tom holland journey to the center of the earth

Inside 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'

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tom holland journey to the center of the earth

In the crowded summer movie marketplace, a great gimmick can make a film stand out, provided it's done well and fits the story. As the first live-action flick shot in digital 3-D , "Journey to the Center of the Earth" scores big on both counts. This latest adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 novel is an eye-popping thrill ride thanks to the illusion of depth created by the 3-D process.

Under the direction of first-time feature director Eric Brevig, who served as visual effects supervisor on such films as "Pearl Harbor," "Men in Black," and "Total Recall" -- for which he won an Oscar -- "Journey" significantly improves on the old-style 3-D experience that required paper glasses with blue and red colored lenses. Here, you quite realistically get flying piranhas and a T-Rex snapping at -- and drooling on -- you as the underground adventure unfolds.

In this re-imagination of the tale first adapted as a Pat Boone feature in 1959 and subsequently in several made-for-TV versions, Brendan Fraser plays Trevor, a seismologist and professor whose scientist brother Max disappeared on an expedition years before. When Max's visiting teenage son (Josh Hutcherson) shows him an annotated copy of the Verne novel bearing directions to an underground portal in Iceland, uncle and nephew jet off to investigate, with the aid of a local guide (Anita Briem).

The Verne novel serves as a jumping off point rather than a template for the screenplay by Michael Weiss, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, because as visionary as the tale was in the 19th century, "it's way out of date for today's audiences," Brevig explains. "Half the journey was just getting to Iceland, and they walk for months to the center of the earth . The fantastic part is when they're down there. So we kept the spirit of it but modernized it."

According to Brevig, who'd replaced another director on the project when it went 3-D, the story and characters evolved significantly before filming began in Montreal in June 2006. Post-production took more than a year due to pervasive CG elements, around 750 shots split between four visual effects houses. Those posed their own set of challenges, but with a shooting schedule of a mere 48 days, getting the complicated movie completed was equally difficult. Brevig explains why in the following sections, with additional input from actor Hutcherson and visual effects editor Ed Marsh.

Visual Arts

Featured creatures, locations and logistics.

"The idea was to present the audience with things that they've never seen before. Using modern visual effects tools and computer graphics , I can create an environment that's pretty much seamless," begins Brevig. "As the adventure progresses, things get more and more fantastic-a much heightened reality-- and that's echoed in the photography, the lighting and the color palette of the movie" he outlines.

That intensity is heightened in 3-D ; a process that involves filming images with two cameras simultaneously at a 90-degree angle using mirrors so that the viewer, wearing special glasses, sees a single three-dimensional image.

He assembled a team well versed in 3-D and digital HD filmmaking and tested all available systems before choosing the one pioneered by James Cameron and Vince Mason. " For 90 percent of the movie, we used a beam splitter camera. A beam splitter is a mirror that you can both see through and see reflections off of," he explains. "By mounting two cameras, or at least the lenses and the optical sensors from two cameras, onto this rig, you can adjust the lenses so they're different distances apart. For the big close-ups in the movie, I wanted the lenses to be very close together -- closer than the two lenses can fit. So by using this mirror rig, the lenses can appear to be 3/4 of an inch apart. This allows me to get big close-ups that don't hurt your eyes when you see the movie."

Brevig commissioned a compact version of the camera that mounted on a crane or a Steadicam , or used as a hand-held camera. "To my amazement, it worked from the first day through the end of photography. We had one hour of down time the entire production," he notes. But the 3-D format nevertheless presented other challenges after filming wrapped.

"Shots went through at least five or six iterations more than they would have for a regular film just to handle 3-D issues," comments Ed Marsh. "If you spend all day slaving over a tiny 24-inch monitor making the 3-D look perfect, don't be surprised when the image is projected onto a 40-foot theater screen and things aren't in the right place. You have actors embedding in the wall or you have those ducking objects that are way in front of them, or behind them. So you have to work big, early and often," by viewing footage on a large screen.

Because of limitations to the distance the eye can register 3-D, it's difficult to create an illusion of depth for objects more than 100 feet away. The filmmakers solved this by creating depth references, such as a rope in the climbing sequences, particles and bubbles in the water, and the flock of flying glow birds in the underground cavern that establish size and depth of the space. We'll give you the 411 on these and "Journey's" other CG creations in the next section.

