Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 24, 1993 TAG: 9306240035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LEIGH ALLEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Producer Kathleen Kennedy says no one younger than 8 or 9 should see it.
Director Stephen Spielberg considered releasing it with an "R" rating.
Novelist Michael Crichton, who wrote the book, won't let his 4-year-old daughter see it.
But most of the kids and their parents, at one of the Jurassic shows this week in Salem, said it was no big deal.
"They see worse horror movies on TV all the time and it doesn't bother them," said Gary Hagy, who took two 9-year-olds - his son Donald and a friend, Chris Giles - to see the movie at Salem Valley 8.
"They just laughed through it. They've got Freddie Krueger from `Nightmare on Elm Street' and Jason with the hockey mask and they just giggle at that."
"Jurassic Park" is Spielberg's ballyhooed summer movie about scientists who use genetic engineering to re-create dinosaurs for a theme park. Plans for the park get sidetracked when the dinosaurs break loose and begin feeding on the employees and children touring the park.
But the movie doesn't attempt to take any lessons from its own plot line.
Despite the criticism of its violence, "Jurassic Park" and its merchandise are marketed heavily toward children.
Universal Pictures has authorized the "Jurassic Park" name to appear on more than 1,000 items, from T-shirts to lip gloss.
McDonald's is encouraging movie fans to work up a "tyrannosaurus-size appetite" (in the movie, a tyrannosaur eats a large cow, a goat, parts of a car, one other dinosaur and, in one of the movie's most intense scenes, the theme park's lawyer).
But that didn't seem to bother 4-year-old Justin Stover, who said he was just "a little scared" during parts of the movie. Over all, it got a thumbs-up from Justin; his 9-year-old brother, Travis; and the boys' parents.
"I didn't think it was too bad. We paid attention to the ratings, so we knew a little about what to expect," said Jerry Stover. He said the boys see similar violence on television and said he did not think the movie was excessively violent.
The movie is rated "PG-13."
The warning that comes with that rating says parental guidance is "strongly suggested for children under 13" but does not prohibit those under 13 from entering the movie without a parent.
Emma Hunter Maxwell saw the movie with her nephew, Todd Burrow, and his friend Johnathan Katz.
Although it was frightening, she said, the educational value added by the realistic dinosaurs balanced out the violence.
"If you study about dinosaurs like they do, I think it was very well done," Maxwell said. "Some parts of it were a little technical and I even got lost. But they did better with understanding it than I did."
Todd Burrow agreed but warned that the movie might be too strong for someone a little younger.
"I think everyone over 8 should be able to see it," said the 9-year-old.
by CNB