Last August, we took you on a deep dive through the different variants of Velociraptor the Jurassic Park franchise introduced us to over the years. Today, we delve a little further into a specific aspect of the raptors of the first movie to debunk a common misconception that has plagued fans and Universal collaborations for years: the original Jurassic Park Velociraptors were NOT green.
The misconception of the green velociraptor has been perpetuated ever since promotional material from Jurassic Park hit the mainstream in 1993. The main culprit for this fallacy stems from a particular set of photos that most people have stumbled across at one point or another. Here is just a taste of few pictures from that set.
Green Velociraptors? Not quite… read on.
As you can see, these pictures give the raptors a faint, but noticeable, green tint to their skin. This mis-color can be attributed to several factors: blue stage lighting, a set full of green plants, and post-shoot color corrections.
This has been problematic for a variety of reasons, but the issue has really spread like wildfire when it comes to merchandising. Mattel’s recent Legacy Collection has been a hit with casual fans and serious collectors alike, but the toy line is not without its faults. In this case, raptor color is, well…the big one. Take the Muldoon/Raptor figurine set for example. The ill-fated park warden is sporting his signature khaki look, but we cannot say the same about the accompanying Velociraptor.
Green, green, and more green. Since the green raptor promo pictures were some of the most common materials distributed by Universal, it would not be a stretch to speculate that many partners, like Mattel, are pulling the color palettes for their toys directly from those images. Perhaps even Universal believes this is the proper color? The result is a recreation that is not exactly authentic to the source material. And let’s take a look at the SDCC Exclusive Hammond figure that Mattel just announced. See if you can predict where we might take issue with the set.
You guessed it. Another green raptor (and as one commenter comically noted, a stand that resembles “a bowl of guacamole”). Tasty Mexican food similarities aside, the raptor color is the real takeaway. So, while many of you know what we’re about to say, let’s set the record straight. Without any doubt, we can tell you the Jurassic Park raptors were BROWN. Photos unmarred by color corrections or studio lighting reveal exactly how the predators were supposed to look.
Stan Winston’s studio took great care in creating the scariest possible version of the Velociraptor, including the color selection. The finished product was a molted brown color to allow the animals to blend in with the earthy tones of the Costa Rican forest. And you do not just have to take our word for it. The folks over at the Stan Winston School have shared numerous pictures of the original animatronic raptors.
— Stan Winston School (@SWinstonSchool) March 1, 2017
As you can see, not a hint of green. Just watch the film!
The Winston team put so much work into building the scariest and most advanced and lifelike animatronics on the planet for Jurassic Park, as you can tell from the painstaking details in each figure. In our minds, it’s time we honor the legacy of Stan Winston’s work and get these toy raptors (or any other homages to the original, like potential appearances in Jurassic World Live Tour or Camp Cretaceous) back to the way they were meant to be colored…Brown, inspired by a Leopard.
What do you think about the colors used for the raptors in toy sets? Does the green color bother you? Sound off in the comments below and let us know what you think!
