Land of the Lost (film)
Encyclopedia
Land of the Lost is a 2009 American science-fiction comedy film
directed by Brad Silberling
and starring Will Ferrell
, Danny McBride and Anna Friel
, based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft
TV series of the same name
.
Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell
) has a low-level job at La Brea Tar Pits
, three years after a disastrous interview with Matt Lauer
of Today became a viral video
and ruined his career. Doctoral candidate
student Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel
) tells him that his controversial theories
combining time warps and paleontology inspired her. She shows him a fossil with an imprint of a cigarette lighter that he recognizes as his own along with a crystal made into a necklace that gives off strong tachyon
energy. She convinces him to finish his tachyon amplifier and come help her on a seemingly routine expedition to the cave where Holly found the fossil, which is in the middle of nowhere. With cave gift shop owner Will Stanton (Danny McBride) they raft into the cave, where Marshall has detected high levels of tachyons. He activates the tachyon amplifier, triggering an earthquake that opens a time warp into which the raft falls. The group finds themselves in a desert, filled with various items from many eras, and without the amplifier. They rescue a primate-like creature, Cha-Ka (Jorma Taccone
) of the Pakuni tribe, who becomes their friend and guide.
The gang spends a night in a cave after surviving a meeting with a fast, intelligent Tyrannosaurus
they nickname "Grumpy", who develops a vendetta against Marshall for calling him stupid. Marshall receives a telepathic message begging for help and ends up in ancient ruins. There, the group encounters a race of lizard men called Sleestaks before meeting the one who sent Marshall the telepathic message, Enik the Altrusian. He explains that he was exiled by the evil Zarn who is attempting to take over Earth with his Sleestak minions, but Enik can prevent this if Marshall retrieves the tachyon amplifier.
The group stumble upon a desert where many things from across time end up and they encounter many Compsognathus
, Velociraptors, Grumpy, and an Allosaurus
. The Allosaurus and Grumpy battle it out over the most recent thing to appear until they sense Marshall and chase him. Marshall kills the Allosaurus with liquid nitrogen
and finds that the amplifier was inside the Allosaurus. The amplifier is stolen by a Pteranodon
and taken to its nest. The group arrives at the nest and Marshall lightly steps through the Pteranadon eggs to retrieve the amplifier, but when he reaches it, it stops broadcasting the soundtrack to Marshall's favorite musical A Chorus Line
. When the eggs begin to hatch, Holly realizes that the music was acting as a sort of lullaby keeping the Pteranadons asleep. Marshall, Will and Holly belt out "I Hope I Get It," with Cha-ka inexplicably joining in, displaying an impressive singing voice.
Marshall, Will and Cha-ka celebrate their good fortune. Meanwhile, Holly pockets a dinosaur egg and learns that Enik deceived them and is actually the one planning to invade Earth, but is captured by the Sleestaks to be brought to the Library of Skulls for judgment. The others save her from being executed for helping Enik, but the villain—now possessing the amplifier, and mind-controlling the Sleestaks—leaves them to open a portal to Earth. Marshall quickly settles things with Grumpy, befriending him, and joins the others to defeat the Sleestak army and confront Enik. After the crystal link between the Land of the Lost and Earth is shattered, Will chooses to stay behind to live a better life and to prevent Enik from following Marshall and Holly back to Earth, learning later that female Pakuni are very attractive.
A triumphant Marshall again appears on Today with show the dinosaur egg Holly brought back to promote his new book Matt Lauer Can Suck It. However, left behind on the Today set, the egg turns out to be a Sleestak egg as a baby hatches from it.
The original actors who played Holly and Will in the TV series, Kathy Coleman
and Wesley Eure
, filmed cameos for the film. However, the final version of the film cut these scenes. Actor Bobb'e J. Thompson and Kiernan Shipka
(uncredited) appeared in a cameo as Tar Pit Kids and Raymond Ochoa
as an uncredited boy in a museum.
technology. The rest of filming took place on location in places such as the Dumont Dunes
in the Mojave Desert
, the La Brea Tar Pits
in Hancock Park
, and Trona, California
.
