A pitch trailer for Escape from Jurassic Park, an animated series that was abandoned in 1994, has resurfaced online more than three decades after the film’s release. The 75-second video was discovered through a Reddit post connected to an auction of forgotten production items, prompting both excitement among fans and claims from some viewers that it was AI-generated.
Jurassic Outpost authenticated the footage by comparing it with previously known production material, FirstShowing reported. The trailer presents a visual mix of traditional 2D animation and early computer-generated imagery for vehicles and dinosaurs, reflecting the project’s attempt to combine animation styles.
Illustrator William Stout, who designed characters and dinosaurs for the series, published preparatory artwork in 2015. The show was to bring back characters from the film, including Tim and Lex, and introduce creatures not seen in it, such as the saber-toothed Lycaenops.
Kenner documents shared alongside the video, including a letter dated June 18, 1993, linked the series to a second wave of Jurassic Park action figures. Accounts differ on why the project was dropped. One version says Steven Spielberg, worn out by work on Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List, declined to watch the demo. Stout has said Spielberg was tired of merchandising, while other reports suggest he objected to the series being commissioned without his involvement. Universal ultimately abandoned the project in 1994.
The franchise did not return to animated television until the late 2010s, with Lego productions followed by Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and its sequel, Chaos Theory, on Netflix.
Sources: Numerama.