The Scrapped JURASSIC PARK Animated Series That Could Have Changed the Franchise

The Jurassic Parkfranchise is bigger than ever, spanning multiple sequels, spin-offs, and even a successful animated series with Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.

But long before Netflix brought dinosaurs to the small screen, Universal had an entirely different vision for a series project, a primetime animated series that would have picked up right where Steven Spielberg’s original 1993 blockbuster left off.

It was called Escape from Jurassic Park, and unlike most animated adaptations of the time, it wasn’t just a kid-friendly cash grab. This was going to be a serious attempt to expand the Jurassic Park universe in a way that blended traditional animation with early CGI, aiming for a broad audience.

The project was being developed by The Real Ghostbusters and G.I. Joe veteran Will Meugniot, along with artist William Stout.

The concept was to craft a visually awesome series and Stout described it as something that would “break the barriers of cartoons at the time,” featuring a “graphic novel look” combined with “quite a bit of CG animation.”

Most animated shows based on blockbuster films back then like Men in Black: The Animated Series or RoboCop: Alpha Commando were designed to fit into the Saturday morning cartoon mold.

But Escape from Jurassic Park was meant for primetime. It was ambitious. It was expensive. And it would have brought back many of the original characters from the film, including Dr. Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, and John Hammond.

Escape from Jurassic Park was already laying the groundwork for similar ideas we saw in the Jurassic World films back in the '90s.

According to a story treatment revealed by Jurassic Outpost, the first season would have followed BioSyn, InGen’s corporate rival, as they attempted to create their own version of Jurassic Park—DinoWorld. As expected, it goes horribly wrong, leading to a full-scale dinosaur outbreak in South America.

The show would have expanded the mythology of Jurassic Park, introducing new species of dinosaurs and pushed the story in ways that the films at the time hadn’t explored. Given the massive scale and the potential for deeper world-building, it’s hard not to imagine what Escape from Jurassic Park could have meant for the franchise moving forward.

With a veteran animation team, a compelling concept, and a franchise at the peak of its popularity, you’d think Escape from Jurassic Park would have been a no-brainer. But ultimately, it never made it past the development stage.

Universal pulled the plug before it could go into full production, likely due to the high costs and the risk of making an animated series that wasn’t strictly aimed at children.

The report explains: “It’s not entirely clear why the series was abandoned – some reports say Steven Spielberg pulled the plug after getting frustrated with all the merchandising for Jurassic Park while working on Schindler’s List.

“However, while there may be some truth to that fact, I have also heard he may have pulled the plug to avoid overlap, or canonical inconsistencies with the planned theatrical sequel (something I have heard happened again with a Jurassic World animated series).”

At the time, primetime animated shows were still a rarity, and something as ambitious as Escape from Jurassic Park would have required a level of investment that Universal just wasn’t willing to commit to.

Stout has even claimed that a fully animated trailer for the show exists, though it has never been publicly released. Whether that footage will ever surface remains to be seen, but I hope it does! For now, Escape from Jurassic Park remains a fascinating “what-if” project to think about.

“The story shares many similarities with Michael Crichton’s The Lost World – which was released in 1995. These include Lewis Dodgson, and a BioSyn team stealing eggs from nests to build their own park elsewhere, all while animals show up on South American mainland leading to a government coverup (due to fears of it hurting tourism).

“Of course, there are many differences as well – the animated series takes place on Isla Nublar, the home of Jurassic Park, while The Lost World takes place on Sorna, Site B. Further, the outbreak of dinosaurs on mainland is due to BioSyn, who purchase 100 square miles in The Amazon to build ‘DinoWorld’ – a fully fledged Dinosaur safari park with hotels, monorails, and more (much like the park in Jurassic World, ‘DinoWorld’ is inspired by Disney World.)

“The story featured many brand new concepts and  dinosaurs – some even got Kenner tie-in toys in 1994, including the ‘Dino Wranglers’, and the fanged Lycaenops, or the Komodo Dragon-like Ornithosuchus. I think perhaps the most intriguing part is Season 1 ends with Jurassic Park finally opening to the public (much to the dismay of Malcolm, Grant, and Sattler) .

“You could easily imagine the second season following a similiar arc of  the story presented in Jurassic World, only with BioSyn shenanigans, the threat of animals on the mainland, and 100% less militarized hybrids.”

I think a show like this could’ve worked! I would’ve loved to see it. You can read the story bible for the series here. I’ve also included some concept art.