10 Best Dr Alan Grant Jurassic Park Moments
2. Hugging the Triceratops
Jurassic Park
Once the scientists have taken everyone off-trail, they encounter a sick Triceratops. The lack of awareness the rangers have of the animals’ diet and behaviours start to Ellie (Laura Dern) angry. Grant’s obvious glee at meeting a dinosaur – particularly one that isn’t going to eat him – is delightful. His smile is wider than his face as he listens to the Triceratops’ laboured breathing. The animatronics at the time were so impressive that, as a child watching this scene, it was hard to believe that the creature on the screen wasn’t real. Everyone wanted to be Dr Alan Grant in that moment.
This scene is special because it is another reminder that grumpy old Grant is a child at heart; he digs up dinosaurs because he loves them.
1. “You are alive when they start to eat you.”
Jurassic Park
This is our first introduction to the good doctor. It’s a scene of exposition, and we learn a lot. He is a revered expert in his field, he is a technophobe, he is not good with people.
From the back of an impressed crowd looking at the remains of a Velociraptor through a monitor comes the shout, “that doesn’t look very scary – more like a 6ft turkey.” Armed with his beloved velociraptor claw fossil, Dr Grant explains to the shouter (a boy) what a raptor would like to do to him.
It’s tense, a little scary, and it’s setting out that, in this world, humans are on the backfoot.
This scene is immensely satisfying because it sets expectations. We think we know what we’re going to get from Alan Grant, and in every subsequent scene he gets further and further away from this initial picture. And that’s why we love him.
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Over the course of three films, but primarily the 102 minutes of the original Jurassic Park, Dr Alan Grant became an icon of the silver screen. His bluntness, and the way it unravels in key moments of awe, made him one of the most relatable and watchable protagonists of his era, an unforgettable character.
Which Dr Alan Grant moments do you like the most? Are there any underrated ones you’d like to bring our attention to? Let everyone know in the comments below, and be sure to follow @thefilmagazine across social media – including Facebook and X (Twitter) – for more insightful movie lists.
Alan Grant is MY dad