. Subway Restaurants
, which paid to appear in the film, unveiled the second trailer exclusively on their website. JW Marriott Hotels
and Pop Rocks
also purchased rights to market with film tie-ins. Syfy
aired a marathon of the original series
on Memorial Day in 2009 in coordination with the studio to have frequent film clips and an interview with Sid and Marty Krofft
. After the film's release, another marathon aired on Chiller
on June 6. The majority of the first two seasons were also made available on Hulu
. Ahead of the film's release, Universal also released the complete series on DVD; it had previously been released by Rhino Home Video. The entire series is also available via download from Xbox Live
.
Two different games were released online to promote the film. "Chakker" was available to play on the film's official Web site while "Crystal Adventure" was a free downloadable game for iPhones from Kewlbox.
Both Subway and Mapquest hosted an online sweepstakes on their respective Web sites with various movie-related merchandise given away as prizes. Both sweepstakes ran from May 18 through June 7 of 2009.
Subway "Escape the Land of the Lost" Sweepstakes
Subway's contest was in the form of a Candy Land-style virtual board game. Players could collect various codes (named after characters and objects from the film) from either Subway cups or by completing specific website-related tasks (such as signing up for MySpace or Twitter) that would unlock other features of the game such as extra spins, shortcuts across the board, or an additional contest entry. Prizes included $5 Subway Gift Cards, e-Movie tickets, movie-related merchandise/apparel/props, an Epiphone banjo signed by Wil Ferrell, $1000 cash, select Southwest Airlines trips, and even a trip for two to Universal Studios in Hollywood to have lunch with the creators/producers -Sid and Marty Krofft.
Mapquest "Land of the Lost Adventure" Sweepstakes
Mapquest's contest prompted players to utilize their website to complete a series of challenges - each a different themed question. Correct answers earned players one additional contest entry each. These questions focused on key Mapquest features such as calculating the distance, fuel costs, or travel time between various fictional locales on a map of the Land of the Lost. Prizes included $20 Subway Gift Cards, prize-packs including movie-themed apparel and merchandise, a 52" Sonia Bravia HDTV, and even a trip for four to Universal Studios in Hollywood.
Will Ferrell also appeared on the season 4 premiere of Man vs. Wild
, which aired June 2, 2009, to promote the film.
, who recorded his score with an 88-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
and a 35-person choir. On May 10, it was also announced by Dave Mustaine
on TheLiveLine that some music from Megadeth
would appear in the film. Whether this would be music from the new record was not entirely clear, however during the phone message Mustaine stated that there was new music playing in the background of the message. However parts of the song "The Right to Go Insane
", from the 2009 album Endgame, can be heard near the end of the film. In the film, Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) sings the original Land of the Lost theme. The musical A Chorus Line
plays a part in the story, and Will Ferrell sings Cher
's 1998 dance pop hit "Believe
". Varese Sarabande
released the soundtrack album on June 9, 2009 (tracks 30-32 are bonus tracks).
of the original TV series, similar to Starsky & Hutch
and The Brady Bunch Movie
. In the original series, the main characters were the father and two children. While the first names remain the same, the film converts the Holly character into an unrelated research assistant to allow for more risque humor because she is the main character's love interest. Will, instead of being a son, is an amusement park operator and survivalist
. Rick Marshall is a paleontologist in the film, not a park ranger like in the original series. The film's budget also uses CGI special effects rather than the puppet and stop motion
animation effects that defined the original series." While the original Saturday morning
show targeted a child audience, the film was designed for a more adult audience and includes profanity, sex, and a drug reference, among other adult-oriented items.
