Tim Burton’s MARS ATTACKS! The movie was almost DINOSAUR ATTACKS!

Tim BurtonThe classic 1996 film Mars Attacks! it was such a ridiculously crazy funny movie! I know the critics weren’t too kind when it came out, but dammit… I had a blast! The film was inspired by the Topps trading card series of the same name with fantastic artwork by Wally Wood and Norman Saunders.

Sci-fi comedy film satirizes alien invasion films of the 1950s. The film follows a group of characters, including the President of the United States, a scientist, a talk show host and a teenager, as they deal with an invasion of Martians who come to Earth with destructive intentions regardless of the claim to “come in peace”. The Martians use their advanced technology to wreak havoc and mayhem, and it’s up to the humans to devise a plan to save themselves and the planet. After a peaceful exchange results in the total annihilation of the US Congress, the military calls for full-scale nuclear retaliation.

After Mars Attacks! the card series was reissued, in 1988 Topps launched a similar card series called Dinosaur Attack! and it was at this time that the screenwriter Jonathan Gemme I came across both of these sets of cards.

In an oral history of Mars Attacks! which was published by Inverse, Gems explained that they bought both Mars Attacks! AND Dinosaur Attack! trading cards in a gift shop for Tim Burton on his birthday. He explained:

“I was working with Tim Burton on something else. It was his birthday and I was looking for a birthday present. It was hard to find something for him because he had everything. I was in some kind of gift shop, and on the counter, I saw a complete collection of two sets of cards. These were cards that were like baseball cards. There were two sets, one called ‘Dinosaurs Attack!’ and another one called “Mars Attacks!” They had these great little oil paintings of these atrocities.”

This was the initial spark for Mars Attacks!, but in the beginning, Gems was more interested in writing a movie for Dinosaur Attacks!, so that’s what he started with. He just thought the whole dinosaur corner was more appealing. It was the mid 90’s shortly after that Steven Spielberg’S Jurassic Park was released, so there was a bit of a dinosaur hype.

While working on the script, however, Gems learned that Spielberg was making a sequel Jurassic Park, and had to change things. But it was going to be a riff from Jurassic Park and, I guess, Towering Inferno, which they thought was hilarious.

“Originally, it was supposed to be ‘Attack of the Dinosaurs!’ But then we found out that Steven Spielberg was making a sequel to ‘Jurassic Park,’ and that dinosaurs were going to attack LA. Tim said, ‘Let’s make it like a disaster movie.’ Tim and I actually saw ‘Towering Inferno’ probably about a year ago, and we were stoned. And if you watch ‘Towering Inferno’ when you’re stoned, it’s hilariously funny.”

So, they’re great Jurassic Park parody turned into Mars Attacks!, which I have no problems with. It was such a fun movie! They should actually go back and attempt theirs Dinosaur Attacks! movie again! Sounds like something I think audiences would enjoy! At least I would! The dinosaur attacks! the cards are hilarious!