one of Ian Malcolm’s virtues. He doesn’t mince words; he says it as it is, and that’s what fans of Jurassic Park love about him. Well, that and the unparalleled charms of Jeff Goldblum.
When he arrives at the site of a dinosaur’s mountainous bowel movement, he takes one look at it and simply says, “That is one big pile of sh*t.” It might not be the most meaningful, but this Jurassic Park quote is certainly one of the most memorable.
Tim Murphy (Jurassic Park)
“Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?”
At the beginning of Jurassic Park, Alan Grant hates kids. But being stranded in the park with Tim and Lex, forced to protect them from the hordes of dinosaurs, makes him warm to them.
One night, when they’re hiding out in a tree, Tim tells Alan a joke: “What do you call a blind dinosaur?” “I don’t know.” “Do-you-think-he-saurus?” Sure, it’s kind of a dad joke, but it gets a chuckle out of the curmudgeonly paleontologist.
Ray Arnold (Jurassic Park)
“Hold Onto Your Butts.”
Moviegoers in 1993 had no idea of the kind of legendary performer they were watching during Ray Arnold’s limited screen time. A year before Samuel L. Jackson made himself an icon in Pulp Fiction, he played a minor role in Spielberg’s dinosaur-infested classic.
In this pre-fame role, Jackson proves that there are no small parts, only small actors, memorably delivering lines like, “Hold onto your butts.” It's become one of the most famous lines from Jurassic Park in part thanks to Jackson's delivery.
