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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth

  • On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.
  • Professor Trevor Anderson receives his teenager nephew Sean Anderson. He will spend ten days with his uncle while his mother, Elizabeth, prepares to move to Canada. She gives a box to Trevor that belonged to his missing brother, Max, and Trevor find a book with references to the last journey of his brother. He decides to follow the steps of Max with Sean and they travel to Iceland, where they meet the guide Hannah Ásgeirsson. While climbing a mountain, there is a thunderstorm and they protect themselves in a cave. However, lightening collapses the entrance and the trio is trapped in the cave. They seek an exit and fall in a hole, discovering a lost world in the center of the Earth. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Science professor Trevor Anderson wasn't prepared to mind his teen nephew Sean ten days, while the kid's mother prepares their move to Canada. She stumbled across a box belonging to the knave's father, Trevor's brother Max, who went missing years ago. It contains a journal documenting his last journey, which happens to go to the very volcanic region in Iceland which Trevor's research, set up with Max, flashes as most notable. he decides to travel there and Sean insists to come along. They need a local guide and hire Hannah Ásgeirsson, who proves quite practical, while the Andersons provide ingenuity and bravado. Seeking shelter for a storm in a collapsing cave, they descend trough a volcanic exit into a road to the center of the world, and find it has its distinct fauna and flora, partially dinosaur-ancient, which adds to the dangers posed by the elements as they must seek a way out, which seems hopeless. — KGF Vissers
  • A scientist, his nephew, and a travel guide travel to explore the discoveries and mysteries that are in the centre of the Earth. Through their adventure, they begin to learn all the secrets that are hidden in the world and gain more understanding of the sciences. — RECB3
  • Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a science fantasy action-adventure movie. In this movie, the main characters are Trevor Anderson, Sean Anderson, Max Anderson, Hannah, Elizabeth. So, the synopsis of this movie is as follows. Trevor Anderson is a volcanologist and teaches the student in the university also. At the work, Trevor found that his brother's lab is being shut down because of a lack of funding. So, he comes home and sits in a chair to relax and found some messages on the answering machine. When he plays that recording, he found that the messages are from Liz (Max's wife and Sean's mother). He is forgotten that his nephew Sean is coming to spend some days with him. When Liz drops Sean, she leaves Trevor with a box of items that belonged to Max (Trevor's brother and Sean's father) who disappeared years before. Sean takes interest when Trevor says about his father, whom he never really had a chance to meet. Inside the box, Trevor discovers a couple of things. In that, he found the novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. Inside the book, he finds notes written by his brother. So, he goes to his laboratory to find out more information on the notes. There he decides that he must go to Iceland to investigate further. He decides to send Sean back to his mother, but Sean protest it, so he decides to bring Sean with him. They started looking for another volcanologist. When they get to that scientist, they meet his daughter Hannah, who informs them he is dead. She tells them that both her father and Max believed in that book. After some discussion, she offers to help them climb up to the instrument which suddenly started sending data. While hiking the mountain a lightning storm arrives and forces three of them into a cave. Because the lightning storm hit the cave, its entrance got collapses and trapping them inside the cave. So, they do not have any alternative way except to go deeper into the cave, which turns out in an abandoned mine. So, the three of them decide to go deeper into the cave to investigate for Hannah farther and Max into the mine. Suddenly they found a hole in a wall after hitting a trolly on the dead-end of the mine. While investigating the fall into a deep pit, taking them to the "Centre of the Earth". They all continue the travel until they discover a cave that Max lived in. They found some old journal of Max, meanwhile, Hannah discovers Max's dead body. So, they all bury him. At that point, Trevor reads a message from the journal that was written by Max on Sean's 3rd birthday. While reading Max's journal they realize that they must quickly leave, as the temperature is continuously increasing. Trevor figures out that they must find a steam power that can send them to the surface, and it must be done in 48 hours, or all of the water which creates the steam will be gone. Also, must do this before the temperature rises past 135 degrees. They begin by crossing the underground ocean, and suddenly the Trevor and Hannah got separated from Sean. So now Sean's guide is a little bird who has been present since the three of them entered the Centre. After Sean comes closer to the river, he encounters a Tyrannosaurus. Trevor who is searching for him saves by digging a hole in the wall and putting the Tyrannosaurus in a big hole. When they arrive at the river, they found it is dried up and all the water is on the other side of a wall. Trevor uses a flare to fire the magnesium in the wall and take out the water to create a powerful steam pressure to shoot them outside that place. When they throw out from that pit and destroy the home of an Italian man, they found that it was Italy where they have landed. Sean gives him a diamond (which he had found earlier in the caves) for the penalty of the destroyed house. Trevor founds that Sean has many more in his backpack, and they can be used for funding his brother's laboratory. At the end of this movie, Trevor hand over a book titled "Atlantis" on the final day of Sean's visit with him (and Hannah), suggesting they could hang out during Christmas break.