Having survived a "trial by fire" on "Journey," Eric Brevig is ready for whichever of several effects-heavy possibilities is scripted and ready to go first.
Josh Hutcherson will play a vampire, "a hardcore bad guy" in "Cirque du Freak," and the now-catatonic survivor of a diner shooting in the indie drama "Winged Creatures."
Ed Marsh recently completed work on the 2-D thriller "Eagle Eye," due out Sept. 26.
Brendan Fraser stars in "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" opening Aug. 1, "Inkheart" due Jan. 9 and "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" slated for next August.

"The idea for a glowing bird had come up in one of the scripts prior to me coming on, and my idea was having these things swarm, to make it a magical moment," relates Eric Brevig. "There are shots where it looks like they're flying in the movie theater. Everybody reaches out and tries to grab one."

Computer-generated sequences like this were shot against a green screen , so the actors had to react to invisible objects that would be added later. "For the swarm shots I would just give them a place on the stage ceiling to look at, and for the close-up where the bird casts a glow onto Josh, we had a guy with a stick and a light bulb ," says Brevig.

Similar methodology was utilized for the giant albino Tyrannosaurus Rex, carnivorous plant and razor-toothed flying fish that menaced the characters. For the latter, the actors "were responding to blue Nerf footballs," notes Ed Marsh.

Brevig provided artwork and animatics -- cartoon versions -- of all the action scenes to show the actors how the scene would play. Nevertheless, 15-year-old Josh Hutcherson, who had helpful experience working with green screen on "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Zathura," found it difficult to react to "a big, terrifying dinosaur when in reality it's a little pink dot. But Eric did a really good job of drawing it out for us and giving us an idea of what it was going to look like in the end."

The dinosaur posed different problems for the designers. "By choosing to have a bright white albino dinosaur they were making the 3-D harder for themselves. They had to play with skin tones and textures to make it believable because it could look like it's not finished yet," explains Marsh. "So they spent a lot of time adding dirt and scarring to make it look more real. Then there was the drool issue -- how far could we push it," he says of the T-Rex saliva, noting that Brevig didn't want to go too far over the top, but "the studio wanted a big 3-D moment" -- and it got it.

As for the giant Venus flytrap that terrorizes Trevor, approval for the sequence was granted at the last minute, "So planning fell by the wayside," reveals Marsh. "We didn't have time to check the shots. It was literally two camera teams working for 18 hours with Brendan Fraser pantomiming the whole thing, with the grand hopes that we'd be able to clean it up in post. We spent a very long time figuring out how the plant should look and move, and changing that motion.

To Brevig, the most technically complex sequence was the raft getaway, "because water is very complex and challenging to simulate. There's ocean and fish and sea serpents, all CG, all interacting with each other and the actors." And, adds Marsh, "in 3-D, you can't cheat. The foam coming off the top of waves had to be rendered like foam coming off the top of waves. It required a much tighter tracking of every element and its position."

We'll discuss other tricky action sequences in the next section.

A couple of days in Iceland notwithstanding, "Journey" was mainly shot indoors on soundstages in Montreal , "so we were spared the weather issues," notes Brevig, who still had to work out how to build 40 sets on four stages, "knowing that we can't film and build on the same set at the same time. How do you change the lighting from an orange-lit desert to the blues and greens of the waterfall set without holding up the set builders below?" The solution? A pre-set lighting grid on a dimmer board that could be changed with the push of a button. "It probably saved us two weeks' production time."

Since big action set pieces are time-consuming to shoot, even with animatic blueprints as guidelines, Brevig "had two 3-D rigs so we would shoot two shots at a time, giving me more editorial coverage and a faster pace. I made a still frame grab of every shot and put them up on boards on the set in shooting order. We'd take them off one by one as we shot the sequences," he details.

His team had only one night to shoot an underwater sequence at the Olympic Stadium pool in Montreal, so "safety divers getting in the shot" were the least of his worries. But advance planning on the lighting end and not having to reload the digital camera allowed him to finish in seven hours.

