Dinosaur Sanctuary: The Reality of Fantasy

Dinosaurs are real!!!! But... oh gosh... dinosaurs are real...?

Preface!

I’m back on a dinosaur fix again. After watching and being thoroughly disappointed in Jurassic World Rebirth, I craved good dinosaur storytelling, so I pulled out Dinosaur Sanctuary, started from the beginning and got caught up.

That’s when this idea really hit me. What’s the difference between good dinosaur storytelling and bad dinosaur storytelling? Surely all dinosaurs are good dinosaurs right? I mean… yes. In a way. If there are dinosaurs on screen or page, I’m going to be there.

But also, despite the promising start of the Jurassic World film franchise, it quickly went downhill because, shockingly, it became less about actual dinosaurs. This fantasy departed from reality and became more about mutated monsters that are in no way as cool as dinosaurs because—say it with me—they aren’t dinosaurs. And also the characters became less and less compelling, but we’re not here to talk about humans.

Dinosaur Sanctuary is all about dinosaurs. Real dinosaurs. So much so that this fantasy of a world with actual dinosaurs feels like a reality.

So do I, Suzume. So do I.

Preface over.

There's an old bit of wisdom that reminds us that history is written by the winners. There are so many nuances and truths of history that get pushed aside because splendor and glory are, apparently, more important than the full story.

That said, telling the complete story is no easy task. It requires work. Lots of work. And it requires a certain perspective to understand the full context of what a monumental event meant, and the effect it had on the world as a whole. Sure, we can glorify massive military achievements, but what does one achievement for one nation mean to every other nation?

You may think I’m off on a digression, but I’m not. Because fantasy is the same way, regardless of the level of fantasy we’re talking. When you create a world, you have to consider the checks and balances of that world. And when that world just so happens to be our world, well then you really have your work cut out to consider the implications of what this added fantasy would actually mean.

Or, you could ignore it entirely and let readers have a bit of escapism. Dinosaur Sanctuary doesn’t ignore the reality, yet it still gives that escapism.

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Before we get into Dinosaur Sanctuary, here’s what you need to know:

Suzume is a new hire at Enoshima Dinoland in Japan, a smaller dinosaur park with a mix of dinosaurs of various ages and personalities. Suzume is tasked with helping the park increase its popularity and comes up with ideas to make the dinosaurs more popular again. Such ideas include interactive exhibits, social media spotlights, and bringing to the forefront that these are actual dinosaurs we’re talking about here.

Also, it must be said that Dinosaur Sanctuary mangaka Itaru Kinoshita is working alongside an actual paleontologist, Dr. Shin-ichi Fujiwara, to ensure that these dinosaurs are as real as can be.

And that’s all you need to know.

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Dinosaurs speak emoji.

I often describe Dinosaur Sanctuary to friends as “Jurassic Park if nothing ever goes wrong.” And, no surprises, that’s a big selling point. A cozy dinosaur story? Hell yeah.

But it’s also not entirely accurate because things do go wrong. However, those things rarely, if ever, involve dinosaurs escaping, being mutated, massacring margarita-carrying park-goers, requiring massive battles with various military forces, or Snickers wrappers short-circuiting entire security systems allowing mutated monsters based on dinosaur DNA to escape and kill everyone for no discernible reason.

Instead, the things that go wrong are…

• A Pachycephalosaurus (I did not spell that right on the first go like I was hoping) having a spot on its nose that it continually breaks open. Through detective work, Suzume determines the cause stems from storm-based anxiety that began with the loss of its precious mate.

• An elderly Tyrannosaurus that doesn’t come out that much anymore. Suzume solves this by creating the perfect meat cake for said T-Rex’s birthday that allows park goers to see this creature again.

• A Troodon runt that is bullied by its litter. Suzume tries everything to fix this. She takes this Troodon home and raises it, but in the end, she fails. They send the Troodon to the lab where it can live happily under observation for science.

If none of those things sound that exciting to you, let me remind you that they all involve dinosaurs. And, let’s be honest, they all involve realistic things that would happen to dinosaurs in the real world. I mean, Jurassic World Rebirth wants us to believe that Cobble Hill, a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn, has room to house a Brontosaurus?

Get real.

“But this is fantasy!” you may say, to which I say as the title suggests—sure. But when there’s reality in fantasy, it feels more believable. And, by extension, it’s better. Hard stop.

Can I have one too?

That list of what happens in Dinosaur Sanctuary is not exhaustive, obviously, but I chose these three to highlight three very real aspects of dinosaurs in our world that you don’t see in the blood and mayhem and poor writing of modern big-screen dinosaur narratives. Dinosaurs are not monsters. They have personalities. They get old. They hurt themselves and not always while combatting and/or eating humans. And sometimes, as humans, we fail them too.

Dinosaurs being cared for in captivity presents the same real-world challenges as caring for lions and tigers and bears (oh my) in captivity. There are challenges to preserving happiness, ensuring quality of life, and recreating a sense of home and safety while mitigating inherent risks like stress and anxiety caused by any number of factors.

And that’s why I say Jurassic World began promisingly. I stand by that the original Jurassic World was actually pretty good. The theme park felt real. It felt safe. It only lost its safety when humans failed. Now, this led to mass slaughter and mayhem, because that sells tickets, but still, despite the blood and chaos, it didn’t sacrifice realism. Even the mutated dinosaur had reason to be the way it was. Unlike certain other mutated dinosaurs from certain other Jurassic World movies.

Not to go on another perceived digression, but this all reminds me of The Boys, a story that completely changed the modern superhero landscape. It asks the question of what the world would really look like with superheroes. Would we really be better off with superpowered human beings? Humans are bad enough without laser vision and flight. Egomaniacs run the world on greed and hatred alone. Give them the power to buy out superheroes and you get… well you get The Boys.

The modern crisis of conscience is real and it is more polarizing than ever. The Boys captures that reality within their fantasy. The egomaniacal superheroes of The Boys, as well as the causation of it (corporate greed and power grabs), makes for fascinating and all-too-believable depictions of how little human life would actually mean in a world where it’s even easier to have no value.

That got dark, but that’s why The Boys speaks to our generation. Because our world is… kinda dark. Even without superheroes having drug-fueled orgies and wantonly killing people with no consequences. It is real, despite being distinctly fantasy. Dark fantasy, I should say.

Of that head? Hell yeah.

Dinosaur Sanctuary does the same thing to a much different tune. Do I think there are evil scientists that could try to exploit dinosaur DNA in the name of profit with no regard for human or dinosaur life? Sure, I won’t deny that. But the predominant effect of dinosaurs being among us again would be exactly the same thing as Dinosaur Sanctuary depicts. That dinosaurs would be among us again, like other animals, fighting to be preserved.