Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Jurassic Park helped redefine the summer blockbuster and that's primarily thanks to nearly every frame in the sci-fi movie being memorable. Even though a string of sequels have succeeded Jurassic Park, the original movie remains near and dear to most audiences.

Although it is difficult to imagine a scene not being good enough for the final cut of the film, considering its standing among audiences, there are a few obvious and not-so-obvious reasons why cuts were made. In some instances, a cut scene can improve a movie's quality, while in others, it doesn't make much of an impact. Whether because of time constraints, inappropriate tone, or just not as good as expected, there are a hefty number of Jurassic Park deleted scenes that were left on the cutting room floor in Spielberg's masterpiece.

24 Extended Dig Site Scene

Failed Attempt To Flesh Out Alan And Ellie's Romance

Even though there have been debates about Alan and Ellie's age gap in Jurassic Park, it hasn't made the couple any less iconic as far as onscreen pairings go. Seemingly, to introduce audiences to their previous romance, the original screenplay had a longer version of the dig site scene from earlier in the movie. This saw them working together and showing some chemistry while delivering scientific dialogue about the Velociraptor skeletons. They also mention the Tenontosauraus here, which ended up being left out of the movie.

While there's no official word as to why it was cut, the decision was likely made because it would have slowed things down considerably instead of keeping the action in motion. However, it is easy to see in Jurassic Park where this deleted scene would have fit in as in the actual film, Grant and Ellie were suddenly on top of a hill when John Hammond's helicopter landed. It was the deleted scene that showed them moving to this spot on the hill.

23 Ellie Grabbing The Leaf

Two Second Scene Cut For Time

The trailer for Jurassic Park featured a scene in which Ellie sticks her hand out of a moving jeep and grabs hold of a strange leaf. However, in the finished movie, this scene was cut, thus leaving audiences confused as to how she got the leaf later in the film. She was examining the leaf when Dr. Grant was looking at the Brachiosaurus. With that said, how she got it really didn't need to be shown, even if it would have explained a perceived plot hole.

The deleted scene is really only a small shot and did not affect the film at all outside of speeding things up somewhat.

It doesn't help that, early in the movie, Ellie has an expansive knowledge of the plant, thus further complicating things. The deleted scene is really only a small shot and did not affect the film at all outside of speeding things up somewhat. Despite only being two seconds long, the scene was also likely cut due to pacing, but it should have been used as it gives Ellie just a little more credibility as a scientist, although once again, there was really no reason to include it in the finished version of the film.

22 Why Are The Kids Here?

Original Scene Makes Ian Malcolm Less Friendly

Jeff Goldblum's Ian Maclolm is one of the best characters in Jurassic Park, mostly because of his wry sense of humor and analytical mind. Moreover, he proves to be braver than even he realizes when he goes out of his way to protect his fellow scientists and the kids. However, this might be different if Spielberg left in a scene in which Malcolm rudely questions Dr. John Hammond about the kids being on the island.

Hammond explains in the deleted scene that their parents are divorcing, and they are having a rough time. Despite Dr. Hammond asking for kindness, it seems that Malcolm has as little time for the kids as he does about messing with nature and creating new dinosaurs, which is something he lambasted on in the scene that immediately followed this one. Even though the scene is in the novel, thus painting Malcolm in a different light, he fares much better in the film adaptation without the cruel characterization.

21 Why The Triceratops Was Sick

The Scene Might Not Have ed The Censors

One of Jurassic Park's memorable scenes includes Ellie consoling a sick and injured triceratops while Tim eagerly looks on. However, the proper context as to why the dinosaur is sick in the first place is never provided, and the situation is never again brought up at any point in the film. In Jurassic Park, this was just a chance to get the characters close to the ill dinosaur, but when it chose not to bother with its actual illness, it seemed like nothing more than a plot device.

Tim had found rounded stones beside the West Indian Lilac that were toxic to the animals.

However, the deleted scene would have included Ellie explaining to Tim that the triceratops ate gizzard stones that sometimes contained poisonous substances. Tim had found rounded stones beside the West Indian Lilac that were toxic to the animals. While that doesn't seem too bad, the original scene would have seen Ellie digging through the dinosaur's excrement to confirm the gizzard stones were consumed and showed further proof that the park didn't take necessary precautions to protect the dinosaurs.