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Journey to the center of the earth (2008), common sense media reviewers.

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

Formulaic-but-exciting family action-adventurer.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Kids learn about Jules Verne and his novel Journey

Working together through adversity, a shattered fa

Hannah is no damsels in distress, but a woman clea

Somewhat violent but not gory scenes of carnivorou

Two sweet kisses.

The word "schist" is used as a replaceme

A fair amount, including mentions of Mountain Dew,

Parents need to know that there's plenty for kids to love in this swashbuckling adventure that brings Jules Verne's classic novel to life. Some special effects may be scary for younger tweens, especially the dinosaurs and other creatures that attack humans -- and especially when viewed in 3-D. But there's…

Educational Value

Kids learn about Jules Verne and his novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, which a group of scientists in the film believe to be factual. Professor Trevor Anderson is a volcanologist, so there is talk of the science of volcanoes and some encounters with volcanic tubes, magma, geysers, caves, and gems formed in the caves. There are also scenes with prehistoric creatures.

Positive Messages

Working together through adversity, a shattered family becomes close, finds hope, love, and continues the work of Sean's lost father.

Positive Role Models

Hannah is no damsels in distress, but a woman clearly capable of taking care of herself and others, which is nice to see in this type of movie. Trevor Anderson is smart, resourceful, and brave, but distant at first with his surly teen nephew, Sean. Eventually they find common ground.

Violence & Scariness

Somewhat violent but not gory scenes of carnivorous plants attacking humans, dinosaurs feasting on anything that moves, and flying fish on a rampage.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

The word "schist" is used as a replacement for "s--t."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

A fair amount, including mentions of Mountain Dew, PSP, and The Family Guy , plus signage for Iceland Air.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that there's plenty for kids to love in this swashbuckling adventure that brings Jules Verne's classic novel to life. Some special effects may be scary for younger tweens, especially the dinosaurs and other creatures that attack humans -- and especially when viewed in 3-D. But there's hardly any swearing and there are plenty of role models, notably a female mountain guide who clearly isn't a damsel in distress. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

  • Parents say (15)
  • Kids say (37)

Based on 15 parent reviews

Terrifc Fun For Whole Family

What's the story.

Ever since his brother, Max, disappeared in Iceland a decade ago, scientist Trevor Anderson ( Brendan Fraser ) has slowly watched the laboratory they built together slide into obscurity. He's lost his passion for teaching, and on top of everything, he's supposed to care for his estranged nephew, Sean ( Josh Hutcherson ), for 10 days -- after not seeing him for years. While going through Max's personal effects with Sean, Trevor discovers clues that could explain his brother's mysterious disappearance. With the help of mountain guide Hannah (Anita Briem), the two set off to retrace Max's steps, only to unwittingly embark on a journey unlike any other.

Is It Any Good?

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH touts itself as being the first digital 3-D feature, and there are moments when the investment seems to pay off. When the dinosaur looms over you, it definitely looms . But for the most part, there simply aren't enough scenes in which the technology appreciably makes a contribution. Which isn't to say that the special effects aren't fantastic -- they are. They'll keep audiences, especially the young viewers the movie seems targeted to, on the edge of their seats. And the world depicted is indeed fantastical -- perfectly Vernian.

The lead actors exhibit a wonderful rapport. It's a good thing: They're pretty much together for two-thirds of the movie. Briem is especially good; earnest but not saccharine. And Hutcherson, from Bridge to Terabithia , continues to impress. But the dialog is stilted, especially in the beginning, and the eventual bonding between Trevor and Sean seems forced. Why not skip the rote setup and just jump into the action instead?

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what the journey means for all three lead characters. On its face, this is a thrilling adventure, but how does it affect them emotionally? Does it bring them closure?

Does the movie do Verne's book justice? If so, how? If not, why not?

Do you think the movie is trying to convey any particular messages?

Movie Details

  • In theaters : July 11, 2008
  • On DVD or streaming : October 27, 2008
  • Cast : Anita Briem , Brendan Fraser , Josh Hutcherson
  • Director : Eric Brevig
  • Studio : New Line
  • Genre : Action/Adventure
  • Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Adventures , Book Characters
  • Run time : 89 minutes
  • MPAA rating : PG
  • MPAA explanation : intense adventure action and some scary moments.
  • Last updated : September 10, 2023

