By Zack Zagranis
| Published
Land of the Lost (2009) might not be the first movie that comes to mind when you think of Will Ferrell, it might not even be the tenth, but somewhere in the back of your mind, right below Semi-Pro but right above Holmes & Watson there’s a memory, “Oh yeah, Will Ferrell was in a Land of the Lost remake!”
Once you dig through the recesses of your memory and find some actual images of the movie, you’ll probably think, “Hey, that Land of the Lost movie wasn’t actually that bad. I definitely laughed a few times.” It’s a better movie than it gets credit for being.
For those of you who don’t remember, Land of the Lost is a 2009 sci-fi action comedy loosely based on a 1974 kids’ show of the same name.
The movie follows Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell), Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel), and Danny McBride as Will Stanton as they travel to a prehistoric land full of dinosaurs, a species of ape-like humanoids, and an army of evil reptilians, the Sleestaks.
Land of the Lost was based on a ’70s children’s series created by Sid and Marty Krofft. The series was one of the few from the duo not to feature psychedelic puppets ala H.R. Puffenstuf and instead used stop-motion to bring all of its dinosaurs to life.
Land of the Lost was remade once before the 2009 film, again as a television series this time in 1991.
Differences Between The Land Of The Lost TV Show And The Movie
The biggest difference between the two TV versions of Land of the Lost and the big-screen adaptation is the relationship between the characters. In both the 1974 and 1991 series, it’s Rick Marshall and his children, Will and Holly Marshall, who get stranded in the Land of the Lost.
In the film, Rick Marshall is a quantum paleontologist working at the La Brea Tar Pits while Holly is a Cambridge student working on her Doctoral thesis, and Will is a theme park owner who finds himself caught up in the other two’s time-traveling shenanigans.
Filming In The Land Of The Lost
The movie was directed by Brad Silberling, the director behind the 1998 Nic Cage, Meg Ryan angel romance, City of Angels.
The screenplay was a joint effort between Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas. Production on Land of the Lost began in early 2008 and consisted of one week of filming on a soundstage in front of a green screen.
The rest of the filming taking place on location in the Mojave Desert, the La Brea Tar Pits, and Trona, California.
Land Of The Lost Was Supposed To Be Rated-R
The film is notorious for taking an adult approach to the source material. Originally rated R before cuts were made to bring the rating down to PG-13, Land of the Lost was a raunchy parody of the original children’s series full of profanity, references to sex, drugs, and lots of other content that wouldn’t fly on a kids’ show.
Whether it was because of its change in tone or something else, the movie bombed upon release. The film premiered in theaters on June 5, 2009, and started underachieving immediately.
Land Of The Lost Box Office Numbers And Critical Reception
Originally projected to bring in $30 million, Land of the Lost’s opening weekend grossed only $19 million, missing over $10 million. In the end, the movie managed to gross only $69 million during its entire theatrical run, far below its $100 million+ budget.
In 2014, Land of the Lost made a Los Angeles Times list of the most expensive box office flops of all time. The movie currently has an approval rating of only 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critic consensus that reads.
“Only loosely based on the original TV series, Land of the Lost is decidedly less kid-friendly and feels more like a series of inconsistent sketches than a cohesive adventure comedy.”
The Audience Attack On Will Ferrell’s Comedy
With a 32% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a middling IMDb rating of 5.3/10, the film struggled to connect with audiences. Much of that hate may have been driven by fans of the original TV show who were disappointed by the film’s lack of charm and coherent plot.
Despite that initial reaction, time has been kind to it. If you can get past worrying about whether Land of the Lost sticks to its source material, there’s fun to be had. The movie works well as a “shut your brain off after work” kind of movie.