20 Baby Triceratops

The Scene Might Have Been A Distraction

After the scene where Ellie cares for the sick triceratops, there is a deleted scene where she deals with the dinosaur's baby. The scene immediately follows her explaining what was wrong with the triceratops and the poisonous stones. The film showed Ellie discovering the baby of the sick triceratops alone, and she went over to comfort the baby, hitting that this was about to be an orphaned baby dinosaur. There was even an animatronic made for the baby dinosaur (named Ralph).

Although Jurassic Park has its fair share of somber and emotional scenes, there isn't an abundance of them, as Jurassic Park is still an action movie about dinosaurs at the end of the day. This is likely why an emotional scene involving the sick triceratops' offspring was cut out of the theatrical version of the movie. While the scene might have worked and added another layer to the movie, it also would have made the tone inconsistent.

19 Extended Island Trek

Too Much Time Spent Walking Around

While no video footage exists of the scene, set photos show that Alan, Lex, and Tim's trek through Isla Nublar before scaling the Perimeter fence was meant to be much longer than what's included in the final cut. The original idea was probably meant to infer to audiences how arduous of a task advancing through the park is, but it also isn't necessary given the inherent struggle of surviving a dinosaur attack.

While many of the cut scenes in the film could still have been included and possibly have improved the already great movie, this one doesn't contribute anything to the story, explaining its exclusion from the finished product. There were plenty of scenes that showed the struggles, from the scene in the tree to the footage of the expansive park. Having them walking around might have delivered some fun dialogue, but it would have slowed down the action beats of the film.

18 Extended Journey To The Shed

Another Extended Scene Cut For Time

In a similar vein to the extended island trek, a proposed extended trek to the shed was also omitted from the final cut as it added more time to the already lengthy film. The scene shows everyone running to the shed, and the shots in the DVD special features show Muldoon and Ellie racing to get there quickly. Once again, it was likely shot to show how hard and long it was to get to the safety of the shed. However, that just adds to the run time.

The stark difference between this scene and the previous unused scene is the fact that there exists video footage of the cut scene via the DVD special features for Jurassic Park III. While the scene isn't as long as the extended trek scene, it too was cut because of its pacing issues. By eliminating the scene, the film could just move to the shed and keep the action beats moving in a more satisfying manner.

17 Extended Raptor In The Shed Scene

The Scene Makes Ellie Seem Hyper Emotional

One of the reasons why Ellie is so beloved is because of her intelligence. Although she's just as brave as her fellow scientists, Ellie also displays an aptitude for being a more practical thinker than anyone else. Near the film's ending, Ellie has to hide from a raptor inside a bunker, and the movie briefly turns into a full-on horror picture. While she finds Alan, the original scene sees Ellie exposing her location to the raptor to get Alan's attention.

Presumably, it was cut because this emotional characterization of Ellie wouldn't be consistent with how she was portrayed up to that point. By yelling out to Grant, while knowing there was a raptor there, she clearly was letting her panic and fear overwhelm her intelligence, which hurts her characterization at that point. Ellie was not someone who would have made silly horror movie decisions when danger was so near, so this scene never would have worked.

16 Malcolm Carried Away

The Scene Was Cut For Pacing

Near Jurassic Park's climax, Malcolm is severely injured in a dinosaur attack and is nearly rendered completely incapacitated. While Malcolm is eventually rescued by Alan and the other survivors, the scene is fairly brief. However, the original idea was to show Ellie and Muldoon carrying Malcolm on a stretcher to safety. Instead, Malcolm is loaded onto a jeep and is seen escaping the T. Rex with the rest of the crew.

Having the story stop to show Muldoon and Ellie carrying Malcolm down the narrow path to the compound wasn't necessary to the film

Once again, this is likely because of pacing issues in Jurassic Park. It is clear that the heroes are getting Malcolm carried out of the danger zone after his injuries. Having the story stop to show Muldoon and Ellie carrying Malcolm down the narrow path to the compound wasn't necessary to the film and only served to slow down the action in a spot where the tensions needed to remain high.

15 Leaving The Car

The Additional Information Slows Things Down

The scene in which Alan and the kids depart the compromised car and head into the jungle originally had three different endings. While there's only a set photo of one of the endings, all three would have essentially boiled down to Alan spending additional time using a map to figure out the jungle's layout all while being pursued by a T. Rex.

The scene from the script shows Grant escaping from the car and convincing Lex that they are safer if she goes with him and Tim into the jungle than she is if she stays in the culvert. However, he then spends a lot of time looking at a map of the island. This explains how he was able to find his way back to the Visitor's Center and not get lost. As intense as the idea seems, it isn't practical for Alan to slow down while being hunted just to look at a map when the jungle offers plenty of natural shelter.