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

When I was a kid, the 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth , with James Mason, Pat Boone, and a lot of slithery cool dinosaurs, was one of my favorite movies to catch on Saturday-afternoon TV. It had a certain odd gravitas, with its crew of explorers getting increasingly desperate in their attempt to survive. (The sight of an actor as refined as Mason running around in rags was a shock.) The new Journey to the Center of the Earth , whether or not you see it in 3-D, has about as much gravitas as a helium balloon. Brendan Fraser , as a floppy-haired academic looking for holes in the planet, takes his 13-year-old nephew and a pretty Scandinavian guide along with him, and the three never stop moving — rocketing around on diamond-mine carts; plunging through a muscovite floor and falling down, down, down; scurrying away from a T. rex (him again!) and other familiar terrors. Last year’s Beowulf employed 3-D with a certain fairy-tale savvy, but Journey is just the new version of a 1950s comin’-at-ya roller coaster, with a tape measure, trilobite antennae, and giant snapping piranha thrust at the audience. Yet wandering around the earth’s stalactite-dripped core exerts a primal appeal even in a dumb kiddie joyride like this one. In the best scene, Fraser’s nephew clings to floating magnetic rocks above the deepest abyss you’ve ever seen, a situation that could give even jaded videogame kids vertigo. B-

Journey To The Center Of The Earth Script - Dialogue Transcript

Journey to the center of the earth script.

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

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Inside 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'

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journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

In the crowded summer movie marketplace, a great gimmick can make a film stand out, provide­d it's done well and fits the story. As the first live-action flick shot in digital 3-D , "Journey to the Center of the Earth" scores big on both counts. This latest adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 novel is an eye-popping thrill ride thanks to the illusion of depth created by the 3-D process.

Under the direction of first-time feature director Eric Brevig, who served as visual effects supervisor on such films as "Pearl Harbor," "Men in Black," and "Total Recall" -- for which he won an Oscar -- "Journey" significantly improves on the old-style 3-D experience that required paper glasses with blue and red colored lenses. Here, you quite realistically get flying piranhas and a T-Rex snapping at -- and drooling on -- you as the underground adventure unfolds.

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

In this re-imagination of the tale first adapted as a Pat Boone feature in 1959 and subsequently in several made-for-TV versions, Brendan Fraser plays Trevor, a seismologist and professor whose scientist brother Max disappeared on an expedition years before. When Max's visiting teenage son (Josh Hutcherson) shows him an annotated copy of the Verne novel bearing directions to an underground portal in Iceland, uncle and nephew jet off to investigate, with the aid of a local guide (Anita Briem).

The Verne novel serves as a jumping off point rather than a template for the screenplay by Michael Weiss, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, because as visionary as the tale was in the 19th century, "it's way out of date for today's audiences," Brevig explains. "Half the journey was just getting to Iceland, and they walk for months to the center of the earth . The fantastic part is when they're down there. So we kept the spirit of it but modernized it."

According to Brevig, who'd replaced another director on the project when it went 3-D, the story and characters evolved significantly before filming began in Montreal in June 2006. Post-production took more than a year due to pervasive CG elements, around 750 shots split between four visual effects houses. Those posed their own set of challenges, but with a shooting schedule of a mere 48 days, getting the complicated movie completed was equally difficult. Brevig explains why in the following sections, with additional input from actor Hutcherson and visual effects editor Ed Marsh.

Visual Arts

Featured creatures, locations and logistics.

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

"The idea was to present the audience with things that they've never seen before. Using modern visual effects tools and computer graphics , I can create an environment that's pretty much seamless," begins Brevig. "As the adventure progresses, things get more and more fantastic-a much heightened reality-- and that's echoed in the photography, the lighting and the color palette of the movie" he outlines.

That intensity is heightened in 3-D ; a process that involves filming images with two cameras simultaneously at a 90-degree angle using mirrors so that the viewer, wearing special glasses, sees a single three-dimensional image.

He assembled a team well versed in 3-D and digital HD filmmaking and tested all available systems before choosing the one pioneered by James Cameron and Vince Mason. " For 90 percent of the movie, we used a beam splitter camera. A beam splitter is a mirror that you can both see through and see reflections off of," he explains. "By mounting two cameras, or at least the lenses and the optical sensors from two cameras, onto this rig, you can adjust the lenses so they're different distances apart. For the big close-ups in the movie, I wanted the lenses to be very close together -- closer than the two lenses can fit. So by using this mirror rig, the lenses can appear to be 3/4 of an inch apart. This allows me to get big close-ups that don't hurt your eyes when you see the movie."

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

Brevig commissioned a compact version of the camera that mounted on a crane or a Steadicam , or used as a hand-held camera. "To my amazement, it worked from the first day through the end of photography. We had one hour of down time the entire production," he notes. But the 3-D format nevertheless presented other challenges after filming wrapped.