.
stated that it "isn't worth the celluloid it's printed on", Entertainment Weekly
remarked that "it leaves you feeling splattered", The New York Daily News called it "a high-concept disaster", Christian Science Monitor labeled it "resolutely uninspired", The Hollywood Reporter
labeled it "lame", and The Miami Herald
commented that "the whole thing feels at least three summers too stale."
A few critics professed admiration for it, notably Roger Ebert
who gave the film three stars out of four and wrote:
Empire
magazine's Sam Toy put the film #8 on his best of the year list.
On February 1, 2010, the movie led the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards
with seven nominations (tied with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
) including Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Will Ferrell), Worst Director (Brad Silberling), Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor (Jorma Taccone), Worst Screen Couple (Ferrell and any co-star, creature or "comic riff") and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel. The movie won the Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel award.
While at the Savannah Film Festival in 2011, Ron Meyer (President of Universal Pictures), said that "Land of the Lost was just crap. I mean, there was no excuse for it. The best intentions all went wrong".
, which opened during the same weekend. The film's opening weekend gross was about two-thirds what Universal Pictures
reportedly expected to earn. It made $69 million worldwide.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Brad Silberling
Brad Silberling
Bradley Mitchell Silberling is an American television and film director. He is married to the actress Amy Brenneman, who he met on the set of NYPD Blue and with whom he has two children, Charlotte Tucker and Bodhi Russell...
and starring Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
, Danny McBride and Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
, based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft , are a sibling team of television producers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the USA, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s....
TV series of the same name
Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
Land of the Lost is a children's television series co-created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network....
.
Plot
Pompous paleontologistPaleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
) has a low-level job at La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...
, three years after a disastrous interview with Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer . is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond...
of Today became a viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
and ruined his career. Doctoral candidate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
student Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
) tells him that his controversial theories
Fringe science
Fringe science is scientific inquiry in an established field of study that departs significantly from mainstream or orthodox theories, and is classified in the "fringes" of a credible mainstream academic discipline....
combining time warps and paleontology inspired her. She shows him a fossil with an imprint of a cigarette lighter that he recognizes as his own along with a crystal made into a necklace that gives off strong tachyon
Tachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
energy. She convinces him to finish his tachyon amplifier and come help her on a seemingly routine expedition to the cave where Holly found the fossil, which is in the middle of nowhere. With cave gift shop owner Will Stanton (Danny McBride) they raft into the cave, where Marshall has detected high levels of tachyons. He activates the tachyon amplifier, triggering an earthquake that opens a time warp into which the raft falls. The group finds themselves in a desert, filled with various items from many eras, and without the amplifier. They rescue a primate-like creature, Cha-Ka (Jorma Taccone
Jorma Taccone
Jorma Christopher Taccone is an American comedy writer-actor-director. Taccone is one third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer...
) of the Pakuni tribe, who becomes their friend and guide.
The gang spends a night in a cave after surviving a meeting with a fast, intelligent Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
they nickname "Grumpy", who develops a vendetta against Marshall for calling him stupid. Marshall receives a telepathic message begging for help and ends up in ancient ruins. There, the group encounters a race of lizard men called Sleestaks before meeting the one who sent Marshall the telepathic message, Enik the Altrusian. He explains that he was exiled by the evil Zarn who is attempting to take over Earth with his Sleestak minions, but Enik can prevent this if Marshall retrieves the tachyon amplifier.
The group stumble upon a desert where many things from across time end up and they encounter many Compsognathus
Compsognathus
Compsognathus was a small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. The animal was the size of a turkey and lived around 150 million years ago, the early Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic Period, in what is now Europe. Paleontologists have found two well-preserved fossils, one in Germany...
