Jaws (shark)

Jaws
'Jaws' character
First appearance	Jaws
Last appearance	Jaws: The Revenge
Created by	Peter Benchley
Portrayed by	Bruce
In-universe information
Alias	Jaws
Nickname	The Shark
Gender	Unknown, possibly male

Jaws is the codename of a shark that has appeared in all four films of the Jaws film series, as well as in a Universal Studios theme parks ride and various video games. The shark made its first appearance in the Jaws novel by Peter Benchley.

Appearances

Novels

Jaws

Main article: Jaws (novel)

Films

Jaws

Main article: Jaws (film)

In Jaws, the shark attacks and devours tourists on the fictional Amity Island off the coast of the New England states. After attacks made by the shark and attempts to kill it, Chief Brody goes out with Quint on the ship the Orca in a last chance to destroy it. The shark appears, then attempts to devour the boat and eats Quint in the process. Brody shoots an oxygen tank in its mouth in a last effort to kill it. As the shark swims around with Brody attempting to shoot the grenade in its mouth, he replies "Smile you son of a ...", then shoots the grenade, blowing up the shark and sending bloody water flying around.

Jaws 2

Main article: Jaws 2

In Jaws 2, Amity Island has not seen a shark attack in a long length of time, However, a water-skiing accident occurs when a new shark appears, causing the women driving the boat to shoot a grenade at it, though the shark survives.

Jaws 3-D

Main article: Jaws 3-D

Jaws: The Revenge

Main article: Jaws: The Revenge

Theme Park attractions

Studio Tour

Main article: Universal Studios Studio Tour (Hollywood)

Following the success of the first Jaws film, a Jaws Encounter scene was added to the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1976 inspired by Disneyland animatronics. In the scene, guests riding in the tour tram are shown various sets seen in the film, but are then attacked by the shark on a shoreline, but survive.

Jaws ride

Main article: Jaws (ride)

The Jaws shark was later seen in the amusement park ride "Jaws" which opened with Universal Studios Florida in 1990, and also opened with Universal Studios Japan in 2001. In the ride, guests are touring Amity Island on 'Captain Jake's Amity Boat Tours', but soon, the shark attacks another tour ship and devours its captain and passengers. As the next boat finds the wreckage, the shark swims underneath the boat and its skipper attempts to kill it with a grenade launcher. After missing, the shark attacks the boat again in a boat house and in front of two large gas tanks, which are blown up. In the end of the ride, the shark is gorged after biting into an electrical cable line, and is shot at once more by the skipper, thus it is killed.

Amity

Along with the ride, there are areas themed to the town which the shark attacked at Universal's parks titled Amity at Universal Studios Florida and Amity Village at Universal Studios Japan. Both areas feature the rides along with themed sets and midway games.

Video games

Jaws video game

Main article: Jaws (video game)

Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure

Main article: Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure

The shark appears in its own minigame in the Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure, which is themed to the ride in the Japan park. In the minigame, the players are on board the Orca, where they must throw barrels at the shark before he can cause damage to their ship. They break the small crates to get effective items such as 10x bottles, bombs or dynamite.

Jaws: Unleashed

Main article: Jaws: Unleashed

In Jaws: The Revenge, the player takes the role of the shark (actually called "Jaws" in this production), where they attack Amity Island and must protect a shark family from seamen. Jaws was allegidly portrayed by oprah winfrey in the first and second of the series

Production

During the filming of the first Jaws film, a mechanical shark was used to simulate the shark. It was referred to by director Steven Spielberg as "Bruce", named after Spielberg's lawyer.