Jurassic Park Needed Some Bark To Match The T. Rex's Toilet-Busting Bite
When Steven Spielberg unleashed "Jurassic Park" upon the masses in the summer of 1993, audiences were rocked by the master filmmaker's revolutionary blend of CGI and practical effects. The prehistoric teeth chompers had largely been represented by the spot-motion wizardry of Willis O'Brien ("King Kong") and Ray Harryhausen ("The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms"), but here they were, looking as tangible as ever. They were majestic, violent, and unpredictable creatures out of time. But what really mattered was that we got to see dinosaurs eat people!
"Jurassic Park" is a series of highs and lows, but the one thing that remains consistently awesome across every installment is the dino kills, whether it's Eddie Carr being ripped in half by two Tyrannosaurus rexes ("The Lost World: Jurassic Park") or Ken Wheatley's arm being devoured right in front of him by the Indoraptor ("Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"). An unnamed dino handler falls prey to a raptor containment gone wrong within the first scene of "Jurassic Park," but we don't get to see it. Funny enough, the first dino-human meal time we're privy to is that memorable moment when John Hammond's lawyer, Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferraro), is caught with his pants down by the T. rex.
In Entertainment Weekly's oral history of "Jurassic Park," Ferraro recounts wondering what his notable exit from the film would even look like:
"I remember Steven telling me when we first met that he was planning on having my character get eaten by the T. rex while he was sitting on the commode, and I was always worrying about how it was going to play until we shot it. And then I was more worried about it! I would be sitting there on the toilet on this enormous set while this big thing came down on top of me."
ParkBox Exclusive: Donald Gennaro
The people at Industrial Light & Magic made sure the T. rex was the star, but you can't acknowledge the film's lead dino without addressing its unique vocal influences. According to sound designer Gary Rydstrom, the vocals of the T. rex can be traced back to his own Jack Russell terrier (via Entertainment Weekly):
"The T. rex is doing this dog-like thing which kills its victim by shaking. That's how it kills the lawyer. For that, we recorded my dog, a little Jack Russell terrier. One of the keys to sound design is you can slow down sounds and make them sound big so a Jack Russell terrier playing with a rope toy played a half-speed or so makes a wonderful T. rex."
If you watch the T. rex closely during the scene, it really looks, behaves, and sounds like an oversized dog. Not only does it stand and tilt its head like one, but the way it gnashes Gennaro is not too dissimilar to how a playful puppy would play with its favorite chew toy.
Gennaro acts as the perfect fodder as one of the first victims of Hammond's corporatized science experiment gone wrong. His death is simultaneously terrifying, humiliating, and hilarious. The aspect of the scene I've always found especially funny is how the T. rex barges into the restroom and demolishes the entire shack, including every other toilet. But hey, if you're gonna go out like that, it might as well be by the hands of a dinosaur. Although seeing Gennaro's rag doll body rattle back and forth in the jaws of the T. rex is still a gruesome little jolt.
"Jurassic World Dominion" opens in theaters nationwide on June 10, 2022.