, Velociraptors, Grumpy, and an Allosaurus
Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
. The Allosaurus and Grumpy battle it out over the most recent thing to appear until they sense Marshall and chase him. Marshall kills the Allosaurus with liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
and finds that the amplifier was inside the Allosaurus. The amplifier is stolen by a Pteranodon
Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
and taken to its nest. The group arrives at the nest and Marshall lightly steps through the Pteranadon eggs to retrieve the amplifier, but when he reaches it, it stops broadcasting the soundtrack to Marshall's favorite musical A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
. When the eggs begin to hatch, Holly realizes that the music was acting as a sort of lullaby keeping the Pteranadons asleep. Marshall, Will and Holly belt out "I Hope I Get It," with Cha-ka inexplicably joining in, displaying an impressive singing voice.
Marshall, Will and Cha-ka celebrate their good fortune. Meanwhile, Holly pockets a dinosaur egg and learns that Enik deceived them and is actually the one planning to invade Earth, but is captured by the Sleestaks to be brought to the Library of Skulls for judgment. The others save her from being executed for helping Enik, but the villain—now possessing the amplifier, and mind-controlling the Sleestaks—leaves them to open a portal to Earth. Marshall quickly settles things with Grumpy, befriending him, and joins the others to defeat the Sleestak army and confront Enik. After the crystal link between the Land of the Lost and Earth is shattered, Will chooses to stay behind to live a better life and to prevent Enik from following Marshall and Holly back to Earth, learning later that female Pakuni are very attractive.
A triumphant Marshall again appears on Today with show the dinosaur egg Holly brought back to promote his new book Matt Lauer Can Suck It. However, left behind on the Today set, the egg turns out to be a Sleestak egg as a baby hatches from it.
Cast
- Will FerrellWill FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
as Dr. Rick Marshall, a renowned paleontologist and author. He is determined to prove his theory on time warps, thus embarking on a time travel experiment. - Anna FrielAnna FrielAnna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
as Holly Cantrell, Rick's biggest fan and love interest - Danny McBride as Will Stanton, a gift shop owner who takes Holly and Rick to a tachyon rich cave.
- Jorma TacconeJorma TacconeJorma Christopher Taccone is an American comedy writer-actor-director. Taccone is one third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer...
as Cha-Ka - John Boylan as Enik. He plans to invade and conquer Earth, and deceives Rick and the others into believing otherwise. He also controls the Sleestak.
- Matt LauerMatt LauerMatthew Todd "Matt" Lauer . is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond...
as Himself - Leonard NimoyLeonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
as the voice of The Zarn - Douglas Tait as Sleestak
The original actors who played Holly and Will in the TV series, Kathy Coleman
Kathy Coleman
Kathy Coleman is a former American child actress who is known for playing Holly Marshall in the children's TV show Land of the Lost, a cult favorite...
and Wesley Eure
Wesley Eure
Wesley Eure is an American actor.Eure came to prominence when he appeared in two long running television series in the 1970s, Days of our Lives and Land of the Lost. For several years, he appeared in both shows simultaneously...
, filmed cameos for the film. However, the final version of the film cut these scenes. Actor Bobb'e J. Thompson and Kiernan Shipka
Kiernan Shipka
Kiernan Brennan "Kiki" Shipka is an American child actress noted for playing Don and Betty Draper's daughter Sally on the AMC series Mad Men.-Career:...
(uncredited) appeared in a cameo as Tar Pit Kids and Raymond Ochoa
Raymond Ochoa
Raymond Ochoa is an American child actor. He has appeared in various commercials, television shows and movies. He is probably best known for his roles in 10 Items or Less, and Merry Christmas, Drake and Josh....
as an uncredited boy in a museum.
Production
Production for the film began on March 4, 2008. Only one week's worth of filming was shot using a large-scale soundstage with green screenChroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
technology. The rest of filming took place on location in places such as the Dumont Dunes
Dumont Dunes
Dumont Dunes is an area of the Mojave Desert containing large sand dunes, located approximately 31 miles north of Baker, California on California State Route 127. Bordered by steep volcanic hills and the slow running Amargosa River, the region is easily recognized from a distance by its distinctive...
in the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, the La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...
in Hancock Park
Hancock Park
Hancock Park is a park in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, area, which is the location of the La Brea Tar Pits, the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art . The park does not, however, lie within the Hancock Park neighborhood which is...
