TRADING CARD CLOSE-UP # 13: Jurassic Park (1993)

In the summer of 1993, Steven Spielberg's big-screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's best-selling novel, Jurassic Park, dominated the box office (rendering competition like the Governator's Last Action Hero virtually extinct).

The blockbuster movie, which concerned an island of genetically-engineered dinosaurs, was one of the earliest to feature good CGI effects, but more than that, it was a "summer event."

Which meant -- basically -- that you could acquire Jurassic Park bling everywhere you went. There were "super sized" dinosaur drinking cups at McDonalds, or you could get your fill of JP toys at toy stores. And yest, you could even collect trading cards related to the film.

On the last front, Topps offered a Jurassic Park set which included "movie cards," "stickers" and "holograms." Each pack sold for a mere 69 cents, and there were over 150 cards to collect in all.

Some cards re-told the plot of the film. For instance, on the back of the card entitled "The Sick Triceratops" ( #28), there was a paragraph related to that event in the film, which read:

"Grant, Ellie and the kids abandon the Jurassic Park Explorer cars when Grant spots something curious in the field. Soon joined by Malcolm and Gennaro, they stumble upon a large Triceratops, lying on its side, obviously ill."

Other Jurassic Park cards featured fun-filled facts about the scarifying dinosaurs featured in the film. For instance, the Dilophosaurus card (#4 in the set), reported:

"The Dilophosaurus is about forty feet tall [sic], spotted like an owl with a brilliantly colored crest that fans out around its neck when aroused. Seemingly playful and friendly, it kills by spitting on its victim from as far as twenty feet away - with a lethal paralyzing venom which blinds and paralyzes its prey."

Additional cards in the set formed to create a complete puzzle. Other cards focused on the creative personnel behind the film's creation. This grouping was called "The Stan Winston Studio sub-set," and an example was card #76, "The Art of Crash," which concerned the biography of dinosaur designer and illustrator Mark "Crash" McCreery.

By 1993 I was pretty much out of trading card collecting (Alien 3 was the last new set I spent my hard-earned money on...), and working hard at the Supreme Court of Virginia to pay the rent for our first apartment. But somewhere along the line (a flea market in NC, I guess...), I acquired a Jurassic Park set and have enjoyed looking at the cards from time to time.

Remember, as a kid I was something of a dinosaur nut, so it was a dream come to true to see the dinosaurs rendered so beautifully in Jurassic Park (film and cards).

I can watch any of those Jurassic Park movies any time and still get a kick out of them. But they bore Kathryn to tears, so I have to pick my moments very carefully.