"Shots went through at least five or six iterations more than they would have for a regular film just to handle 3-D issues," comments Ed Marsh. "If you spend all day slaving over a tiny 24-inch monitor making the 3-D look perfect, don't be surprised when the image is projected onto a 40-foot theater screen and things aren't in the right place. You have actors embedding in the wall or you have those ducking objects that are way in front of them, or behind them. So you have to work big, early and often," by viewing footage on a large screen.

Because of limitations to the distance the eye can register 3-D, it's difficult to create an illusion of depth for objects more than 100 feet away. The filmmakers solved this by creating depth references, such as a rope in the climbing sequences, particles and bubbles in the water, and the flock of flying glow birds in the underground cavern that establish size and depth of the space. We'll give you the 411 on these and "Journey's" other CG creations in the next section.

  • Having survived a "trial by fire" on "Journey," Eric Brevig is ready for whichever of several effects-heavy possibilities is scripted and ready to go first.
  • Josh Hutcherson will play a vampire, "a hardcore bad guy" in "Cirque du Freak," and the now-catatonic survivor of a diner shooting in the indie drama "Winged Creatures."
  • Ed Marsh recently completed work on the 2-D thriller "Eagle Eye," due out Sept. 26.
  • Bren­dan Fraser stars in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" opening Aug. 1, "Inkheart" due Jan. 9 and "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" slated for next August.

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

"The idea for a glowing bird had come up in one of the scripts prior to me coming on, and my idea was having these things swarm, to make it a magical moment," relates Eric Brevig. "There are shots where it looks like they're flying in the movie theater. Everybody reaches out and tries to grab one."

Computer-generated sequences like this were shot against a green screen , so the actors had to react to invisible objects that would be added later. "For the swarm shots I would just give them a place on the stage ceiling to look at, and for the close-up where the bird casts a glow onto Josh, we had a guy with a stick and a light bulb ," says Brevig.

Similar methodology was utilized for the giant albino Tyrannosaurus Rex, carnivorous plant and razor-toothed flying fish that menaced the characters. For the latter, the actors "were responding to blue Nerf footballs," notes Ed Marsh.

Brevig provided artwork and animatics -- cartoon versions -- of all the action scenes to show the actors how the scene would play. Nevertheless, 15-year-old Josh Hutcherson, who had helpful experience working with green screen on "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Zathura," found it difficult to react to "a big, terrifying dinosaur when in reality it's a little pink dot. But Eric did a really good job of drawing it out for us and giving us an idea of what it was going to look like in the end."

The dinosaur posed different problems for the designers. "By choosing to have a bright white albino dinosaur they were making the 3-D harder for themselves. They had to play with skin tones and textures to make it believable because it could look like it's not finished yet," explains Marsh. "So they spent a lot of time adding dirt and scarring to make it look more real. Then there was the drool issue -- how far could we push it," he says of the T-Rex saliva, noting that Brevig didn't want to go too far over the top, but "the studio wanted a big 3-D moment" -- and it got it.

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

As for the giant Venus flytrap that terrorizes Trevor, approval for the sequence was granted at the last minute, "So planning fell by the wayside," reveals Marsh. "We didn't have time to check the shots. It was literally two camera teams working for 18 hours with Brendan Fraser pantomiming the whole thing, with the grand hopes that we'd be able to clean it up in post. We spent a very long time figuring out how the plant should look and move, and changing that motion.

To Brevig, the most technically complex sequence was the raft getaway, "because water is very complex and challenging to simulate. There's ocean and fish and sea serpents, all CG, all interacting with each other and the actors." And, adds Marsh, "in 3-D, you can't cheat. The foam coming off the top of waves had to be rendered like foam coming off the top of waves. It required a much tighter tracking of every element and its position."

We'll discuss other tricky action sequences in the next section.

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

A couple of days in Iceland notwithstanding, "Journey" was mainly shot indoors on soundstages in Montreal , "so we were spared the weather issues," notes Brevig, who still had to work out how to build 40 sets on four stages, "knowing that we can't film and build on the same set at the same time. How do you change the lighting from an orange-lit desert to the blues and greens of the waterfall set without holding up the set builders below?" The solution? A pre-set lighting grid on a dimmer board that could be changed with the push of a button. "It probably saved us two weeks' production time."

Since big action set pieces are time-consuming to shoot, even with animatic blueprints as guidelines, Brevig "had two 3-D rigs so we would shoot two shots at a time, giving me more editorial coverage and a faster pace. I made a still frame grab of every shot and put them up on boards on the set in shooting order. We'd take them off one by one as we shot the sequences," he details.

His team had only one night to shoot an underwater sequence at the Olympic Stadium pool in Montreal, so "safety divers getting in the shot" were the least of his worries. But advance planning on the lighting end and not having to reload the digital camera allowed him to finish in seven hours.

