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Credit: Universal StudiosMany special ingredients go into making a Jurassic Park movie. Whether it’s human villains, those of the prehistoric variety, a vehicle being upturned by a large dinosaur, or badly timed tropical storms — these films rely on a number of signature experiences to thrill audiences.
Much to the dismay of many fans, you’ll also find a child character in every film in the franchise. There are even two animated shows that revolve around a group of “younger versions of adults”: Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Jurassic World Chaos Theory.
The franchise is dedicated to this tradition that the short film Battle at Big Rock (2019) has three children, as does the upcoming sequel Jurassic World Rebirth (2025).
But you’re probably wondering where we pulled the number 17 from in the headline for this article, seeing as there are only seven such characters in the current six theatrical films.
We’ve ranked every Jurassic kid from the entire franchise (with the exception of Battle at Big Rock), including characters from Camp Cretaceous (and Chaos Theory, even though they’re a bit older), the novels “Jurassic Park” (1990) and “The Lost World” (1995).
So, here are all 17 child characters in the Jurassic franchise ranked from worst to best.
17. Sammy Gutiérrez — Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory
Sammy Gutiérrez (Raini Rodriguez) is one of the five teenagers in Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory. The reason for being at the bottom? She’s very annoying and poorly written. The only remotely interesting thing about her is that she once tried to commit corporate espionage for bioengineering company Mantah Corp. But she’s no Dennis Nedry.
16. Kenji Kon — Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory
Despite going through something of a character arc throughout Camp Cretaceous, Kenji Kon (Ryan Potter) is an obnoxious and arrogant trust fund-brat. His forced attempt at being charismatic is also quite nauseating at times, and his sense of entitlement knows no bounds. In Chaos Theory, Kenji is voiced by Darren Barnet, but he’s no less annoying.
15. Ben Pincus — Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory
At first, Ben Pincus (Sean Giambrone) was one of the more sympathetic characters in Camp Cretaceous. But after being briefly stranded alone in the jungle of Isla Nublar, he suddenly thought he was Tarzan, which makes him one of the more pretentious characters of the bunch. He’s slightly more palatable in Chaos Theory — we just wish the dinos would agree.
Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Sequel May Bring One of These Characters Back From the Dead
14. Yasmina — Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory
Yasmina, or “Yaz”, (Kausar Mohammed) is one of the least interesting characters in both animated shows, but the reason we’ve ranked her above some of the others is simply because she’s not really that annoying — which is a result of her lack of screen-time. That, and she’s extremely athletic, which at least gives her some use in dinosaur-infested jungles.
13. Zach Mitchell — Jurassic World
Zach Mitchell (Nick Robinson) isn’t a bad character in Jurassic World (2015), and he does go through something of an arc when it comes to his younger brother Gray (Ty Simpkins). Unfortunately, he just doesn’t leave much of a mark, and remains one of the more forgettable characters in the series.
12. Darius Bowman — Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory
Darius Bowman (Paul-Mikél Williams) is the main character in Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory, and given both his love for dinosaurs and his tragic backstory, he’s the only character you really care about in the show. Unfortunately, he can also be pretty sanctimonious when it comes to the welfare of the dinosaurs. We had enough of that in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).
Related: ‘Jurassic Park: Survival’ Trailer Breakdown
11. Brooklynn — Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory
In Camp Cretaceous, Brooklynn (Jenna Ortega) is a world-famous “vlogger” (or YouTuber, for lack of a better word), and is the most likable of the bunch. Perhaps not at first, because she has the whole “Internet personality” thing dialled up to 11, but as the show goes on, she becomes far less shallow. In Chaos Theory, however, in which Kiersten Kelly takes over from Jenna Ortega, she’s a shady, enigmatic character who has gotten involved with BioSyn.
Related: The Real Villains in Each ‘Jurassic Park’ Movie
10. Lex Murphy — “Jurassic Park” Novel
Before you end up in a fit of rage, this is the version of Lex Murphy from the novel “Jurassic Park”. Sure, she’s adorable, and is still very sporty like her on-screen counterpart (she loves baseball), however, as she’s a lot younger in the book, she’s also annoyingly bratty.