Several physically demanding scenes involved suspending actors in midair in harnesses while they delivered dialogue. They were shot against a blue screen for part of the free-fall to the center of the earth, except for the portion where the camera is looking up at them. "We put the actors on their sides and we'd dolly past them with the camera on its side," Brevig explains.

He used a similar low-tech method for the waterfall scene, placing the stars on a 50-foot table covered in black plastic. "We went out in the parking lot at night, aimed fire hoses up the table and dragged the actors by wires on their feet. We put the camera on its side so it looks like it's vertical."

Josh Hutcherson enjoyed doing "as much as they'd let me do" stunt-wise, including rock climbing and the sequence where he shoots into the air on a giant kite. He was spared injuries, but Fraser incurred several, including a burned hand from getting too close to an exploding magnesium flare.

"That was day three of shooting and we had to shut down for two days. Not that I wished it on him, but it allowed me 36 hours to go to Iceland and scout locations," notes Brevig, adding that Fraser hurt his back later on. "He was on a big rig and a got smacked in the tailbone. He took the brunt of the injuries, but everyone got scrapes and bruises from brushing against concrete and plaster."

Such SNAFUs aside, "Journey" came in well under its $70 million budget, according to Brevig, who'd happily direct a sequel -- mention of the search for the lost city of Atlantis was included precisely for that reason, he says. "I'd do it in a heartbeat," Hutcherson concurs.

For more information on this movie, 3-D formats and related topics, journey over to the next page.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Journey To The Center Of The Earth’, Where A Group Of Kids Follow Jules Verne’s Geological Path To Help Save Earth’s Magnetic Field

Where to stream:.

Journey to the Center of the Earth
Stream It Or Skip It

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In a new adaptation of Jules Verne’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth , a group of kids in a Mexican adventure camp take the journey that Verne did, with the goal of finding the group leader’s grandmother and trying to restore the Earth’s magnetic balance. Not a small feat, right?

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: An older man in the past, supposedly Jules Verne (Gabriel Goity), writes about his adventures in parallel dimensions, and leaves instructions to his future generations about using the portal to those dimensions.

The Gist: Diego (Sebastián García) is an adventurous kid and an inventor just like his brother Martin (Yankel Stevan), his parents, and his grandmother Pola (Margarita Rosa de Francisco). In fact, the boys and their little sister Violeta (Camila Núñez) are being cared for by Pola as their parents are on a polar expedition.

Diego, along with his buddies Pedro (Manuel Márquez) and Ana (Paola Miguel), is going to an adventure camp for a month. Violeta is also going, as is Martin, who will be there as a counselor to fulfill his university community service requirement. The camp is owned by Pompilio Calderón (Óscar Jaenada), a famous and eccentric adventurer who walks around with a robot bird named Claudio (Santiago Alonso) on his shoulder.

Pola, who’s noticing that the microwave oven is going haywire and magnets are falling off the refrigerator door and crows are gathering outside, calls up her daughter and son-in-law to see what they’re seeing at their research station. She thinks she has to go into the dimensional portal to figure things out. She goes into a cave and opens the portal, and she’s followed there by Pompilio and Claudio; Pompilio has wanted to get into that portal for years. A dog runs out of the portal as it closes and takes the medallion Pola used to open it.

As camp opens, the group meets the shy but equally adventurous Laura (Valery Sais). Martin finds out that Andrea (Carla Adell), an old crush of his, is also a counselor. Pompiloo’s nephew Antonio (Luigi Cerrada) tries to bigfoot Diego and his group by bullying them and playing pranks.

The first night, though, Diego and his group find the dog, who Violeta names “Soup”. As they follow the dog through the woods, into an area Pompilio says is a “no go” for the campers, they find Pola’s medallion. When Pompilio finds them, he sees it as his chance to finally go through the portal. But he doesn’t realize that there are going to be people diving in behind him.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Journey To The Center Of The Earth , besides being an adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel that has been made into two feature films (not to mention a string of hokey straight-to-video imaginings) reminds us a bit of the modern-set adventure series Theodosia . Our Take: José Luis Gutiérrez Arias and Lavia Atencio adapted Verne’s 1864 novel, and they took it in an interesting direction, making the journey center around a group of 21st-century kids. These kids aren’t your typical Roblox or Minecraft obsessives; even the VR games Diego and his buddies play are based on Verne’s adventures. That’s obviously a good thing; instead of showing preteens staring at phones and/or doing the usual coming-of-age stuff, they’re exploring multiple dimensions.

