I Let My 7-Year-Old Watch ‘Jurassic Park’—Here’s His Honest Review

Three words: He loved it. And the moments he most appreciated—and felt scared during—were unexpected. First, I’ll admit that the original film comes with a bit more setup time in terms of the premise. We had to pause to explain some of the larger concepts (the now debunked myth that a T.Rex couldn’t see you if you stood still; what it meant to retrieve dino DNA), but the minute the kids showed up on-screen, the movie was instantly more relatable. (I loved seeing my son’s tensed-up shoulders soften a bit.) Their presence—and humor—made it all feel a bit more fun. Let’s just say that prior to their arrival, my son was very confused about why on earth Dr. Grant wasn’t that into kids. (“Who doesn’t like kids?” he wondered aloud.)

But in terms of a fear factor, here’s what most surprised me: As we watched, I did my best to prep my son for any upcoming “scary” scenes. (This is his preference—to be given a bit of a head’s up.) I was certain the velociraptor scene at the end in the kitchen with the kids would take the cake; that scene terrified me when I was little. But, instead, the scene my son was most bothered by was the T. Rex one. Mainly, the moment when the goat disappears, then when its remains land on the roof of the kids’ car. Also, when the T. Rex pushes the car over the edge into the ravine surrounding its pen. (“Pause it! Pause it!” he yelled out of fear.) A quick parental perspective: I do think the soundtrack—and Williams’ score—plays a role in what I call delicious suspense.

We did a bit of fast forwarding through some of the more bloody parts—like when Ellie thinks she’s finally reunited with Mr. Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) in their effort to manually turn on the power, only to realize he’s dead. But this was only on first watch: My son has now watched the film a few more times since. (He mainly skims to the bigger dinosaur scenes, but still.)

After watching the film, he definitely felt proud of himself and—my favorite part—Jurassic Park only served to cement his love of dinosaurs even more. He relished the chance to re-hash the scary scenes over and over again with us (“What part were you afraid of?”) but also to ask bigger picture questions (“Wait—they left the island, but where are the dinosaurs now?”). His face when I told him California, a reference to The Lost World sequel.

Is that film next on our list? Perhaps.