, and Trona, California
Trona, California
Trona is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California. In 2000 it had a population of 2,742. Trona is at the western edge of Searles Lake, a dry lake bed in Searles Valley, southwest of Death Valley. The town takes its name from the mineral trona, abundant in the lakebed.It is...
.
Marketing
The first trailer was shown during Super Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
. Subway Restaurants
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, which paid to appear in the film, unveiled the second trailer exclusively on their website. JW Marriott Hotels
JW Marriott Hotels
JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, namesake of John Willard Marriott, Founder, Chairman & CEO of is a luxury hotel chain. Found in major cities as well as vacation destinations world-wide, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts are becoming known in the hospitality industry for their practical approach to luxury...
and Pop Rocks
Pop Rocks
Pop Rocks is a carbonated candy with ingredients including sugar, lactose , corn syrup, and flavoring. It differs from typical hard candy in that it creates a fizzy reaction when it dissolves in one's mouth.-Background and history:...
also purchased rights to market with film tie-ins. Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
aired a marathon of the original series
Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
Land of the Lost is a children's television series co-created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network....
on Memorial Day in 2009 in coordination with the studio to have frequent film clips and an interview with Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft , are a sibling team of television producers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the USA, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s....
. After the film's release, another marathon aired on Chiller
Chiller (TV channel)
Chiller is a 24-hour American cable and satellite television channel specializing in horror and suspense programming. conglomerate NBCUniversal.- Origin :...
on June 6. The majority of the first two seasons were also made available on Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
. Ahead of the film's release, Universal also released the complete series on DVD; it had previously been released by Rhino Home Video. The entire series is also available via download from Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
.
Two different games were released online to promote the film. "Chakker" was available to play on the film's official Web site while "Crystal Adventure" was a free downloadable game for iPhones from Kewlbox.
Both Subway and Mapquest hosted an online sweepstakes on their respective Web sites with various movie-related merchandise given away as prizes. Both sweepstakes ran from May 18 through June 7 of 2009.
Subway "Escape the Land of the Lost" Sweepstakes
Subway's contest was in the form of a Candy Land-style virtual board game. Players could collect various codes (named after characters and objects from the film) from either Subway cups or by completing specific website-related tasks (such as signing up for MySpace or Twitter) that would unlock other features of the game such as extra spins, shortcuts across the board, or an additional contest entry. Prizes included $5 Subway Gift Cards, e-Movie tickets, movie-related merchandise/apparel/props, an Epiphone banjo signed by Wil Ferrell, $1000 cash, select Southwest Airlines trips, and even a trip for two to Universal Studios in Hollywood to have lunch with the creators/producers -Sid and Marty Krofft.
Mapquest "Land of the Lost Adventure" Sweepstakes
Mapquest's contest prompted players to utilize their website to complete a series of challenges - each a different themed question. Correct answers earned players one additional contest entry each. These questions focused on key Mapquest features such as calculating the distance, fuel costs, or travel time between various fictional locales on a map of the Land of the Lost. Prizes included $20 Subway Gift Cards, prize-packs including movie-themed apparel and merchandise, a 52" Sonia Bravia HDTV, and even a trip for four to Universal Studios in Hollywood.
Will Ferrell also appeared on the season 4 premiere of Man vs. Wild
Man vs. Wild
Man vs. Wild, also called Born Survivor: Bear Grylls, Ultimate Survival, or Survival Game, is a survival television series hosted by Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel. In the United Kingdom, the series was originally shown on Channel 4, but later series were broadcast on Discovery Channel UK...
, which aired June 2, 2009, to promote the film.
