My friend and former RFMC contributor Shaune has a 4-year-old son who isn’t into “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous” (Netflix). Meanwhile, I gobble up every episode like Big Eatie presented with a platform of raw steaks. He makes fun of me while watching “Blippi” with his kid.
“Cartoons that adults can also like” have been around for decades, but “Camp Cretaceous” — at least anecdotally – has taken it to the other extreme. Kids can like this show if they want to, but it’s for adults. Even if it makes me a target of scorn, I admit I enjoyed this show with less and less irony as its five seasons went along.
Partly, “Cretaceous’ ” age-defying appeal is explained by the fact that those of us who were 14 when “Jurassic Park” came out didn’t get a toon version when we were kids. Better late than never. Part of it is because “Camp Cretaceous” has a three-pronged appeal, none of the prongs exclusively kiddie in nature.
“Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous” Season 5 (2022)
Netflix, 12 episodes
Showrunner: Zach Stentz
Starring: Paul-Mikél Williams, Sean Giambrone, Kausar Mohammed
Spielbergian
Above all, Zach Stentz’s show does what all good TV does: It gives us characters we like and therefore root for. The Spielbergian element is the makeshift family. Sammy, who talks too much, and Yaz, who initially doesn’t talk much, grow closer. Darius and Kenji become like brothers. Previously self-centered Brooklynn finds a boyfriend in Kenji; Ben is brought out of his shell by fast-growing ankylosaurus bestie Bumpy.
(SPOILERS FOLLOW.)
The Nublar Six survive several months together amid raptors, carnotauruses and evil corporate bigwigs; that’d permanently bond anyone. A flash-forward of a few years confirms this; they remain “Camp Fam 4 Life.” It’s no small thing for the animators to make new character models – heck, it’s costly to even give them new outfits – but it’s worth it to cinch “Cretaceous’ ” theme.
Although it’s not given “very special episode” treatment, the biggest talking point in this political era will be the romantic pairing of Sammy and Yaz. It’s told from Yaz’s nervous perspective in “The Leap” (episode 7). Even though there was perhaps no more chance of Sammy rejecting Yaz than of either of them getting eaten by a dinosaur, Yaz’s nervousness comes through and brings out a viewer’s inner teen.
The Spielbergian makeshift family has the most age-defying appeal, but a nod must go to the viscerally appealing dinosaur chases, evasions and showdowns. The sheer awesomeness of the animators’ work always makes me forgive the fact that the youngsters are constantly way too close to the carnivores. (Do kids have magic force fields that protect them in the “Jurassic” saga?)
On this score, the battle royale between “good” and “evil” dinos in “The Last Stand” (11) technically tops anything from the films with the sheer number of creatures fighting on the screen.
Crichtonian
Furthering “Cretaceous’ ” status as an adult show is the Crichtonian aspect. One particular repeated image exemplifies Season 5: a dinosaur with a drone hovering above, sending out mind-control waves. At one point, the kids are chased by raptors in a newly eerie fashion: They aim to stay within the safe zone provided by the drones; the raptors will pounce if the drones should falter.
Later, the villains control brain-chipped dinos – literally with video-game-style controllers. Season 5 confirms the ethics of dino treatment as “Cretaceous’ ” core theme. The kids steadfastly believe dinos should not be mind-controlled; that’s the ultimate infringement of their freedom.
The villain, Kenji’s dad Mr. Kon (wonderfully voiced by Andrew Krishino), sees the dinos as products to be monetized. His mind control of the dinos is not merely a necessary evil; to him, there’s nothing at all wrong with it. It goes back to the films’ “living creatures or theme-park monsters” argument, but it’s personalized here because the hero-villain dichotomy is so clearly demarcated. (Kenji never thinks mind control is morally OK; he merely desires a bond with his dad.)
Extrapolating cutting-edge tech to corporatized business is very Crichtonian, but admittedly, the series pulls up short of earning comparisons to a Crichton novel. Kon sells a collection of dinos to Biosyn for millions. But Kon’s MantahCorp island, with its various bio-domes, must be a billion-dollar enterprise. The backing finances are never explained. Kon is a super-villain with inexplicable super-funding, and that’s one aspect where this is an old-school cartoon.
Trevorrowian
Thirdly, “Cretaceous” delivers the geeky joy of continuity links with Colin Trevorrow’s “Jurassic World” trilogy – something single-digit-aged viewers won’t give a lick about. “Jurassic” nerds can now put together a timeline of the kids’ actions from the end of “Jurassic World” through the end of “Fallen Kingdom,” with overlaps and references in between. (Plus, MantahCorp Island must be one of “the Five Deaths” mentioned in “The Lost World,” along with Nublar and Sorna.)
The coolest bit of continuity is Season 5’s setup of “Dominion,” as Mr. Kon sells his dinosaur supply to Biosyn, as represented by Lewis Dodgson. (Adam Harrington doesn’t quite capture Campbell Scott’s distinct rhythms, but the cartoonists have his back.)
The remote-control chip production is thwarted by the kids in the grand finale. But the idea of dinosaurs as controllable weapons is continued by the new set of villains in “Dominion,” particularly in that epic motorcycle-versus-atrociraptor chase through the streets of Milan.
In five brisk seasons totaling 49 episodes, Stentz and his team hone the themes of Spielberg and Crichton and give long-time fans lots to chew over. The only people left in the dust by “Camp Cretaceous” seem to be little kids. But that’s OK; they’ll catch up when they’re ready.