Over the last couple of years, you haven’t been able to go to any major movie release without being inundated by popcorn buckets. Every tentpole movie has at least one themed popcorn bucket, and each one seems to be more detailed and intricate than the last. But if you’re a theme park fan, then the popcorn bucket game is old hat.
Collectible popcorn buckets have been a thing at Disney and Universal theme parks for a long time, and just like the ones at the movie theater, some popcorn buckets are incredibly creative, some popcorn buckets are beautifully themed, and some popcorn buckets are simply adorable. And then there’s the new Jurassic World Rebirth bucket at Universal Orlando Resort, which is adorable, but I’m not sure it should be.
The new Jurassic World: Rebirth popcorn bucket is a cute little T. Rex with big jaws that open and close, so you can fill its mouth with popcorn. It’s actually a great popcorn bucket, but it’s weird that it’s being marketed as a Jurassic World: Rebirth bucket because those dinosaurs are much more terrifying and realistic-looking than this very cartoonish character. It would be great on a shelf next to the recent Super Nintendo World Bob-omb bucket, not so much a more thrill-seeking dinosaur movie.
The actual Jurassic World: Rebirth popcorn bucket, found in theaters, features a dinosaur incubator that is a little bit more realistic-looking, which I think just makes more sense for this particular movie. It’s just a strange choice to go with a bucket that’s supposed to be specifically tied to the movie release and then have it not really fit with the aesthetic of that film.
This is not to say I don’t love this popcorn bucket on its own merits, because it’s actually perfect, just for a different theme park. I could see this exact popcorn bucket being sold at the Universal Kids Resort set to open in Texas next year. That park will have a Jurassic World land, which is designed to be more family-friendly, and there, a cartoonish T-Rex popcorn bucket makes all the sense in the world.
It will not shock me at all if this popcorn bucket returns when Universal Kids Resort opens, it wouldn’t even shock me if this bucket was actually designed specifically for that park, and is simply being used now because it’s ready and will likely sell more than a few buckets based on Jurassic World fans excited by the new film.
Either way, while I’m not sure it’s a great Rebirth bucket, it’s a fantastic Jurassic World bucket if you want to pick it up. And if this one doesn’t work for you, don’t worry, there are certainly plenty more on the way.