The series has its fantastical, Verne-like elements, even in the present-day setting. It’s most evident in the person of Pompilio and his steampunk bird companion Claudio. He wants to find a rock named Tungsten, and we’re not sure if he’s pure evil or just a sneaky guy. He’s certainly quirky, mixing French in with his Spanish, and Jaenada plays him well, making him just over-the-top enough to not make adults roll their eyes when watching him.

But there’s also the usual “kids at camp” story, with the kid who’s the leader of his/her group, the adventurous girl or girls, the bully who is eventually going to get his or her comeuppance, and likely lots of competitions to get everyone’s juices flowing. That aspect of the story will likely be the weakest, but for the most part, it serves as a way to ground the fantasy aspects of the series.

What Age Group Is This For?: Kids of all ages who like adventure should like Journey To The Center Of The Earth .

Parting Shot: After Pompilio dives into the portal, Soup the dog goes in, too. Violeta has no problem jumping in as the portal starts to close. Will the rest of the group go after her?

Sleeper Star: How could we not cite Santiago Alonso as the wise acre Claudio? The robot bird might be our favorite character in the whole show.

Most Pilot-y Line: We had an issue with how the show transitioned from Episode 1 to Episode 2, but we’ll leave those questions to the viewer as they see each episode. There’s an assumption that’s made at that point, but it’s a big one, and one we hope is addressed properly at some point.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Journey To The Center Of The Earth is a little goofy, but it looks great and the performances of the kids and adults make the show worth watching.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com , VanityFair.com , Fast Company and elsewhere.

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Trevor Anderson

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Occupation: Scientists

Trevor Anderson is the main protagonist from Journey to the Center of the Earth . He is portrayed by Brendan Fraser. He loves his family and carries the family name Anderson in the first movie. In Journey 2: The Mysterious Island , his nephew Sean carries the family name Anderson.

He was first seen chasing Max Anderson, Trevor Anderson and Sean Anderson's father, in his caverns. Max wasn't Hannah Asgeirsson's father. A fiery earthquake begins during the chase. Max then falls to his death yelling "TREVOR!". But this was only Trevor's nightmare. He dosen't appear in the rest of the movie until the other chase.

He then gets his fish to attack Trevor, Hannah, and Sean. But they were eaten by a group of Elasmosaurus.

Next, after Hannah drank water, the dinosaur breathed life into his carnivorous plants. Trevor cuts off the head of a carnivorous plant. He then stabbed it. He then said "A large, carnivorous plant?". Then another carnivorous plant almost strangles Hannah to her death. It then roared. It took the staff that Trevor held. He grabed another of those. He punches it, killing it, and its slime was on his left hand. Last, he pulls the last plant's roots, killing it and saving Hannah. The last plant surviving, was killed by Trevor doing backhand. Now the Giganotosaurus was really angry. He rushed into his rocky caverns and waited. Sean then came across a boneyard, heard ghostly noises, and ran. Then he hid behind a rock, and looked around, hoping that whatever it was that was chasing him was gone. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere, something slimey fell down right on his feet. Sean then immediately realized, that it was in fact, right behind him. he looked up, and saw this 80 foot long prehistoric monster!

After drooling on Sean’s face, he then tried to kill Sean, and broke an arch with his massively powerful head. He even trapped Sean in a small crevase. Trevor eventually saves him, and both were heading for the geyser. However, the evil dinosaur still chased them. He then accidentally ran on some muscovite, a type of rock. He then falls into magma.

Then, the lava went higher and hotter, proving that the Albino Giganotosaurus was still alive. Offscreen, he tries to kill Trevor, Sean and Hannah in the lava. But his plan backfired. Trevor blew up the wall and water was going to the lava. The Albino Giganotosaurus was really really mad now. But lava finally destroyed him and hopefully, forever.