Several physically demanding scenes involved suspending actors in midair in harnesses while they delivered dialogue. They were shot against a blue screen for part of the free-fall to the center of the earth, except for the portion where the camera is looking up at them. "We put the actors on their sides and we'd dolly past them with the camera on its side," Brevig explains.

He used a similar low-tech method for the waterfall scene, placing the stars on a 50-foot table covered in black plastic. "We went out in the parking lot at night, aimed fire hoses up the table and dragged the actors by wires on their feet. We put the camera on its side so it looks like it's vertical."

journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

Josh Hutcherson enjoyed doing "as much as they'd let me do" stunt-wise, including rock climbing and the sequence where he shoots into the air on a giant kite. He was spared injuries, but Fraser incurred several, including a burned hand from getting too close to an exploding magnesium flare.

"That was day three of shooting and we had to shut down for two days. Not that I wished it on him, but it allowed me 36 hours to go to Iceland and scout locations," notes Brevig, adding that Fraser hurt his back later on. "He was on a big rig and a got smacked in the tailbone. He took the brunt of the injuries, but everyone got scrapes and bruises from brushing against concrete and plaster."

Such SNAFUs aside, "Journey" came in well under its $70 million budget, according to Brevig, who'd happily direct a sequel -- mention of the search for the lost city of Atlantis was included precisely for that reason, he says. "I'd do it in a heartbeat," Hutcherson concurs.

­For more information on this movie, 3-D formats and related topics, journey over to the next page.

Lots more information

Related howstuffworks articles.

  • How Digital 3-D Works
  • How 3-D Glasses Work
  • How Computer Animation Works
  • How CFX3 Works

More Great Links

  • Journey to the Center of the Earth -- Official Site
  • Eric Brevig and Josh Hutcherson interviewed June 20, 2008
  • Ed Marsh interviewed June 23, 2008

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Trevor Anderson

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Occupation: Scientists

Trevor Anderson is the main protagonist from Journey to the Center of the Earth . He is portrayed by Brendan Fraser. He loves his family and carries the family name Anderson in the first movie. In Journey 2: The Mysterious Island , his nephew  Sean carries the family name Anderson.

He was first seen chasing Max Anderson, Trevor Anderson and Sean Anderson's father, in his caverns. Max wasn't Hannah Asgeirsson's father. A fiery earthquake begins during the chase. Max then falls to his death yelling "TREVOR!". But this was only Trevor's nightmare. He dosen't appear in the rest of the movie until the other chase.

He then gets his fish to attack Trevor, Hannah, and Sean. But they were eaten by a group of Elasmosaurus.

Next, after Hannah drank water, the dinosaur breathed life into his carnivorous plants. Trevor cuts off the head of a carnivorous plant. He then stabbed it. He then said "A large, carnivorous plant?". Then another carnivorous plant almost strangles Hannah to her death. It then roared. It took the staff that Trevor held. He grabed another of those. He punches it, killing it, and its slime was on his left hand. Last, he pulls the last plant's roots, killing it and saving Hannah. The last plant surviving, was killed by Trevor doing backhand. Now the Giganotosaurus was really angry. He rushed into his rocky caverns and waited. Sean then came across a boneyard, heard ghostly noises, and ran. Then he hid behind a rock, and looked around, hoping that whatever it was that was chasing him was gone. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, something slimey fell down right on his feet. Sean then immediately realized, that it was in fact, right behind him. he looked up, and saw this 80 foot long prehistoric monster!

After drooling on Sean’s face, he then tried to kill Sean, and broke an arch with his massively powerful head. He even trapped Sean in a small crevase. Trevor eventually saves him, and both were heading for the geyser. However, the evil dinosaur still chased them. He then accidentally ran on some muscovite, a type of rock. He then falls into magma.

Then, the lava went higher and hotter, proving that the Albino Giganotosaurus was still alive. Offscreen, he tries to kill Trevor, Sean and Hannah in the lava. But his plan backfired. Trevor blew up the wall and water was going to the lava. The Albino Giganotosaurus was really really mad now. But lava finally destroyed him and hopefully, forever.

QUOTES: “This was your old mans PSP.”

“Bolivia, Mongolia, Hawaii.”

“It’s a good read”

“Hana? You knew that, right?”

“Hana, your track ends.”

“Don’t ask”

“Hanvunsflaah? I don’t know. No. What?”

“If you mean annoying, then yeah we’re there.”

“WHOA HEY no you don’t.”

