User:AndyJones/Triceratops in popular culture

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Juvenile and adult skulls — the juvenile is about the size of an adult human head
Juvenile and adult skulls — the juvenile is about the size of an adult human head

In popular culture, Triceratops is famously known as "three-horns" due to the three prominent horns on its head and nose, which have become almost synonymous with the dinosaur. The shorthand "Trike" is another common informal name (see for example the archives of the Dinosaur Mailing List. Triceratops is also the official state fossil of South Dakota, and the official state dinosaur of Wyoming. It is a common pop dinosaur.

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[edit] Depiction in recent popular media

The distinctive appearance of Triceratops has led to them being frequently depicted in films, computer games and documentaries. They appear in the film Jurassic Park, where one is portrayed as sick and is being treated by humans. There is a sequence of a Triceratops-like dinosaur chasing the jungle explorers in Son of Kong, which was hand-animated by Willis O'Brien. They have also been featured in three major dinosaur documentaries: Walking with Dinosaurs, The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Park. They are famously known as "three-horns" (and are so named in The Land Before Time animated film and its numerous sequels) due to the three prominent horns on their head and nose, which have become almost synonymous with the dinosaurs. The shorthand "Trike" is another common informal name, and is also the name of the Triceratops character in the children's book series and television cartoon series Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs. Other TV series include Slag of Transformers fame, Dinosaucers, Dino-Riders and Dinozaurs.

A recurring theme, especially in children's dinosaur books, is a climactic showdown or battle between Triceratops and T. rex.[1][2][3][4] As such these two dinosaurs are often depicted and thought of as natural enemies. A memorable but anachronistic battle with Ceratosaurus substituting for T. rex is featured in the 1966 movie One Million Years B.C.

Triceratops appears in video games either derived directly from the Jurassic Park series or similarly themed, namely the 1997 PC games Jurassic Park: Chaos Island and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and the 2000 PC and Playstation game Dino Crisis 2. Triceratops also features in the Zoo Tycoon franchise. As well, it is a popular creature used in games designed by Nintendo, including Diddy Kong Racing and Starfox Adventures. Triceratops (the species are not identified) is also the official state fossil of South Dakota,[5] and the official state dinosaur of Wyoming.[6]

[edit] Notable examples

[edit] Movies

Many (if not most) dinosaur movies have included Triceratops:

  • The Lost World (1925) includes a herd of Triceratops.
  • The 1931 film, Creation, included a mother Triceratops with her babies.
  • Son of Kong (1933) features a Triceratops-like dinosaur chasing the jungle explorers.
  • Triceratops makes a cameo in the The Rite of Spring segment of Fantasia (1940).
  • One Million Years B.C. (1966) features Triceratops in a memorable but anachronistic battle with Ceratosaurus.
  • In The Land Before Time (1988) and its sequels, Cera is a young Triceratops. Other members of her family are shown in later movies.
  • In Jurassic Park (1993), an immobilized Triceratops is depicted as having a mysterious illness, the role given to a Stegosaurus in the novel.
  • In the sequel movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), a Triceratops is captured but later set free, causing chaos.
  • In Jurassic Park III (2001), a herd of Triceratops is seen from an airplane as it lands at the island.
  • In the 1933 film King Kong, there was going to be a scene where Kong fights off a group of Triceratops, although this was never seen in the completed version. In the 2005 film a fictional Triceratops-like dinosaur called Ferructus makes a quick cameo - it is seen drinking from a lake; however, in the extended edition of the film, one attacks the rescue party.

[edit] Television

  • In the children's show Barney & Friends, the character Baby Bop is a green 3 year old Triceratops.
  • The '70s and '90s versions of Land of the Lost features Triceratops; "Spike" in the '70s version, and "Princess" in the '90s version.
  • Triceramon, a Digimon, is based on Triceratops.
  • Tricero, a character in Dinosaucers, is an evolved Triceratops
  • In Japan's Super Sentai series, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, Dan's, aka TriceraRanger, powers were symbolized by the Triceratops. Later in Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger, Yukito Sanjyou, aka AbareBlue (whose name is pun off of the Triassic period), also uses the Triceratops mecha.
  • Wonder Pets, an episode Wonder Save the Dinosaurs!" Baby Safety Triceratops
  • In the 1980s cartoon, Dino-Riders, the Rulons used numerous Triceratops.
  • The Transformers characters of Slag, Triceradon and Guiledart each turn into a Triceratops.
  • The short-lived series Dinozaurs had the character Dino Tricera, one of the core Dino Knights, whose top horns become the Tricera Saber of Jade. He was blue with the holes of the skeleton filled in with lime green.
  • In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles there is a race of Triceratops creatures called the Triceratons that existed in the 2003 TV series as well as the original Comic Books, and the TMNT videogames.
  • In the 1990s television series Extreme Dinosaurs, the character of Spike is a mutated triceratops.
  • In an episode of South Park, a triceratops is seen chasing Timmy through a prehistoric jungle.
  • In the Japanese anime series Dragonball Z, Triceratops made a couple of appearances. During the Saiyan saga, a herd of Triceratops ran by Gohan who was stuck on a stone pillar. At the end of the Kid Buu Saga, in order to protect a pterosaur egg, Goku stops a Triceratops and a T-Rex fighting by bringing them to an island where they could continue their fight without causing any trouble.

[edit] Documentaries

[edit] Books

[edit] Video games

  • In Diddy Kong Racing, a non-playable Triceratops character named Tricky was the boss of Dino Domain.
  • In Starfox Adventures, another game by Rareware, another Triceratops character named Tricky serves as the sidekick to main character Fox McCloud. He is Prince of the Earthwalker Tribe, a tribe of Triceratops with his father being one of the GateKeepers. Tricky makes a brief cameo in Star Fox: Assault.
  • Triceratops is one of the dinosaurs in the Zoo Tycoon 2: Dino Danger Pack and a cheat exhibit animal in Zoo Tycoon (have an exhibit named "Cretaceous Corral").
  • Triceratops is one of the more powerful dinosaurs in the 1997 PC game Jurassic Park: Chaos Island.
  • Triceratops is the only herbivore enemy in the 2000 PC and Playstation game Dino Crisis 2.
  • The Pokemon Aggron,Shieldon,& Bastiodon are based on Triceratops
  • The Nintendo 64 game Turok: Dinosaur Hunter features a Triceratops on the final level, being one of many foes of the main character, and fully armed with dual rocket launchers and a rifleman.
  • In several levels of Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, the player must navigate Crash through a series of hazards while he runs away from a Triceratops

[edit] References

  1. ^ Geis, D. (1982). How and Why Book of Dinosaurs. Allan Publishers. ISBN 0-824150015.
  2. ^ Watson, J. W. (1981). The Giant Golden Book of Dinosaurs. Random House Children's Books. ISBN 0-307137643.
  3. ^ Pistorius A. (1958) What dinosaur is it? Follett Pub. Co., Chicago.
  4. ^ Wise, W. (1963) In The Time of The Dinosaurs. Scholastic. ISBN 0-590323512.
  5. ^ State of South Dakota. Signs and Symbols of South Dakota...... Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
  6. ^ State of Wyoming. State of Wyoming - General Information. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.

[edit] See also