Velociraptors are one of the most essential dinosaurs of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies, and they have undergone numerous redesigns throughout the franchise. Originally featured in Michael Crichton’s novel Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World, Velociraptors first debuted cinematically in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Jurassic Park in 1993. As described by Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Raptors are among the most intelligent dinosaurs to ever live, with a particular talent for coordinating attacks on their prey with other members of their pack. In Jurassic Park III, Dr. Grant even makes the discovering that Raptors have the ability to vocalize to one another, adding to the deadly threat they pose.
Since they were first seen on the big-screen in Jurassic Park, the Raptors have not only returned for each installment of the franchise, but they’ve also been given a new design each time. In some cases, their design is meant to emphasize how fearsome they are, while in others, the design of the Raptors is tailored to make them appear more heroic and even playful, but always with great hunting skills and intelligence on their side. Here are the 7 best Velociraptor designs in the Jurassic Park franchise.
7) Jurassic Park III (2001) – Female Raptor
In addition to the male Velociraptors of Jurassic Park III, the movie also includes some female Raptors in its main Raptor family, and their design is somewhat different from the males of the pack. While Raptors are uniformly given a new green color scheme with patches and bumps of different colors running down their bodies, the female Raptors don’t carry the quills of their male counterparts. There doesn’t seem to be a clear reason why that is, though it might have been in the aim of easing audiences into the idea of feathered dinosaurs. Whatever the case, the female Raptors are plenty scary in their new design in Jurassic Park III, and as protective of their young as one would expect.
6) Jurassic World Dominion – Beta (Blue’s Baby)
The only thing more lovable than a Velociraptor like Blue is Blue’s own offspring. In Jurassic World: Dominion, Blue’s infant Raptor carries more or less the same look as Blue himself, with blue streaks running down either side of his back along with a primarily green coloration with some bumps and other color patches on his body. Like Blue, his baby is given a more innocent design to evoke the intelligence of the Velociraptors along with the canine-esque devotion they’ve developed to Grady and their new heroic role in the Jurassic World movies. With the guidance of a father like Blue, his baby could even make a great successor to his old man in the franchise with the same color scheme helping him to stand out from all other Velociraptors.
5) Jurassic World (2015) – Trained Raptors
Blue is hardly the only Velociraptor in Jurassic World, with Owen Grady training an entire pack of the intelligent dinosaurs. While Blue is clearly the movie’s most distinctive Raptor in both design and personality, the other Raptors have a similarly green coloration with some multi-colored patches that almost resemble military camouflage. Like Blue, the other Raptors have a somewhat softer appearance to evoke dogs loyal to their human trainer Owen Grady. Of course, their Raptor instincts are still very much a part of the equation, making it a big risk for even Grady himself to enter their pen.
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4) Jurassic Park III – Male
New discoveries about dinosaurs are being made all the time, and in the interval between 1997’s The Lost World and 2001’s Jurassic Park III, it was discovered that Velociraptors were feathered predators. Stan Winston’s new Velociraptor designs sought to accommodate this discovery with a modified look for the male Raptors, which bear quills on the crowns of their skulls. The male raptors also have a somewhat more traditionally reptilian color-scheme with more green blended with multi-colored streaks and tiny bumps on their bodies. Balancing scientific discoveries with sci-fi storytelling has been a trick the Jurassic Park franchise has pulled off since its inception, and the male Raptors of Jurassic Park III are one of the most visible examples.
3) Jurassic Park (1993)
The OG Velociraptor set the template for the speedy dino designs that would follow it, and Jurassic Park‘s design of the Raptors still stands out for how scary it still is. Under Stan Winston’s design, the Raptors of Jurassic Park were surprisingly monstrous and aggressive-looking for their time, and still carry both attributes over three decades later. Jurassic Park also devotes quite a bit of attention to the Raptor’s razor sharp teeth and claws, really selling the dinos as vicious, intelligent killers with a scaly, intimidating look to match.
2) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
The Velociraptors have a comparatively minor role in 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park, but they stand out for carrying an even more animalistic look and design similar to that of tigers. Compared the stealthy Raptors in Jurassic Park, the Raptors of The Lost World mask themselves until the last second before their attack, at which point their new design stands out with almost neon levels of brightness. It’s a nice touch that compensates with the Tiger Raptor’s relatively brief appearance in the third act of The Lost World, the dinos just as smart and fast but with a new color scheme to really make their return memorable.
1) Jurassic World – Blue
With 2015’s Jurassic World, not only did the Jurassic Park franchise finally return from apparent extinction like the very dinosaurs of its titular theme park, but the world was also introduced to the most beloved Velociraptor of all time, Blue. Trained by Raptor expert Owen Grady, Blue is so-named for the long blue streaks running down his back, the first ever such marks featured on any dino in the Jurassic Park franchise that make him instantly recognizable. Blue’s design also softens up the viciousness of past Raptor designs, presenting Blue as noble and intelligent with the loyalty of a dog devoted to his master. Blue’s design has stuck with him throughout the Jurassic World movies, and helped make him the biggest Velociraptor movie star the world has ever known.
Jurassic World Rebirth will be released in theaters on July 2.
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