“HANG ON...HANG ON...HANG ON” “STOP SAYING THAT.” “SORRY IT JUST KEEPS COMING TO MY MIND”

“Shaun. If your mom asks you were you’ve been, tell her I took you to Italy”

  • Though he doesn't appear in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island , in a deleted scene he was mentioned by Sean that he went on an expedition.
  • 1 Sean Anderson
  • 2 Albino Giganotosaurus
  • 3 Trevor Anderson

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Classic Reconsidered: The Lost World and Journey to the Center of the Earth

September 15, 2016 Leave a Comment

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As we explained in this month’s feature article , archaeology—which is focused on human history—is different from paleontology—which is focused on other species. But these two fields are often thought of together: when many people imagine ancient human history, they often imagine ancient creatures, even if those animals didn’t live at the same time as humans. They imagine woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. And dinosaurs.

The connection between archaeology and dangerous creatures is an element from classic literature. Consider two adventure novels that depict intrepid scientists and explorers who end up in undiscovered places where they find terrifying beasts and unique human—or humanish—communities.

Perhaps the most famous example comes from Jules Verne, who also wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea , the work we discussed in our marine science issue . In 1864, the influential French author wrote  Journey to the Center of the Earth , an adventure novel about a professor and his nephew who discover an underground world inhabited by human-like beings. About fifty years later, in 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the famed creator of Sherlock Holmes) wrote  The Lost World , another adventure novel, about a scientist, an adventurer, and a reporter who travel to a land where dinosaurs still live, and where an indigenous people are in the midst of a war against “ape-like creatures.” (It’s available for free at Project Gutenberg .)

As you read one of these two books (or both!), consider the following questions. Afterward, tell us what you think by submitting an essay on one of these topics to Your Turn  or sending your review to Recommended Reading  and you might be published in next month’s issue!

  • Verne’s work has been turned into a number of movies, and Doyle’s was a precursor to popular films like  Jurassic Park —which even borrowed Doyle’s title for the second film in the series. Why do you think these stories have captured readers’ imaginations for so long? How do you think that has changed how people think of ancient human history?
  • How are science and scientific discovery presented in these books? How do the characters approach learning new things? Do you think they are good models for archaeologists to emulate?
  • Why do you think both books include the presence of “ape-like” humans? How are non-European and non-white peoples represented in these books? Do you think those two things are connected? Do you think those elements of the books would have changed if the books were written today?

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Pola discovers an imbalance in the Earth's magnetic field and goes to the Verne dimension.

Diego and his friends are amazed by the Verne dimension; they find Pola, who is on a mission to restore balance to the Earth's magnetic field; Diego interferes with the mission to help his grandmother; Pola reveals a secret to Diego.

Diego and Pola must fix the seepage in the Earth's core.

Diego and Pola save everyone from the giant spider; the cave floods and the currents break the group apart; Ana and Laura try to survive quicksand; Diego, Violeta and Pedro face claustrophobia; Pola and Pompilio deal with a toxic river.

Pola and Pompilio sail on the shell of a giant turtle down a dangerous toxic river.

Andrea, Pipe and Evelyn arrive at the North Pole; Martin investigates the North Pole base; he discovers that the Calderon family is pretending to be on a mission to save the Poles, but they are actually drilling the Earth in search of tungsten.

Cast & Crew

Óscar Jaenada

Pompilio Calderón

Margarita Rosa de Francisco

Alejandro Calva

Gabriel Goity

Julio Verne

Sebastián García

  • KIDS & FAMILY

Tame sci-fi action adventurer OK for families.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

PG-Rating (MPA)

Reviewed by: Sheri McMurray CONTRIBUTOR

Copyright, New Line Cinema

Geology and the Earth

“Same planet. Different world.”

T he 1959 film version of “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” with James Mason, Pat Boone, and a lot of slithery cool dinosaurs, was one of my favorite movies as a kid that finally made it to TV in living color. It had a certain odd ominous air, with its crew of explorers getting increasingly desperate in their attempt to survive. Somber and serious and a lot of creep-out factor compared to this new breathtaking, high-tech special effects CGI wonder.

Based very loosely on the 1864 book of the same title by Jules Verne, this “Journey to the Center of the Earth” directed by Eric Brevig, Academy Award winner for visual effects (“Total Recall,” “Pearl Harbor”), wows the audience with its incredible special effects. Now in spectacular 3-D, the 2008 version is an adventure well worth the price of admission. Your kids will love it, and hey, what better way to expose them to some science without them even knowing it.

Trevor Anderson ( Brendan Fraser ) is an unconventional scientist who is a die hard “Vernean,” which means he is of a select group who believes Verne’s book was not speculative fiction but scientific fact. Anderson makes his way to Iceland with his nephew Sean ( Josh Hutcherson ) in tow, on a 10-day exploratory expedition. The reason being, he believes that the copy of the Verne novel with mathematical equations and hidden symbols written in it’s pages by his long lost brother, tells the way to enter the craggy volcanic openings in the mountains of Iceland and literally travel to the center of the Earth. They are joined by a local mountain guide named Hannah Ásgeirsson (Anita Briem) and actually discover a passage into the very center of the Earth, just as the book, actually an Inner Planet Travel Guide , tells.