Music
The score to Land of the Lost was composed by Michael GiacchinoMichael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
, who recorded his score with an 88-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
Hollywood Studio Symphony
The Hollywood Studio Symphony is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sucker Punch, Jurassic Park 3, Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean, We Are Marshall, Spider-Man 2, Lost and The...
and a 35-person choir. On May 10, it was also announced by Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
on TheLiveLine that some music from Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
would appear in the film. Whether this would be music from the new record was not entirely clear, however during the phone message Mustaine stated that there was new music playing in the background of the message. However parts of the song "The Right to Go Insane
The Right to Go Insane
"The Right to Go Insane" is a song by the American heavy metal band Megadeth, written by Dave Mustaine. It is the final track and second single from their twelfth studio album Endgame, which was released on September 15, 2009...
", from the 2009 album Endgame, can be heard near the end of the film. In the film, Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) sings the original Land of the Lost theme. The musical A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
plays a part in the story, and Will Ferrell sings Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
's 1998 dance pop hit "Believe
Believe (Cher song)
"Believe" is a song by American recording artist Cher. It was released on November 24, 1998 as the lead single from her twenty-third studio album of the same name. It was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, and Timothy Powell and produced by Mark...
". Varese Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
released the soundtrack album on June 9, 2009 (tracks 30-32 are bonus tracks).
- Swamp And Circumstance (1:25)
- The Lighter Side Of Archaeology (1:03)
- Food Coma For Thought (1:01)
- A Routine Expedition (:48)
- The Greatest Earthquake Ever Known (3:12)
- Matt Lauer Can Suck It (1:22)
- Chaka Chasedown (:43)
- The Ones That Got Away (4:17)
- Enik Calls For Marshall (1:16)
- Sleestak Attack (2:01)
- Enik The Altrusian (3:20)
- The Cosmic Lost And Found (1:34)
- When Piss On Your Head Is A Bad Idea (3:54)
- A New Marshall In Town (1:37)
- Pterodactyl Ptemper Ptantrum (:42)
- The Crystal Cave (1:43)
- In Search Of... Holly (1:34)
- Undercover Sleestak (2:18)
- Never Trust A Dude In A Tunic (4:17)
- If You Don’t Make It, It’s Your Own Damn Vault (2:40)
- Holly Mad As Sin (:50)
- Sleestak Showdown (:53)
- Stakbusters (2:33)
- FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT (1:27)
- Crystal Clear (2:31)
- Mystery Cave Reunion (1:22)
- Ready And Will (1:36)
- End Credits Can Suck It! (3:26)
- Pop Goes The Sleestak (:16)
- A Routine Expedition (Version 1) (:50)
- The Devil's Canyon Mystery Cave (Version 1) (2:04)
- Crystal Clear (Film Version) (2:19)
Differences from original series
The film serves as a parodyParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the original TV series, similar to Starsky & Hutch
Starsky & Hutch (film)
Starsky & Hutch is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips. The film stars Ben Stiller as David Starsky and Owen Wilson as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson and is a film adaptation of the original television series of the same name from the 1970s....
and The Brady Bunch Movie
The Brady Bunch Movie
The Brady Bunch Movie is a 1995 American comedy film based on the 1969–1974 television series The Brady Bunch.The film features all the original regular characters, all played by new actors...
. In the original series, the main characters were the father and two children. While the first names remain the same, the film converts the Holly character into an unrelated research assistant to allow for more risque humor because she is the main character's love interest. Will, instead of being a son, is an amusement park operator and survivalist
Survivalism
Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
. Rick Marshall is a paleontologist in the film, not a park ranger like in the original series. The film's budget also uses CGI special effects rather than the puppet and stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation effects that defined the original series." While the original Saturday morning
Saturday Morning
-Album credits:*All tracks produced by Ralph Sall for Bulletproof Recording Company Inc.*Executive Producer/Concept: Ralph Sall for Bulletproof Recording Company Inc.*Engineered by Peter McCabe and Larry Fergusson....
show targeted a child audience, the film was designed for a more adult audience and includes profanity, sex, and a drug reference, among other adult-oriented items.
