Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or her swag? Yeah, scholar Joseph Campbell noticed first—in 1949. He wrote The Hero with a Thousand Faces, in which he outlined the 17 stages of a mythological hero's journey.

About half a century later, Christopher Vogler condensed those stages down to 12 in an attempt to show Hollywood how every story ever written should—and, uh, does—follow Campbell's pattern. We're working with those 12 stages, so take a look. (P.S. Want more? We have an entire Online Course devoted to the hero's journey.)

Ordinary World

Jurassic Park is your normal, average, everyday zoo…just with dinosaurs instead of tigers and prairie dogs. There's even petting allowed, as long as you're only petting the dinosaurs that don't have sharp teeth the size of your forearm.

Call To Adventure

John Hammond summons Drs. Grant and Sattler to check out his park and make sure everything is up to snuff so that his investors will continue to fund it. It's a good thing Grant and Sattler are archeologists and not proctologists. That would not be a fun adventure.

Refusal Of The Call

Grant and Sattler aren't interested in helping the eccentric old rich man who helicopters into their dig site. However, when he offers to fund their dig in exchange for their services, they hop aboard the chopper for Isla Nublar.

Meeting The Mentor

When tracking the Hero's Journey, Dr. Grant is our mentor. He's the voice of reason. Well, pretty much everyone but John Hammond is the voice of reason. But Grant gets extra-special mentor status because the kiddos like him.

Crossing The Threshold

We've got a pretty clear, literal threshold here. Those great big honking gates to Jurassic Park open up and admit the crew inside for enough adventure to last two lifetimes (or three sequels and counting).

Tests, Allies, Enemies

Pretty much every dinosaur presents our heroes with some sort of test. From triceratops poop to T-Rex roars, there's a challenge in every paddock across the park. And the handy rule of thumb is, herbivores = allies, carnivores = enemies.

Approach To The Inmost Cave

Here's the tipping point when this little trip to the zoo goes pear-shaped: the massive T-Rex breaks loose. It splits up our heroes into two different groups—Grant and the kids, Sattler and the man-children.

Ordeal

Every character has a supreme ordeal to overcome. Grant must keep the kids safe as they navigate the wildest parts of the park. Sattler must restore power. And Dr. Ian Malcolm must maintain his position as the sexiest male mathematician north of the equator. All equally important, of course.

Reward (Seizing The Sword)

The reward for our heroes is being reunited back at the Visitor's Center and simply staying alive. Hammond wants his park to be successful, and Nedry wants to steal the dino DNA, but at the end of the day they all simply want to not be dead.

The Road Back

The road back is actually a helipad in Jurassic Park, and our heroes are determined to get the helipad off this blasted island. However a handful of velociraptors stands between them and escape.

Resurrection

All hope seems lost when our heroes end up dangling from a shattered dinosaur skeleton, but the T-Rex shows up and distracts the raptors, allowing our heroes to escape. The T-Rex's final appearance totally messes with our little "carnivore = enemy" cheat sheet from before, as the T-Rex becomes an unexpected ally to our heroes.

Return With The Elixir

Remember the whole "make it off the island alive" goal? They totally do. However, Ellie and Alan may find themselves with an unexpected bonus, because their little island adventure has softened Dr. Grant up toward the prospect of having children of their own. Aww.