Love the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies? Can’t wait for the upcoming new installment? Then why not try Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, an animated cartoon that has all the magic of that first iconic Jurassic Park film?
Camp Cretaceous is set on Jurassic Park’s Isla Nubar and is all about a kid’s camp that has the same terrible safety standards as Jurassic World itself. Lots of dino action! But it’s actually the humans we’re most interested in. Let’s meet the main cast members and the young actors who play them.
Paul-Mikél Williams as Darius Bowman
Our main character is Darius, a “dino nerd” who gained admission to Camp Cretaceous by winning an almost unwinnable video game with his dinosaur knowledge. Darius is an inspiring kid, and that translates to real life as well. Williams has frequently gotten fan mail from children who want to be paleontologists when they grow up.
Jenna Ortega as Brooklynn
Jenna Ortega needs no introduction. She started on Camp Cretaceous in 2020, and in the years since, her star has risen and risen. She began starring in the Scream franchise in 2022, the same year she debuted her take on the iconic role of Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s Wednesday, which shot her to mega-fame. And her Camp Cretaceous character is famous too! She’s an influencer addicted to her phone.
Ryan Potter as Kenji Kon
The archetypical rich kid with daddy issues. He begins the show as an obnoxious and ignorant young man, but he gets better and more interesting as the story develops. He’s played by Ryan Potter, who you may know as the voice of Hiro in Disney’s Big Hero 6 or as Beast Boy in the show Titans.
Raini Rodriguez as Sammy Gutierrez
Sammy is a cheerful girl hiding a secret that reveals itself as the show goes on. Bringing her to life is Raini Rodriguez, who’s done a lot of voice work during the years she’s been active. She’s lent her voice to cartoons including The Lion Guard and Rugrats, and has appeared in person on popular kids’ TV shows such as Bunk’d. She was also Maya Blart in the Paul Blart: Mall Cop movie series.
Kausar Mohammed as Yasmina “Yaz” Fadoula
Yaz is an athlete who eventually embarks on a relationship with Sammy. Actors don’t have to resemble their characters, of course, but like her character, Mohammed is queer and also wanted to be a paleontologist when she was younger—so we just love this casting. You may have seen Mohammed in 4400 or The Flash, but outside of acting she’s the co-founder of Shift, a racial and gender justice consulting group run by women of color.
Sean Giambrone as Ben Pincus
You might recognize the voice of Ben. It’s the distinctive tone of Sean Giambrone, aka Adam Goldberg on the hit sitcom The Goldbergs. Ben is a shy and nervous kid prone to vomiting at awkward times, but later he bonds with an adorable Ankylosaurus named Bumpy and soon begins to come into his own.
As for the recurring characters, there are some big names in there. Camp counselors Dave and Roxie are played by Glen Powell and Jameela Jamil respectively; Stephanie Beatriz plays Tiff; Angus Sampson plays Hap; Bradley Whitford plays Mitch; Greg Chun plays franchise mainstay Dr Henry Wu; Kirby Howell-Baptiste plays Dr Mae Turner; Haley Joel Osment plays Kash D. Langford; and Benjamin Flores Jr plays Darius’s brother Brandon.
You can catch Camp Cretaceous on Netflix!
(featured image: Netflix)
