Tyrannosaurus in popular culture

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A computer-generated T. rex breaks free from its enclosure in the highly acclaimed 1993 Steven Spielberg film Jurassic Park.
A computer-generated T. rex breaks free from its enclosure in the highly acclaimed 1993 Steven Spielberg film Jurassic Park.

Tyrannosaurus rex is unique among dinosaurs in its place in modern culture. From the beginning, it was dubbed "The Prize fighter of antiquity" by an eager press and its namer Henry Fairfield Osborn named it Tyrant Lizard King in respect of its being the largest carnivorous dinosaur yet described. At the time of its discovery it was the largest known land predator in history and although it has now been displaced in this respect first by the larger Giganotosaurus and then Spinosaurus, it is still popularly perceived as the most fearsome of all prehistoric creatures. Tyrannosaurus, along with its distant relative Allosaurus, has come to represent the quintessential large, meat eating dinosaur in popular culture and is thought of by people the world over as "King of the Dinosaurs" as its name suggests.

Contents

[edit] Film appearances

Kong wrestles a Tyrannosaurus rex to protect Ann Darrow in a famous scene from the original King Kong film. Of all the scenes in the movie, this was the most difficult and time consuming to animate.
Kong wrestles a Tyrannosaurus rex to protect Ann Darrow in a famous scene from the original King Kong film. Of all the scenes in the movie, this was the most difficult and time consuming to animate.
Sharptooth, a villainous T. rex, battles Littlefoot's Mother in the 1988 Don Bluth animated Film The Land Before Time.
Sharptooth, a villainous T. rex, battles Littlefoot's Mother in the 1988 Don Bluth animated Film The Land Before Time.

T. rex has played a major role in these films:

  • Adventures in Dinosaur City - An anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus named Rex is one of the film's main protagonists.
  • Carnosaur - A genetically engineered Tyrannosaurus, which has been given a small amount of human DNA, battles with two construction machines driven by the main characters at the climax of the film.
  • Carnosaur 2 - Another artificially created T-Rex is found in a nuclear storage facility, and battles a forklift at the film's climax.
  • Carnosaur 3 - Yet another genetically engineered T-Rex is accidentally hijacked by a terrorist group, which is eaten by the T-Rex and three raptors. The T-Rex is lured onto a ship, where its head is blown off with explosives just before the entire ship explodes.
  • Fantasia - The Tyrannosaurus was featured twice during this Disney film, the first in which a Tyrannosaurus terrorizes a large herd of several different dinosaur species, then fights a winning battle with a Stegosaurus (This sequence is technically impossible, since Stegosaurus had been extinct for millions of years before T. Rex appeared). The second is a sequence showing the death of numerous dinosaurs in the heat of a hot sun. This perhaps shows how the last of the dinosaurs died after a climate change.
  • Godzilla - Godzilla is not a Tyrannosaurus, (a fact explicitly mentioned in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah: he is, in fact, a "Godzillasaurus") but his design was partially inspired by one.
  • Ice Age - Tyrannosaurus is seen briefly during a scene in the movie, but plays no large role in the movie.