The 3-D effects were great from the very first moment when Professor Anderson brushes his teeth, swishes and spits right out into the audience, through thrilling explosions, slobbering gigantic T-Rex’s, roller coaster rides along a dangerous old mining track (Ala Indiana Jones), flying fish baseball, and beautiful visions like neon glowing birds in flight and wisps of puff balls blown off of giant dandelions that magically swirl off the screen and around your head.

In my opinion, the best scene: When Trevor’s nephew, Sean, clings in fear of his life to floating magnetic rocks above the deepest abyss you've ever seen! Truly a situation that could give even jaded video gamers stomach wrenching vertigo.

This is a movie perfect for the entire family. The little ones may be scared by the effects that pop out of the screen in very realistic fashion and the special 3-D glasses may be awkward for small faces, but I would say anyone nine or over will have no problem with the glasses or the film’s visual stimulation. Little boys, especially will love the dinos, and Fraser’s obvious “cool” humor. I found the PG rating for adventure action and some scary moments appropriate. There is a reference to having “dibs” on Hannah, the beautiful young mountain guide, by both guys, but it is said in the spirit of good fun. Trevor and Hannah do have a kiss, but it is sweet and did not make me uncomfortable.

I especially would like to direct kids and parents to the official “Journey to the Center of the Earth” Web site http://www.journey3dmovie.com/ , which is full of fun things to see and do, striking images and movie and cast bios, along with info on the making of the film. The Escape game is fun along with The Flip Side, a scientific well of information about the opposite sides of planet Earth. A very impressive inclusion is The Ásgeirsson Institute’s fictional Web site http://www.progressivevolcanology.com/ , which looks exactly like an actual Web site full of links and information for any believing “Vernean” explorer.

I would say any kid or evan adult who never has read the novel by Jules Verne will have an uncontrollable urge to seek out Journey To The Center of The Earth at stores or their public library, after seeing this visually beautiful and thrill-a-minute movie. It is great to note that Hollywood can make live action movies for the entire family to enjoy and has brought a new dimension to the art form of 3-D to theaters. Oh and one more thing, a nod is taken at the conclusion of the film that Professor Anderson and Sean just might be off on a new adventure to find the lost city of Atlantis in the future.

I look forward to that!

Violence: Minor / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

  • Young people

IMAGES

  1. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

    journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

  2. Journey to the Center of the Earth (3/10) Movie CLIP

    journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

  3. Journey To The Center Of The Earth (2008) || Dinosaur Chases Sean And Trevor (HD)

    journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

  4. Journey to the Center of the Earth (9/10) Movie CLIP

    journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

  5. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008): Giganotosaurus screen-time

    journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

  6. Journey the Center of the Earth [2008]

    journey to the center of the earth dinosaur scene

VIDEO

  1. When The T-Rex Shows Up🔥| Jurassic World 4k HDR #shorts #shorts

  2. Dinosaur chase scene [HD 1080p] || Journey to the center of the earth movie clips (2008)

  3. Journey To The Center Of The Earth ~ Still Worth Fighting``

  4. Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D: TV SPOT

  5. Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D

  6. “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (dino studios productions) Trailer

COMMENTS

  1. Journey to the Center of the Earth (9/10) Movie CLIP

    Journey to the Center of the Earth movie clips: http://j.mp/1xVWytXBUY THE MOVIE: http://bit.ly/2cyXu2GDon't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2...

  2. Journey to the center of the earth (2008)

    PlotHowever, he encounters a Giganotosaurus, and Trevor - who desperately is searching for him - saves him.©New line cinema (2008)

  3. Dinosaur chase scene [HD 1080p] || Journey to the center of the earth

    FILM DESCRIPTIONAfter drooling on Sean's face, he then tried to kill Sean, and broke an arch with his massively powerful head. He even trapped Sean in a smal...

  4. Journey to the Center of the Earth

    Journey to the Center of the Earth (French: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles A Journey to the Centre of the Earth and A Journey into the Interior of the Earth, is a classic science fiction novel by Jules Verne.It was first published in French in 1864, then reissued in 1867 in a revised and expanded edition. Professor Otto Lidenbrock is the tale's central ...

  5. Albino Giganotosaurus

    2008 film He was first seen chasing Max Anderson, Sean Anderson's father, in the caverns. A fiery earthquake begins during the chase. Max then falls to his death yelling "TREVOR!". But this was only Trevor's nightmare. He dosen't appear in the rest of the movie until the other chase. Sean then came across a boneyard, heard ghostly noises, and ran. Then he hid behind a rock, and looked around ...

