On Day 1, Daze of the Dinosaurs : Entertainment: It’s been almost impossible to escape the hype leading up to the premiere of “Jurassic Park,” but the movie opened Friday to monster crowds.

It was a jungle out there as the mega-marketed, chomping-and-stomping dinosaur action film “Jurassic Park” opened Friday.

At Universal City’s Cineplex Odeon, “Jurassic Park” was playing non-stop on five of the 18 screens, starting at 10:15 a.m. The movie-going public began its pilgrimage even as workers were applying the finishing touches to the signs, the lights and the thatched-hut souvenir stands.

The background music was disconcerting. Every once in awhile, an ominous single note sounded, reminiscent of the “Jaws” theme. Soooooo Spielberg.

But it was the piped-in growling of marauding dinosaurs--or was that ruckus just the digestive gurglings of a genetically cloned, temperamentally challenged, human-flesh-eating velociraptor ?--that made one’s hair stand on end while walking through the imitation Jurassic Park entrance and its lush tropical greenery.

Judging from the reviews of the earliest moviegoers, including Ken Berry’s eighth-grade honors science class from Pasadena’s John Marshall Fundamental School, the movie version of Michael Crichton’s tale of an ambitious theme park, some genetic tampering, and Fred Flintstone’s worst nightmare is a crowd-pleaser.

The class had been studying dinosaurs and already had read and reviewed the best-selling novel. So it seemed only natural to take in the movie during the end-of-school class trip--even though the science in Crichton’s story is a bit far-fetched.

The kids loved the chomping--one head for sure, and some arms and maybe a goat’s leg, according to their tally. “But it wasn’t too gory,” Anteres Anderson quickly added. And there was plenty of stomping. “The whole theater shook,” she said.

One scene, in particular, made a huge impression on the boys in the audience. Vincent McHenry’s description was among the more tasteful: “A guy got eaten sitting on the toilet.”

It shouldn’t have been any surprise that the kids were wired for this movie.

It’s been virtually impossible to escape the relentless hype that assaulted the American public for weeks leading up to the premiere.

And the merchandise symbolizing the hype abounded Friday, inspiring what quickly became a young moviegoer’s mantra: “I want one. I want one. I want one.”

That’s the first and only thing several young boys said when they spotted the stuffed dinosaur, price tag: $49.95. Most settled for a smaller, and cheaper model. Those with the least indulgent parents got 89-cent buttons.

Spread out under the souvenir huts were some of this summer’s must-have youth fashion statements, coming soon to a child near you. A guaranteed adult wallet chomp.

There’s the Jurassic Park official baseball jacket, such a deal at $225 if you want your friends to think you worked on the crew. Denim Jackets featuring that potentially trendy logo are less of an investment risk at $95. There are the obligatory logo T-shirts ($11.95 for child’s sizes, $14.95 for adults), beach towels ($6.95), baseball caps ($12.95), movie posters ($6.95) and coffee mugs ($5.95).

The kids on the school trip were there for an education. But the crowd also included adults drawn by the promise of dramatic special effects and unprecedented movie realism.

Matthew Bales, 31, an animator at the Hollywood Cartoon Company studio, took the day off from work to see the movie because, he said, “It looks kind of artistically pleasing.”

And adults like Darion Topscott Sr. and Don Flores also were impressed by the state-of-the-art sound system.

“It was intense when the dinosaurs started eating people and fighting among each other,” said Topscott, who brought son, Darion Jr., 13, and 12-year-old twin son and daughter Marcellano and Matinique. “They were scared. The average person would be scared. I think it should have gotten an R-rating, but I guess they just let things like that go these days.”

He thinks the movie is too intense for children under 12 to see alone.

Most of the kids admitted being scared, but said they would see the movie again.

“It was very exciting. I was impressed,” said Melissa Flores, 13. “I was biting my fingers.” Older sister, Erica, 14, added: “I have scratch marks from my sister. The dinosaurs are like so real.”

The two--both television actresses--weren’t the only ones in the family to get caught up in the special effects.

“Every time I heard one of those dinosaurs roar, I jumped,” admitted their father, Don, a writer. “I kind of made it look like a stretch, like I was going to stretch anyway. The realism is so believable. The fear factor tracks in so fast. I found myself twitching.”