The other day, I went to see the 3D movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth". I went in thinking it would just be a kid's flick, but it was a pleasant surprise. While the setting is modern, it's based on Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth," and I appreciate how it incorporates key elements from the original: Snæfellsjökull, a forest of giant mushrooms, a raft, a stormy sea, sea monsters, and a return via volcanic eruption. I was particularly moved, unexpectedly, by the flock of plesiosaurs navigating the stormy sea. Of course, there are plenty of points to quibble with, such as the overly gigantic theropod (apparently a Giganotosaurus) that appears near the end, and the impossibly sturdy dinosaur skull they ride to escape. But the pacing was good, and as expected, there were plenty of "promise shots" designed purely to enjoy the 3D. I was able to enjoy it wholeheartedly. That's why this time I've put together a "Journey to the Center of the Earth" feature, but the disappointing thing is that there was no merchandise at all. I would have liked action figures and such. "Journey to the Center of the Earth" has been made into a movie many times, but as far as I know, there are no related products. Therefore, this time it's a treasure house without treasures. First, as a movie talk extra, let's look back at past film adaptations...

"Cyclotram, the Underground Tank" (1951, USA)

Photo 1

The description says it's a film adaptation of "Journey to the Center of the Earth," but there's no resemblance whatsoever. They drill their way to the underground world in something like a jet mole, but contrary to expectations, almost nothing happens (just two careless people dying from toxic gas). The only ancient creature that appears is a fossil of a lungfish (amphibian?) that seems like a bad joke (Photo 1... please laugh at it). It's an astonishingly boring movie.

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959, USA)

This is a classic masterpiece of science fiction cinema. The story is largely faithful to the original. The underground sets are well-made, but particularly striking are the dimetrodons flocking on the beach. They are the infamous Hollywood-style sail-backed lizards, but since dimetrodons are originally lizard-like creatures, it doesn't feel out of place, and their movements are powerful, so I think the use of lizards was a great success for this film. However, it's a shame that sea dragons don't appear in the raft scene. A budget DVD was available, but is it out of print?

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1976, Spain)

Photo 2

While it generally follows the original, it's disjointed with sudden appearances of future people and giant gorillas. In a very shoddy fight scene between plesiosaurs (Photo 2?) at sea, the ocean turns blood-red and guts spill out, perhaps influenced by "Jaws" from the previous year.

"Earth Explorers" (1999, USA)

Although it's based on Jules Verne, the story is completely different: a beautiful wife and her party descend into the underground world from New Guinea to search for her husband, who went missing after a journey to the center of the Earth. The husband, it turns out, is surrounded by beautiful women and has become a god of the underground. There is a scene where they cross the sea on a raft. This is a comedic film featuring pterosaurs, Ceratosaurus-like dinosaurs, dinosaur-humans, and a group of half-naked primitive women. DVD available.

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" (2007, Canada)

This DVD release seems to be piggybacking on the latest film's release, but the content is actually a remake of the 1999 version. It's much more subdued, with no blonde beauties; instead, descendants of the Inuit live there (as the setting is now beneath Alaska). The raft scene is just a river descent. Instead of the pterosaurs from the previous film, archaeopteryx-like creatures and, in this film alone, a cool plesiosaur appear.

Next up are the translated books. In fact, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" was the first dinosaur novel (though strictly speaking, dinosaurs don't appear in it) to be translated in Japan. This was "Chitei Ryoko - Haku'an Kyōki -" (Photo 3), translated by Aika Miki and Jisuke Takasu and published by Kyushundō in 1885. This was before Yojiro Yokoyama invented the Japanese word for "dinosaur" (kyoryu), so the scientific explanations of Earth's history in the latter half of the book refer to species by name, such as "Megalosaurus" and "Iguanodon." Since then, up to the present day, I'm aware of 30 translated editions (including reissues and reprints) (see list).

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Among the more unusual ones are a 1959 version starring Mickey, Donald, and Pluto (Photo 4), and a manga adaptation by Tezuka Productions (Photo 5).

Journey to the Center of the Earth List

Also, the second issue of "EXCELSIOR!", the journal of the "Japan Jules Verne Society," features a special on "Journey to the Center of the Earth," including a reproduction of an adaptation published in a magazine in 1908, along with many other in-depth articles. You can purchase it from the Society's website.

Finally, let me introduce two Japanese works apparently inspired by "Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth." Hisao Juran's "Chitei Jukoku" (Underground Beast Kingdom), written in 1939, tells the story of a journey from Siberia through the underground to Sakhalin. It's a dark tale where most of the expedition members die, but pterosaurs and dinosaurs also appear. The other is "Shin Chitei Ryoko" (New Journey to the Center of the Earth) by Akutagawa Prize-winning author Hikaru Okuizumi, serialized in the Asahi Shimbun in 2003. This one delves into the caves of Aokigahara at the foot of Mount Fuji. The setting is around the end of the Meiji era, and it neatly serves as a sequel to "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Dinosaurs, of course, appear, but they are subtly modernized, with small carnivorous dinosaurs with crests playing an active role, for example. Mr. Okuizumi (with whom I have a slight acquaintance) is quite a dinosaur enthusiast; the protagonist of his Akutagawa Prize-winning "Ishi no Raireki" (The History of Stone) excavates fossils as a hobby (and has even excavated a complete skeleton of a Paleoparadoxia!), and the protagonist of "Banal na Gensho" (Banal Phenomena) impulsively buys an expensive dinosaur encyclopedia, which leads to a fight with his wife and escalates into an incident. ...On that note, next time I will be showcasing a collection of antique dinosaur toys that I impulsively bought at the "Sekaimon" auction over the past year.