I wanted feathered dinosaurs in “Jurassic World.” But no, we got scaly dinosaurs. Then I heard that Dr. Horner supported re-activating the genes in chickens that gave them toothy snouts instead of beaks, long tails, hands instead of wing bones. Chickens, dino-activated! And thinking about that animal, I can tell you why they didn’t use something like them in the Jurassic movies.
Chickens are not scary. Their behavior is decidedly predatory; they stalk, attack, rend and share their prey with their mates and chicks. I have seen them be as vicious as any small predator. It’s not a side you usually think of for them. I have battled roosters, backed off of furious hens when I disturbed their chicks, and taken a couple to the butcher when they were too dangerous to a small child. But they are still chickens, still hilarious, still ingrained in our subconscious mind as being as harmless as a squash.
Dinosaurs look like alligators, crocodiles, those non-domesticated predators with no “harmless”, absurd comparison. They make for a better threat. Even the giant Moas of Australia (New Zealand? Pacific rim islands?) don’t actually look scary, because … well, because they look too familiar. So I get why they kept em scaly.
But it seems to me another movie needs to be made, with these chicken-dinos, and the poor humans that have to watch out for their ankles …
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I recently read about someone planning a remake of “The Birds.”
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But, there is that one skeleton of the small dino found with the actual imprint of his feathers and if I remember right his head and snout were much more velociraptor-ish then chicken beak – and I guarantee you, if you put feathers on a ‘Raptor I will still be terrified over it – you put it in a tutu and I will still have to change my pants if one jumps out at me.
Best movie moment – that last scene in the original movie where you look at the pelicans flying and your stomach kinda twists funny and your throat tightens a little and in wonder you think – “Wow, the dinos really are still here. Right there…… How awesome”
And I do admit, I look at my chickens a little differently too 😉
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That is an interesting observation. Even mammals are scary when their behavior is threatening enough, but in general appearance avian creatures seem almost as cuddly and benign, despite sharing much in common with reptiles, which can be rather affectionate with mammals if they are habituated to be. True though, as fierce as it might actually be, the thought of a giant chicken is hilarious, not intimidating.
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