QUOTES: “This was your old mans PSP.”

“Bolivia, Mongolia, Hawaii.”

“It’s a good read”

“Hana? You knew that, right?”

“Hana, your track ends.”

“Don’t ask”

“Hanvunsflaah? I don’t know. No. What?”

“If you mean annoying, then yeah we’re there.”

“WHOA HEY no you don’t.”

“HANG ON...HANG ON...HANG ON” “STOP SAYING THAT.” “SORRY IT JUST KEEPS COMING TO MY MIND”

“Shaun. If your mom asks you were you’ve been, tell her I took you to Italy”

Though he doesn't appear in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island , in a deleted scene he was mentioned by Sean that he went on an expedition.
1 Trevor Anderson
2 Sean Anderson
3 Albino Giganotosaurus

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Where to watch.

Watch Journey to the Center of the Earth with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Modern visuals and an old fasioned storyline make this family adventure/comedy a fast-paced, kitschy ride.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Eric Brevig

Brendan Fraser

Trevor Anderson

Josh Hutcherson

Sean Anderson

Anita Briem

Hannah Ásgeirsson

Seth Meyers

Prof. Alan Kitzens

Jean-Michel Pare

Max Anderson

More Like This

Movie news & guides, this movie is featured in the following articles., critics reviews.

Tom Holland's net worth: How much money does the Spider-Man star have?

Tom Holland (The Devil All the Time and Uncharted) is not only one of the most influential stars of the new generation within the industry, but he has also become an icon in powerful franchises like Marvel .

His role as Spider-Man propelled him to international fame and allowed him to earn significant profits, which has helped him build a substantial fortune and place him among the wealthiest.

In addition to his work in the MCU, he has appeared in other successful movies and projects both on the big screen and small screen. Soon, he will portray Romeo in a Broadway theatrical production.

What is Tom Holland’s net worth in 2024?

Tom Holland has amassed a significant fortune at a young age, thanks to his talent as an actor. Currently, the Spider-Man star has a net worth of $25 million , according to Business Insider and Cosmopolitan.

In addition to his earnings from acting, he has made money through sponsorships and commercial deals with various brands. At one point, he was ranked as one of the highest-paid members in the Marvel cast .

His success in the entertainment industry and his popularity have made him an influential and well-compensated figure in Hollywood, earning him a place among the wealthiest in the industry.

How much has Tom Holland earned at Marvel?

Tom Holland ‘s life changed drastically in a very short time, especially after he joined the MCU as the new Spider-Man / Peter Parker , who has a deep connection with Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr. )

According to Variety, the actor used to sign contracts for less than $1 million for his film roles prior to Marvel. But this changed after starring in one of the most popular movies in history.

Being part of the franchise led him to make millions overnight, and he has been in 10 of the highest-grossing productions up to 2024, each surpassing $1 billion at the box office.

The magazine estimated in 2021 that the star could earn between $2 and $5 million for each of his independent films , adding between $5 and $10 million for a leading role in other productions.

Tom Hollander claims Tom Holland earns millions

Tom Hollander , the 56-year-old actor known for titles like Pride & Prejudice, The White Lotus and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, confessed that Tom Holland really earns millions for being Spider-Man .

During an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, the star revealed that his agency’s accounting department confused him with the young actor and accidentally paid him.

He received a seven-figure bonus check intended for the Marvel actor. “It was an astonishing amount of money”, the star assured during the talk show of Seth Meyers (SNL and Journey to the Center of the Earth).

“It wasn’t his salary. It was his first box office bonus. Not the whole box office bonus, the first one. And it was more money than I had ever seen. It was a seven-figure sum” , he concluded.

More must-reads:

Tom Holland's net worth: How much money does the Spider-Man star have?

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Jules verne, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

In May 1863, Axel lives in Hamburg, Germany with his uncle, Professor Otto Lidenbrock , who is an eccentric geologist. Lidenbrock shows Axel an old Icelandic book, and a piece of parchment falls out with a coded message written in runes. Lidenbrock becomes obsessed with deciphering the message until Axel stumbles upon the solution by chance. The message is from Arne Saknussemm , a 16th-century Icelandic alchemist, and describes how he traveled to the center of the earth.