9. Tim Murphy — “Jurassic Park” Novel
Again, this is the version of Tim Murphy from the Michael Crichton novel and not the 1993 movie of the same name. In the book, Tim is actually older (ages were pretty much reversed for the film), and while he’s a fairly decent character, it’s fair to say that he doesn’t have the same impact as Lex (Arianna Richards) or Tim (Joseph Mazzello) do on the big screen.
Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Releasing Official Never-Before-Seen Version of 1993 Film
8. Gray Mitchell — Jurassic World
Ty Simpkins gives a great performance as Gray Mitchell in Jurassic World. Gray must face a lot of danger during his short visit to the park, from being trapped in a Gyrosphere that’s being attacked by the Indominus Rex, to being caught in an epic battle between three dinosaurs!
7. Kelly Malcolm — The Lost World: Jurassic Park
In The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Kelly Malcolm (Vanessa Lee Chester) is the daughter of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), and is probably famous for all the wrong reasons — she caused many eyes to roll when she drop-kicked a raptor through a wall. But we love it! With mutant dinosaurs set to appear in Jurassic World Rebirth, the infamous drop-kick scene is no longer the weirdest thing in this franchise.
6. Kelly Curtis — “The Lost World” Novel
Kelly Curtis is easily one of the most interesting child characters in the Jurassic franchise. She appears in the novel “The Lost World” as a clever seventh-grader from a broken home, who winds up sneaking into the observation trailers to Isla Sorna/Site B. She’s cunning, smart, and, along with her friend Arby Benton (below), ends up in some nail-biting situations.
Related: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’: “Sinister, Shocking” Plot Twist Explored
5. Arby Benton — “The Lost World” Novel
Arby Benton is the second child character from “The Lost World” novel, whose only friend is Kelly Curtis. Unlike Kelly, though, he is the opposite in many ways — he likes rules, order, and comes from a well-to-do family. And like Lex, he’s a genius when it comes to computers.
4. Eric Kirby — Jurassic Park III
Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan) is one of the most disliked child characters in the franchise, but we think this is due to the fact that he’s in Jurassic Park III (2001), one of the most divisive films in the series. But Eric manages to survive eight weeks on his own in the jungles of Isla Sorna/Site B, so he deserves our respect. Although this has more to do with the script…
3. Tim Murphy — Jurassic Park
Tim Murphy (Joe Mazzello) is one of the greats, having appeared in the movie that started in all — Jurassic Park (1993). He ends up enduring a lot during his time in the jungle, from falling into a tree to getting electrocuted. But somehow, he still always seems to be in the mood to crack jokes at his older sister, and that’s why we love him.
Related: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Accidentally Confirms the Deaths of Several Characters
2. Maisie Lockwood — Jurassic World Dominion
Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) is a human clone who first appears in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and returned in Jurassic World Dominion (2022). She’s the only child character in the series to have a main role in two movies and play two different characters, with the other being the younger version of her own mother, Charlotte Lockwood.
1. Lex Murphy — Jurassic Park
Our top spot was an easy choice. Arianna Richards is brilliant in the role of Lex Murphy in Jurassic Park, during which she boasts an impressive range of emotions. She’s also the unsung hero of the film — without her, Jurassic Park would have never come back online.
When Is Jurassic World Rebirth Out in Theaters?
Jurassic World Rebirth will be stomping into theaters worldwide on July 2, 2025.
Watch the official trailer for the film below, per Universal Pictures:
The latest film introduces an entirely new cast, headlined by Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali, alongside Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain, and Ed Skrein.
However, none of the characters from previous films are returning—a major shift that leaves behind Jurassic Park and World veterans like Sam Neill (Alan Grant), Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), Chris Pratt (Owen Grady), BD Wong (Henry Wu), Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing), and Isabella Sermon (Maisie Lockwood).
Do you agree with this ranking? Let us know in the comments down below!