Save the Cat rankings

JURASSIC PARK script analysis

JURASSIC PARK script - Save the Cat beat sheet analysis

Paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler arrive at John Hammond’s Jurassic Park, where the wonder of living dinosaurs quickly gives way to corporate sabotage and survival horror. After Dennis Nedry’s theft plunges the park into chaos, the group faces a rampaging T-Rex and cunning raptors before restoring order and finally escaping. A final reflection on genetic hubris closes the tale.

62 Save the Cat fit score 12% analysis confidence / 59 parsed scenes

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1

Opening Image

Scene 1 / Page 1 / 1% target

10%

Starts in the Badlands with Grant and Sattler excavating fossils, setting the tone of scientific wonder.

2

Theme Stated

Scene 7 / 5% target

15%

Grant criticizes the commercialization of science, hinting at the dangers of corporate overreach.

No, I don't mind popular science. I dislike the commercialization of science. It breeds a sloppiness, a disregard...
3

Set-Up

Scenes 2-6 / 10% target

12%

Introduces key players—Hammond, Nedry, Gennaro—and transports the group to Isla Nublar, establishing stakes and relationships.

4

Catalyst

Scene 9 / 12% target

10%

Hammond reveals he has successfully cloned dinosaurs, igniting the central conflict between nature and control.

I've been cloning dinosaurs!
5

Debate

Scene 22 / 20% target

13%

Muldoon and Hammond debate the raptors’ danger, foreshadowing the park’s security flaws.

These raptors are too damn dangerous. One of them tunneled out this morning.
6

Break into Two

Scene 25 / 25% target

11%

Nedry initiates his sabotage plan in the machine room, cutting power and embryos from the park’s safety net.

7

B Story

Scenes 36-37 / 30% target

10%

Grant bonds with the children while rescuing Timmy and Lex, deepening character dynamics amid chaos.

8

Fun and Games

Scenes 18-24 / 40% target

12%

The group enjoys dinosaur sightings—Brachiosaurus, Gallimimus, Triceratops—until Nedry’s betrayal triggers power loss and escalating threats.

9

Midpoint

Scene 30 / 50% target

14%

Power failure reveals Nedry’s embryo theft and parkwide shutdown, shifting the story from wonder to survival.

Jesus, the computer's gone down.
10

Bad Guys Close In

Scenes 34-35 / 65% target

13%

The T-Rex and raptors break loose, attacking cruisers and characters, closing in on the protagonists.

11

All Is Lost

Scene 42 / 75% target

12%

Grant and the kids are cornered by a stampede and the T-Rex, moments before seeming rescue.

Outta the way, kids! Run!
12

Dark Night of the Soul

Scene 45 / 80% target

11%

Ellie and Muldoon confront the dying dinosaurs and their own helplessness, questioning the price of the park.

13

Break into Three

Scene 54 / 85% target

13%

Timmy reboots the system, offering a chance to restore order and shift toward resolution.

Okay, we've reached the computer room. Who can tell Timmy how to reboot?
14

Finale

Scenes 55-57 / 95% target

14%

Grant dispatches the final raptor, survivors flee by helicopter, and the group reflects on genetic flaws.

15

Final Image

Scene 59 / 99% target

10%

The helicopter finds the ship at sea, bookending the escape and underscoring the price of tampering with nature.