  • Jurassic Park - Tyrannosaurus is the main dinosaur in the film, as well as its first sequel, after it is brought back to life using blood from a fossilized mosquito. After breaking free of its enclosure, the Tyrannosaurus proceeds to hunt and kill scientists and tourists remaining on the island it was placed on.
  • The Lost World: Jurassic Park - The Tyrannosaurus reprises its role as the lead dinosaur for the sequel to Jurassic Park. In this film, an infant Tyrannosaurus is seen.
  • Jurassic Park III - For this sequel to the Jurassic Park series, the Tyrannosaurus is defeated by the larger Spinosaurus in the opening stages of the film. The defeat, however, did little to sway the public popularity of the Tyrannosaurus.
  • King Kong (1933) - King Kong battles a Tyrannosaurus in a climatic scene to the movie while trying to protect Ann Darrow.
  • King Kong (2005) - Actually "Vastatosaurus rex", a fictional species which supposedly evolved from T. rex, though the screenplay refers to the dinosaur as T. rex, and one of the movie scenes on the DVD is called "The T-Rex Battle". Instead of fighting one as in the original film, Kong battles three all at once.
  • Rebirth of Mothra III - A T-Rex made an appearance when Mothra went back in time to the Cretaceous Period to defeat Cretaceous King Ghidorah.
  • T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous - The semi-educational IMAX 3D film features the Tyrannosaurus in various time travel sequences, as well as its discoverer Barnum Brown.
  • The Land Before Time - The series featured Sharptooth and many others Tyrannosaurids. A young, friendly Tyrannosaurus named Chomper becomes an important minor character to the film series.
  • The Last Dinosaur (1977) - A wealthy trophy hunter dupes a team of scientists to lead him to a hidden pocket of primordial life. After being decimated, they kill a T-rex with an improvised catapult.
  • Meet the Robinsons - This movie features a T-Rex named Tiny as the pet of the Robinsons' family.
  • Night at the Museum - The movie features a T-Rex skeleton chasing Ben Stiller in a Museum.
  • Planet of the Dinosaurs - A Spaceship crashes on an uncharted planet, inhabited by creatures identical to Dinosaurs, including a Tyrannosaurus.
  • Prehysteria - A baby T-Rex named "Elvis" (after Elvis Presly) is one of many baby dinosaurs featured in the film. The name appears to be a pun; Elvis Presly is the "King of Rock n' Roll", and Tyrannosaurus Rex means "Tyrant Lizard King."
  • Raptor - In the 2001 Roger Corman movie the creatures are said to be Tyrannosaurus rather than the Velociraptor the title refers to. In fact, the word Raptor isn't used throughout the entire film.
  • Theodore Rex.
  • Toy Story - In the Disney/Pixar film Toy Story and its sequel Toy Story 2 Tyrannosaurus is portrayed as a T rex toy named "Rex".
  • Toy Story 2 - "Rex" appears again in this film.
  • The Valley of Gwangi - Gwangi is technically meant to be an Allosaurus, but Ray Harryhausen based his model for the creature off a Tyrannosaurus. Harryhausen often confuses the two, stating in a DVD interview "We called it an Allosaurus, occasionally... they're both meat eaters, they're both Tyrants... one was just a bit larger then the other."
  • We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story - A friendly, intelligent, genetically enhanced Tyrannosaurus named Rex is the film's main character and narrator.

