It is widely known that the Jurassic franchise comprises six films, but there are other media out there that are cannon, such as Battle at Big Rock and Camp Cretaceous. These titles have a specific place in the franchise to help expand the plot through various means and devices, and both are important for their specific mission in the general scheme of the franchise. WIth that being said, it's time to break down how to watch the franchise chronologically so that it makes the most sense.
Jurassic Park
"Welcome to Jurassic Park." The lines first uttered by Richard Attenborough in 1993's Jurassic Park officially let the audience know what they were in for in this journey. The film, a masterpiece written by Michael Crichton, and brought to life by the eyes of legendary director Steven Spielberg and the ears of the incredible John Williams, fully imagined a real possibility to bring dinosaurs into the 20th Century via cloning. Little did they all know that their work would spawn one of Hollywood's most exciting franchises.
Starring Sam Neill, Richard Attenborough, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, and more, Jurassic Park is an action adventure of epic proportions set against the mightiest creatures to have ever walked the earth. The film expands on the man versus beast dynamic when a tropical storm off the coast of Isla Nublar knocks power off the grid. This, combined with the trouble that Dennis Nedry's distraction causes, costs lives and gets others injured. The film is a staunch reminder that humans cannot always control everything, especially dinosaurs who don't know what century they are in, which, by the way, was likely all of them.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Before Vince Vaughn was a fast-talking car salesmen-type of incredible hilarity and charm, he starred alongside Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore in the sequel to Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The film finds Dr. Ian Malcolm with a relatively new set of characters alongside him, despite brief cameos by Lex, Tim, and John Hammond. The film takes place on a new island of dinosaurs amid a power struggle between Hammond and his nephew for control of Ingen. The new team must survive without fences and in the wide open after several series of unfortunate events that would make Lemony Snicket smile.
Jurassic Park III
Arguably the weakest film of the original trilogy, Jurassic Park III closes it out with a rescue attempt gone horribly wrong. Neill reprises his role as Dr. Alan Grant, who gets roped back into action along with William H. Macy, in director Joe Johnston's shot at the Jurassic franchise. The film shows Macy and Tea Leoni as Paul and Amanda Kirby, respectively, hiring Dr. Grant and his protégé Billy under false pretenses to rescue their son on Isla Sorna, an island Dr. Grant had never been to, despite the incorrect information the Kirbys had on him. The couple employs a group of mercenaries to help ward off trouble, but they don't last long as the horrors of the island are soon revealed along with a new dinosaur: Spinosarous!
Jurassic World
Jurrasic World is the film that finally sees John Hammond's dream come completely to life as a Disneyland-type resort and attraction center. It is also the last film in clear watching order if the audience wishes to watch all Jurassic projects in order. The film centers around Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) in their struggle to find Claire's nephews after the newest asset of Jurassic World breaks containment. The audience also sees the degradation of the resort in how a disaster of this proportion may actually happen, with a complete systemic failure across the board, one after the other like a set of dominos — but, hey, that scene with Owen driving through the forest with a pack of raptors is pretty legit.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 1
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is an animated show on Netflix that ties directly into the Jurassic franchise. It follows a group of teenagers who face life or death scenarios over the course of five seasons as they try to escape various islands. In Season 1, the group consisting of Darius, Yasmina, Ben, Sammy, Kenji, and Brooklyn are left behind during the evacuation of Jurassic World thanks to the break out of the Indominus Rex. The dinosaur is even shown chasing that main core of characters throughout the season until they realize it hasn't been seen for a while, thanks to the events of the film Jurassic World. The first season is best viewed with the thought in mind that the events of the film happened all around the entire season: beginning, middle, and end.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
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The second film of the new series, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom involves a rescue mission turned double-cross, revolving around Claire, Owen, and newcomers Zia and Franklin. The double-cross is set up by the Eli Mills, assistant of John Hammond's business partner Benjamin Lockwood. Quite a few species of dinosaurs are brought back from the island before it explodes and are brought back to the Lockwood estate for auction. It is here that the dinosaurs are finally released by Maise Lockwood, Benjamin Lockwood's granddaughter.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Seasons 2-5
As the kids in Camp Cretaceous go through several scenarios — life, death, love, trust, and betrayal — they often have the dinosaurs' needs close to their hearts as well. Darius especially is shown on several occasions to be brave enough to not only save his friends, but also save the dinosaurs when he didn't always have to. Season 2 starts in the moments before the opening of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, a scene that the audience witnesses from the perspective of Darius and Yasmina. In the film, we are never shown the length of time between the film's opening and the rest of the film, but according to Camp Cretaceous, the time gap is over six months. The last season ends as the kids finally escape the island, and Brooklyn has just called the group to tell them she has heard about the sale at the Lockwood estate, only for Darius to look out the window and see a dinosaur in the streets.
Battle at Big Rock
The short film Battle at Big Rock, also directed by Colin Trevorrow, was released to show the aftermath of dinosaurs being released into human society. The eight-minute film — which you can watch on Jurassic's YouTube channel — shows a family's camping trip turned battle for survival when a carnivorous Allosaurus enters the campground the family is staying at. It is not only fought off by the family themselves, but also a family of peaceful Nasutoceratops. The film is brief, but it is important as it outlines the first conflict the audience sees of dinosaurs affecting the human world.
Jurassic World: Dominion
The final film in the franchise (at least for now), Jurassic World: Dominion brings most of the main characters back together from the previous films: Alan Grant, Ellie Sadler, Ian Malcolm, Claire Dearing, and Owen Grady. The film sadly doesn't focus much on the interactions between dinosaurs and humans in the real world outside a few scenes, albeit action-packed, sprinkled throughout the film. Instead, the film focussed on a mystery revolving around Biosyn, the company of Dr. Lewis Dodgson, who has also been around since the first film, although only seen in Jurassic Park, Camp Cretaceous (season 5), and of course Jurassic World: Dominion. Despite the apparent lack of conflicts between dinosaurs and humans in the human world, outside the Dolimites in Italy, Dominion does wrap up the franchise, even showing Dr. Henry Wu gaining redemption for his villainous acts in the previous two films.