Jurassic Park celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, and they've brought back one of the original film's stars to help commemorate the occasion. She may have been just a kid at the time, but it looks as though she can still capture the magic of an iconic scene all these years later.
Various franchises celebrate their anniversaries in different ways. Some might pull a Skyrim and drop yet another rerelease of what they're celebrating. Others will opt for a slightly more creative approach like the Lucasfilm 50th anniversary R2-D2 LEGO model. But it's always up to the anniversary-haver themselves to decide how the festivities will play out. In the case of Jurassic Park, they brought back a beloved character to do one of those funny TikTok thingies the kids are into these days.
Ariana Richards, who played the young Lex Murphy in 1993's Jurassic Park, has returned to the franchise for just a moment to help celebrate the big occasion. Taking to the official Jurassic World TikTok account, she pulled off a simple yet masterful recreation of her character's famous "Jello" scene. The original scene saw Lex pausing with a spoonful of the delicious translucent treat as danger approached, conveyed through her frightened expression and the jiggling gelatin. In the scene recreation, Richards does the same thing, plus 30 years.
Richards has since retired from acting, instead focusing on her painting career. Her work is quite good, even winning awards for artwork that would likely make Bob Ross proud. But even with her departure from the acting world, Richards did express interest in returning to the franchise alongside her costars. However, while Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum eventually appeared in recent Jurassic World films, neither Richards nor her fellow former child actor Joseph Mazzello (who played Lex's brother Tim) have been called back to the franchise. So it looks like this TikTok might be as much as Lex fans will get.
It's impressive how Jurassic Park went from the quintessential dinosaur horror movie to such a massive worldwide phenomenon. Sure, it might not be the pop culture singularity it once was, but Jurassic Park and Jurassic World are still basically household names at this point, and that's no small feat after so many years. The Jurassic World movies admittedly range from well-received to divisive at best, though. So it's understandable why some might have more fond memories of scenes like Richards' than more recent offerings.
Regardless, there's no denying the Jurassic Park franchise's enduring popularity. The original was such a huge moment in pop culture history, from its somehow still crisp visual effects to the timeless musical score from the legendary John Williams. It was a delight to see Richards help celebrate such a legacy.
Jurassic Park is available on Peacock.
Source: Jurassic World/TikTok