[edit] Television appearances

Peter Griffin transforms into a T. rex in the Family Guy episode "Family Guy Viewer Mail". Another Tyrannosaurus rex would be seen in a cutaway gag in the direct-to-DVD Family Guy movie, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.
Peter Griffin transforms into a T. rex in the Family Guy episode "Family Guy Viewer Mail". Another Tyrannosaurus rex would be seen in a cutaway gag in the direct-to-DVD Family Guy movie, Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.
  • Barney & Friends - As the title says, the main character is Barney, a 6'4" purple Tyrannosaurus Rex.
  • Black Cat - In this Manga/Anime series a Tyrannosaurus called Flora appears as the mascot of a rich woman.
  • Blackadder: Back & Forth - Blackadder encounters a T. rex while time-travelling in this one-off special.
  • Dexter's Laboratory - A T-Rex appeared in the episode, Jurassic Pooch.
  • Dino-Riders - The arch-villain, Lord Krulos, used a Tyrannosaurus rex as his mount.
  • Dinosaucers - The arch-villain of the program, "Genghis Rex", is an evolved Tyrannosaurus.
  • Dinosaurs - The television series featured a Tyrannosaurus (Roy Hess, named after the petrol company) as the Sinclair's neighbor.
  • Dinosaur Planet - Tyrannosaurus appears briefly at the end of the third episode stalking Edmontosaurus.
  • Dinozaurs -In this anime series there is a tyrannosaurus with the ability to transform who goes by the name of Dino Tyranno. Dino Tyranno is the leader of the Dino Knights. He and the other 7 Core Dino Knights reside in the Dinoterium as skeleton-displays in the musiem. He wields the Silver Sword.
  • Doctor Who - The Tyrannosaurus rex made a brief appearance in the episode "Invasion of the Dinosaurs".
  • Fairly OddParents - A Tyrannosaurus appeared in the episode, Remy Rides Again.
  • Futurama - Fry rides on a Tyrannosaurus rex in the episode "I Dated A Robot", it was one of the things Fry has always wanted to do. He also feeds it a pig, in which it eats Fry's hands.
  • Kyouryuu Sentai Zyuranger - Geki aka "TyrannoRanger" in Kyouryuu Sentai Zyuranger, which is a part of Japan's Super Sentai series, uses the power of the Tyrannosaurus. Also, later the Sentai program Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger had a character, Ryouga Hakua aka "Abared", use the power of the Tyrannosaurus as well.
  • Land of the Lost - "Grumpy" is the nickname given to a recurring Tyrannosaurus Rex which is always chasing after the Marshall family. In the 1991 version, "Scarface" is the name given to a T-Rex who had a scar covering his right eye.
  • Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Jason Lee Scott, a character in the program, had the power of the Tyrannosaurus. In addition, a later character, Conner McKnight from Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, used the Tyrannosaurus as a power source as well. Both of these shows are based off the sentai footage from Zyuranger and Abaranger.
  • Prehistoric Park - A pack of Tyrannosaurus feature heavily in the series' first episode as Nigel Marven attempts to capture one. Their growing pains are also heavily featured throughout the six episodes of the series, culminating in an escape attempt by the female, Matilda, in the final episode.
  • Red Dwarf - The crew of Red Dwarf encountered a Tyrannosaurus in the two-parter episode Pete when they accidentally created one by de-evolving a sparrow.
  • The Simpsons - Homer Simpson encounters a T. rex when he travels back in time in the episode Treehouse of Horror V. The animal attacks Homer, but he kills it by sneezing and infecting it with the common cold. In another episode Bart Sells His Soul, Bart Simpson images calling his sister Lisa out into the front yard and then spraying a T-Rex sponge toy with the garden hose, which turned it into a real T-Rex that would chew Lisa in its mouth. However, when Bart tried this for real the toy was washed away into a sewer opening instead.
  • Teen Titans - One of Beast Boy's morphs is that of a green Tyrannosaur. Rarely seen, it is his most powerful.
  • The Transformers - T rex appeared as the modes of several different Transformers, including Dinobot leader Grimlock, as well as being the robot mode of the Decepticon city Trypticon . In Beast Wars, Tyrannosaurus also featured as the alternate mode of Predacon leader Megatron( the Beast Wars and Beast Machines version rather than the G1 incarnation). He was also altered into a metallic version of a Tyrannosaurus in later series.
  • The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs - Tyrannosaurus has one of the main roles in the first episode of the series when pitted against aTriceratops in an animated fight. The program seeks to find which dinosaur would have defeated the other.
  • Walking with Beasts - Tyrannosaurus is featured briefly at the beginning.
  • Walking with Dinosaurs - Tyrannosaurs are featured heavily in the last episode of the documentary series.
  • When Dinosaurs Roamed America - Tyrannosaurus has one of the main roles.
  • The Wiggles - In this Australian children's TV show the character "Dorothy the Dinosaur" is a stylized adaptation of a Tyrannosaurus.
  • The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius - Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen encounter a Tyrannosaurus in the episode Sorry, Wrong Era.
  • Valley of the T-Rex - T-Rex is the focus of this programme and what Jack Horner was looking for.
  • Wicked Science - On the first episode, Toby creates a Tyrannosaurus clone which has to fight later. The same returns in the Season 1 finale, now a pet for Elizabeth.

[edit] Computer and video games

Various incarnations of, and creatures based on T. rex have also appeared in computer and video games:

[edit] Toys

Megatron in the form of a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Megatron in the form of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Numerous Tyrannosaurus merchandise and toys have been produced, particularly after the Jurassic Park films:

