Jenna Ortega & Glen Powell's 5-Season Sci-Fi Masterpiece Has Aged Like Fine Wine
Working with Netflix has been a cornerstone of the careers of many modern stars, but few feel as synonymous with the platform as Jenna Ortega and Glenn Powell. Wednesday made Jenna Ortega a household name, while Glenn Powell received his first leading roles with the likes of 2018 romcom Set It Up and 2024’s Hit Man, paving the way for his current success.
However, while Wednesday and Hit Man may be the Netflix projects most associate with Jenna Ortega and Glenn Powell, the pair also lent their voices to one of the best modern projects in a longstanding Hollywood franchise. Debuting in 2020 and running for 5 seasons, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous brought the world of Jurassic Park to the small screen in an animated family-friendly package. The show wasn’t just good; it was a small slice of brilliance, especially compared to the franchise's recent theatrical releases.
Set during and after the events of 2015's Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous follows six teenagers stranded on Isla Nublar after the park collapses into chaos. It’s a straightforward premise, and one that captures everything that made 1993's Jurassic Park so enduring. The Jurassic World movies may feel like they’ve lost their way, but Camp Cretaceous stands as proof that the franchise has far from run out of potential.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Looks Even Better Next To The Franchise's Recent Movies
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous isn’t just a fun tie-in to the Jurassic Park movies, but is actually the best modern project in the franchise when it comes to capturing the spirit of the original 1993 film. It earns its place as the strongest modern Jurassic Park/World project not because of nostalgia, but on its own merits. Rather than relying on dinosaur encounters, it embraces the same balance of spectacle and storytelling that made Jurassic Park so memorable, something that the Jurassic World movies have lacked.
Of course, Camp Cretaceous’s format gives it an advantage when it comes to storytelling, as it’s not restricted by theatrical runtime. The Netflix show follows a core cast, the Nublar Six, who develop substantially over 5 seasons. However, while the TV series format does make this easier, it’s still a valid victory over the Jurassic World movies. From 2015’s Jurassic World to 2022’s Dominion, the same core group of characters returned, but none felt like they grew. Even with the advantage of more screen time, Camp Cretaceous's strength makes Jurassic World’s weakness here impossible to ignore.
The prolonged runtime of a multi-season TV show also allows the series to explore Jurassic Park’s operations in ways the films rarely manage. The original Jurassic Park movie fascinated audiences because it explored the park itself as much as the dinosaurs within it. The first Jurassic World briefly revisited the theme park aspect, but its sequels largely abandoned it. Camp Cretaceous returns to those ideas, and this renewed focus makes the world of Jurassic Park feel like a living ecosystem rather than simply a backdrop for dinosaur attacks.
Speaking of dinosaurs, the prehistoric beasts once again feel like animals instead of generic sci-fi monsters. Even dangerous species behave according to instinct rather than existing purely as unstoppable villains. This is exactly what made 1993’s Jurassic Park so compelling, and why decisions like introducing hybrids in 2015’s Jurassic World remain controversial. While the recent Jurassic World movies chase increasingly elaborate sci-fi concepts, Camp Cretaceous remembers why audiences first fell in love with the franchise. Standing beside the modern films, the Netflix series doesn't merely hold up. It arguably surpasses them.
What Future Jurassic Park Movies Can Learn From Camp Cretaceous
The Jurassic Park franchise remains one of Universal's biggest properties, but the modern Jurassic World movies have delivered diminishing creative returns. Audiences continue comparing every new release to the enduring brilliance of 1993's Jurassic Park, and the recent films simply don’t come close. It’s clear a course correction is needed, and with a sequel to 2025's Jurassic World: Rebirth in early development, the series has another opportunity to rethink its direction.
If Universal wants to recapture the franchise's former heights, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous should be the blueprint. There’s so much that it simply did better, and lessons that can be learned from its strengths. For example, rather than juggling multiple global storylines or world-ending conspiracies, Camp Cretaceous focuses on a handful of young survivors simply trying to stay alive. That intimate perspective creates strong emotional investment, which is something the franchise has increasingly lacked since the very first movie in 1993.
The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies have drifted toward increasingly elaborate conspiracy-based plots. Camp Cretaceous shifted the emphasis back toward ordinary people trying to survive on a remote island filled with dinosaurs. It’s simple, but it works. Any future Jurassic World film would do well to remember this. For the Jurassic franchise, going back to basics would be a great leap forward. This also applies to the dinosaurs. Camp Cretaceous doesn’t portray them as unstoppable killing machines. Instead, they're simply animals acting on their instincts. The property needs less Indominus Rex, and more "clever girl".
There is still tremendous enthusiasm surrounding Jurassic Park, and the franchise hardly lacks potential. What it’s lost is a clear understanding of why audiences connected with it in the first place. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous proves the answer isn't bigger action sequences or more genetically engineered hybrids. It's compelling characters mixed with immersive worldbuilding that doesn’t try to put a spin on the tried-and-tested premise of “dinosaurs are back in the present day”. If future Jurassic films build on those foundations, the franchise’s future will be very bright indeed.