  6. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

    Journey to the Center of the Earth: Directed by Eric Brevig. With Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Aníta Briem, Seth Meyers. On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.

  7. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008 theatrical film)

    Journey to the Center of the Earth (also promoted as Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D or Journey 3D) is a 2008 American 3D science fantasy action-adventure film directed by Eric Brevig and starring Brendan Fraser in the main role, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, and Seth Meyers.Produced by New Line Cinema, it is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 novel (which had previously been adapted ...

  8. Journey to the Center of the Earth

    Journey to the Center of the Earth - Journey To The Center of the Earth | IMDb. Menu. Movies. Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight. TV Shows.

  9. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

    Synopsis. Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a science fantasy action-adventure movie. In this movie, the main characters are Trevor Anderson, Sean Anderson, Max Anderson, Hannah, Elizabeth. So, the synopsis of this movie is as follows. Trevor Anderson is a volcanologist and teaches the student in the university also.

  10. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959 film)

    Journey to the Center of the Earth (also called Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth) is a 1959 American science fiction adventure film in color by De Luxe, distributed by 20th Century Fox.The film, produced by Charles Brackett and directed by Henry Levin, stars James Mason, Pat Boone, and Arlene Dahl. Bernard Herrmann wrote the film score, and the film's storyline was adapted by ...

  11. Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) Movie Review

    JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH touts itself as being the first digital 3-D feature, and there are moments when the investment seems to pay off. When the dinosaur looms over you, it definitely looms. But for the most part, there simply aren't enough scenes in which the technology appreciably makes a contribution.

  12. Journey To The Center Of The Earth (2008) || Dinosaur Chases Sean And

    About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright ...

  13. "Journey to The Center of The Earth"

    The three then use various things to whack those fish away, with one nearly biting Hannah on her clothed butt. Large sea dinosaurs then show up and eat the fish, and the trio initially seems to be in worse trouble, but the dinosaurs are only after the fish. During all of that, they must also contend with rough seas during a t-storm.

  14. Journey to the Center of the Earth

    When I was a kid, the 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth, with James Mason, Pat Boone, and a lot of slithery cool dinosaurs, was one of my favorite movies to catch on Saturday-afternoon TV.It ...

  15. Journey To The Center Of The Earth Script

    Voila! Finally, the Journey To The Center Of The Earth script is here for all you fans of the Brendan Fraser movie. This puppy is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of the movie to get the dialogue.

  16. Inside 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'

    In the crowded summer movie marketplace, a great gimmick can make a film stand out, provide­d it's done well and fits the story. As the first live-action flick shot in digital 3-D, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" scores big on both counts.This latest adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 novel is an eye-popping thrill ride thanks to the illusion of depth created by the 3-D process.

  17. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) ... but they did use real Rhinoceros Iguanas dressed up to look like dinosaurs, so I consider this a scene with lizards. The second lizard scene. When they get to the true center of the earth, the magnetism sucks all of their things off the raft (even things that are not made of metal - science wouldn't ...

  18. Journey to the Center of the Earth 1959

    Also Known As: Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the EarthIn Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1880, Professor Oliver Lindenbrook is knighted to the acclaim of hi...

  19. Trevor Anderson

    Occupation: Scientists Trevor Anderson is the main protagonist from Journey to the Center of the Earth. He is portrayed by Brendan Fraser. He loves his family and carries the family name Anderson in the first movie. In Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, his nephew Sean carries the family name Anderson. 2008 film He was first seen chasing Max Anderson, Trevor Anderson and Sean Anderson's father ...

  20. Classic Reconsidered: The Lost World and Journey to the Center of the Earth

    In 1864, the influential French author wrote Journey to the Center of the Earth, an adventure novel about a professor and his nephew who discover an underground world inhabited by human-like beings. About fifty years later, in 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the famed creator of Sherlock Holmes) wrote The Lost World, another adventure novel ...

  21. Journey to the center of the Earth

    The Official Reversed/Backwards version of the Running from the T-Rex scene from Journey to the center of the Earth.© All Rights Reversed

  22. Journey to the Center of the Earth

    Dinosaur Land Andrea, Pipe and Evelyn arrive at the North Pole; Martin investigates the North Pole base; he discovers that the Calderon family is pretending to be on a mission to save the Poles, but they are actually drilling the Earth in search of tungsten. ... In the opening scene of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, Jules Verne writes ...

  23. Journey to the Center of the Earth

    T he 1959 film version of "Journey to the Center of the Earth," with James Mason, Pat Boone, and a lot of slithery cool dinosaurs, was one of my favorite movies as a kid that finally made it to TV in living color. It had a certain odd ominous air, with its crew of explorers getting increasingly desperate in their attempt to survive. Somber and serious and a lot of creep-out factor compared ...