Lidenbrock is eager to follow Saknussemm’s instructions to the center of the earth, but Axel has no desire to join his uncle on this dangerous adventure. Lidenbrock believes that the earth’s core is not a burning core of fusion, as is commonly accepted, and he hopes that this journey will prove his theory. Axel, though, does believe in a burning core, and he sees the journey as almost certainly fatal. However, he agrees to accompany his uncle when his fiancée, Gräuben , suggests that the expedition might help Axel grow more independent from his uncle.

Lidenbrock and Axel travel to Iceland, where Saknussemm’s instructions begin. They hire Hans Bjelke , an Icelandic eider-duck hunter, to guide them on the expedition. The three men then travel to the Icelandic volcano Snäffel. They travel down a volcanic chimney and enter a series of subterranean tunnels. Both Axel and Lidenbrock find evidence for their respective theories regarding the earth’s core.

Two days into the journey, Lidenbrock leads the men down the wrong path and refuses to admit his error. They run out of water, and on the way back along the path, Axel faints from dehydration. He begs Lidenbrock to call off the expedition, but Lidenbrock refuses. They continue walking and hear a subterranean spring in the walls. Hans breaks through the wall with a pickaxe, allowing them access to a spring they name the Hansbach in his honor. They follow the Hansbach further down into the earth. Axel loses his way and becomes separated from Hans and Lidenbrock for several days. By the time he reunites with them, Hans and Lidenbrock have discovered a massive underground cavern that contains a forest, ocean, and clouds. It is lit by a “continuous aurora borealis.”

Hans builds the men a raft, and they embark across the ocean. As they sail, they witness a plesiosaurus and an ichthyosaurus (prehistoric marine reptiles) fighting each other amid the waves. A few days into the journey, a hurricane destroys the raft and sends the men back to the shore they set off from. Along the coast, Lidenbrock and Axel discover a collection of fossilized dinosaur bones from the tertiary period, and they discover human bones among them. They continue walking and see a giant man herding a flock of mastodons and mammoths. Lidenbrock and Axel leave without disturbing the giant and find a tunnel marked with Arne Saknussemm’s initials. Axel is excited to find proof that they are on Saknussemm’s path, and he suggests blowing up the rocks that obstruct the tunnel. When they do, the sea rushes into the tunnel to fill the space, pulling the men and their raft down into a seemingly endless abyss. As they fall, the men lose their provisions, leaving them without food.

The raft falls into a waterspout that pushes it upwards. As the raft continues to rise, the men realize they are inside a volcanic chimney. The volcano expels them, and the men find themselves on Stromboli, a volcanic island off the coast of Sicily. After this adventure, Hans returns to Iceland, while Lidenbrock and Axel return to Germany. Lidenbrock achieves glory and esteem in the scientific community, while Axel happily marries Gräuben.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

TV Mini Series

Remake of Jules Verne's classic story finds adventurers seeking a mysterious hidden land. They are joined by the wife of another man, who had previously gone on a similar expedition and disa... Read all Remake of Jules Verne's classic story finds adventurers seeking a mysterious hidden land. They are joined by the wife of another man, who had previously gone on a similar expedition and disappeared. Remake of Jules Verne's classic story finds adventurers seeking a mysterious hidden land. They are joined by the wife of another man, who had previously gone on a similar expedition and disappeared.

Treat Williams
Jeremy London
Tushka Bergen
33 User reviews
11 Critic reviews
3 nominations

Theodore Lytton

Jonas Lytton
Alice Hastings

Casper Hastings

Reverend Polson
Society Member
Johnny Alcott
Head Maori Warrior
Tribal Shaman
The Missing Link
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Trivia While on the "beach", they see and then chased by flying creatures that Theodore says are Pterodactyls and Archaeopteryx, that he says are the link between reptiles and birds. They're not. Actually, they're another form of pterosaurs, too big for Pterodactyls, are reptiles and completely different from Archaeopteryx which are winged dinosaurs who really are related to Modern Birds. And they wouldn't be flying together.

Helen : He's going to the center of the Earth. You get dizzy on the botton rung of a ladder.

Jonas Lytton : Not the *bottom* rung.