Release
Land of the Lost was originally scheduled to be released on July 9, but the release date was moved up to June 5 to avoid competition with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
.
Critical reception
The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 26% of critics had given the film a positive review.The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
stated that it "isn't worth the celluloid it's printed on", Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
remarked that "it leaves you feeling splattered", The New York Daily News called it "a high-concept disaster", Christian Science Monitor labeled it "resolutely uninspired", The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
labeled it "lame", and The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
commented that "the whole thing feels at least three summers too stale."
A few critics professed admiration for it, notably Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
who gave the film three stars out of four and wrote:
Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine's Sam Toy put the film #8 on his best of the year list.
On February 1, 2010, the movie led the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards
30th Golden Raspberry Awards
The 30th Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies were held on March 6, 2010 in Hollywood to honor the worst films of 2009. The nominations were announced on February 1...
with seven nominations (tied with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
) including Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Will Ferrell), Worst Director (Brad Silberling), Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor (Jorma Taccone), Worst Screen Couple (Ferrell and any co-star, creature or "comic riff") and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel. The movie won the Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel award.
While at the Savannah Film Festival in 2011, Ron Meyer (President of Universal Pictures), said that "Land of the Lost was just crap. I mean, there was no excuse for it. The best intentions all went wrong".
Box office
On its opening day of June 5, the film proved to be a commercial failure by grossing only $7.9 million. The film performed under expectations in its first weekend in theaters, its $19 million opening was far less than the expected $30 million, thereby making it one of 2009's major flops. The film's box office results fell far behind that of the 2009 comedy The HangoverThe Hangover (film)
The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor...
, which opened during the same weekend. The film's opening weekend gross was about two-thirds what Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
reportedly expected to earn. It made $69 million worldwide.
Home media
The DVD was released on October 13, 2009, with sales reaching $20,286,563 as of August 2011.See also
- Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)Land of the Lost is a children's television series co-created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network....
, the original children's television series created by Sid and Marty KrofftSid and Marty KrofftSid Krofft and Marty Krofft , are a sibling team of television producers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the USA, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s....
- List of Land of the Lost episodes
- Land of the Lost characters and speciesLand of the Lost (1974 TV series) characters and speciesLand of the Lost was a 1974–1976 TV series relating the adventures of the Marshall family . The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and anthropomorphic reptilian creatures named Sleestak...
- Land of the Lost geography and technologyLand of the Lost (1974 TV series) geography and technologyLand of the Lost was a 1974-1976 TV series presenting the adventures of the Marshall family . The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and lizard-like creatures named Sleestak...
- Land of the Lost (1991 TV series)Land of the Lost (1991 TV series)Land of the Lost is a half-hour Saturday-morning children's series that debuted on ABC in the fall of 1991. The series was very popular, ranking #1 on Saturday Mornings during its first season, and ran for an additional season. Re-runs were later picked up by Nickelodeon...
, the TV remake of the original series - The Land That Time Forgot (2009 film)The Land That Time Forgot (2009 film)The Land That Time Forgot is a 2009 science fiction film by independent American film studio The Asylum. The film is an adaptation of the 1918 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name, and a re-make of the 1975 Amicus film starring Doug McClure...
, a mockbusterMockbusterA mockbuster is a film created with the apparent intention of piggy-backing on the publicity of a major film with a similar title or theme and are often made with a low budget. Often these films are created to be released direct-to-video at the same time as the mainstream film reaches theaters or...
made by The AsylumThe AsylumThe Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
intended to capitalise on this film.
External links
- Film's trailers
- Interview with Sid and Marty KrofftSid and Marty KrofftSid Krofft and Marty Krofft , are a sibling team of television producers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the USA, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s....
on Sci Fi ChannelSyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...