  • The famous Carnegie Museum Dinosaur Collection toy line released two versions of the dinosaur; the second version is more in line with modern scientific understanding, and feaures a better paint job.
  • In the Lego Dino Attack line the Tyrannosaurs came in two colours (green and red), both of which stand 25 cm tall. Both feature light-up eyes and tongues, and have hinged jaws for "dino-chomping action".
  • In the Lego Bionicle line, the Bahrag twins have great resemblance to T.Rex.
  • Various large scale Tyrannosaurus rex toys were released for the Jurassic Park toyline, including the Electronic T. rex, Young T. rex, Thrasher T. rex, Bull T. rex and Omega T. rex.
  • The King Kong action figures included Vastatosaurus Rex, an evolved version of the dinosaur as featured in the 2005 film.
  • The Transformers characters of Grimlock, Snapdragon, Overkill, Trypticon, Gigastorm, Megatron and T-Wrecks each turn into a Tyrannosaurus rex.
  • In the Zoids model series, the Godkaiser, Geno Saurer, Geno Breaker, Berserk Fury, Gairyuki and Bio Tyranno are all patterened after the Tyrannosaurus, although the God Kaiser's resemblance to Tyrannosaurus is minimal at best. Gojulas Giga resembles a Tyrannosaur as well but is actually a Giganotosaurus. The Deadborder also resembles a Tyrannosaurus, but is actually based on its close relative Tarbosaurus, although an unreleased Hasbro variant would have been named "Battle Rex". An unreleased Gravity Zoid also exists, which is based on a Tyrannosaurus. Also, various Organoids are based on Tyrannosaurus.
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex is Monster in My Pocket #6, but appears to be a legal way of including Godzilla without paying a license. A more accurate likeness of Tyrannosaurus rex was #145.

[edit] Other

Tyrannosaurus has appeared in many media and is perhaps one of the most widely used dinosaurs in existence.

  • In the British comic 2000AD several tyrannosaurs appeared in different stories; The huge female "Old One-Eye" appeared in the Flesh series, while Satanus was an opponent of Judge Dredd.
  • GWAR has a character called Gor-Gor, a tyrannosaurus rex whose egg was injected with crack cocaine, making him especially powerful. Gor-Gor is a fixture of the band's elaborate stage show, appeared in the band's video Phallus in Wonderland, and has a namesake song on the album America Must Be Destroyed.
  • Jake, Marco, Cassie, and Ax from the book series Animorphs once had the opportunity to morph into Tyrannosaurs in Megamorphs #2: In the Time of Dinosaurs. It is noted that this morph was one of the hardest for them to control, and at the end of the book they lose the T. rex morph.
  • Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes, often fantasises about dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex in particular. In one story arc, Calvin had to write a school paper and chose to write about the T. rex Predator/Scavenger debate. He believed T. rex was a predator simply because "They're so much cooler that way." He ran out of time for the essay, and in the end said "I believe Tyrannosaurs were predators because it would be so bogus if they only ate things that were already dead. The end."
  • The Marvel Character Devil Dinosaur appears to be based on a Tyrannosaurus.
  • A Tyrannosaurus is also the main character in Dinosaur Comics by Ryan North.
  • Tyrannosaurus rex was featured in Michael Crichton's novel, Jurassic Park, and its sequel, The Lost World. Its skeleton is also shown on the covers of the books.
  • The Quintaglios from Robert J. Sawyer's Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy are a race of highly evolved, sentient Tyrannosaurs descended from Nanotyrannus. Tyrannosaurus rex itself was represented within the series as well, in the form of the Blackdeath, the biggest carnivores living on the Quintaglio moon.
  • The popular 1970s glam rock band T. Rex took their name from the dinosaur.
  • T-Rex is a brand of popular radio-controlled helicopter models named after the dinosaur. [1]
  • Sinclair Oil ads from the 1950s frequently featured T. rex.[2]
  • A full-scale replica of the Sue T. rex specimen is on display in DinoLand U.S.A., at the entrance to Dinosaur: the Ride, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. [3] There is also a T. rex featured in the Jurassic Park River Adventure in Universal Studios Hollywood and at the Universal Orlando Resort, Florida. In both instances they are animatronic, and appear to attack those on the ride, who (of course) successfully escape.
  • A Tyrannosaurus rex named "Rex" stars as the protagonist of the children's book "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story." This book was later adapted into a feature-length film.
  • A rifle cartridge, the .577 T-Rex, has been named after the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
  • In the Samurai Cat series, one of the villains, Gruppenfuhrer Ubersaurus Rex, was the commanding officer of a division of Waffen S.S. Tyrannosaurs.
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