Some wishes should probably come with a risk assessment. That's the premise of 'Jurassic Ward', a darkly funny animated short that has been quietly picking up fans on YouTube since May. It follows a hospitalised child who asks the Wishes Come True Foundation for a dinosaur. The hapless grant officer explains, reasonably enough, that dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. The kid refuses to take no for an answer, so reality bends and the employee returns with exactly what was requested: a full-grown Utahraptor, cheerfully named Alan — a wink at Dr Alan Grant from Jurassic Park.
Predictably, Alan the raptor is a terrible hospital guest. Things escalate quickly into cartoon carnage: blood, guts, and at least one therapy animal meeting an unfortunate end. The short's own promoter warns squeamish viewers off outright, which is fair — if Wednesday Addams went to animation school, this is the short she'd graduate with. It's the kind of humour that makes you laugh out loud and wince in the same second.
What makes it worth a few minutes of your time beyond the jokes is who made it. 'Jurassic Ward' is the 2026 thesis project of Amber Bellomio, created at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida — one of the most respected animation schools in the United States, and a regular launchpad for student films that later do the festival circuit. Thesis shorts like this are often the first glimpse of an animator's voice before they land studio work, so if you enjoy it, it's a name worth remembering.
No, this isn't a story that will change where you book your next trip. But it's a perfect armchair watch: short, free, and gleefully inappropriate. It's also a nice reminder of why hunting through student animation online beats whatever the algorithm feeds you — the film had been sitting on YouTube since May before enough people caught on.
For travellers with a long flight or a rainy afternoon in a hotel room, this is the sort of five-minute find that earns its keep. Just maybe don't screen it in an actual children's ward.