Steven Spielberg directed the 1993 film adaptation, casting Laura Dern as Sattler and giving the character a more substantial role compared to the novel.

Trevorrow and co-writer Emily Carmichael also wanted Sattler to have a major part in the film, helping to drive its plot.

The first film gave Dern international recognition, and is often ranked among her best performances, seen by some critics as a modern portrayal of an action heroine.

After a tour, the rest of the group returns to the Visitor Center while Sattler stays with veterinarian Dr. Harding, to take pictures of a sick Stegosaurus.

It is stated that she married a physicist and gives guest lectures at his workplace, University of California, Berkeley, while raising two young children.

Grant has continued his Velociraptor research, which he discusses with Ellie while visiting her, which implies by their conversation that she is traumatized by her encounter with them at Jurassic Park.

She launches an investigation when giant locusts emerge and begin rapidly consuming crops, threatening the world's food supply.

[3] Laura Dern was Spielberg's first choice to play the character,[4] having been impressed with her role in the films Smooth Talk (1985)[5] and Rambling Rose (1991).

This included her appearance, which consisted of basic shorts, "no-nonsense" boots, a lack of facial makeup, and an updo,[5] making for a practical look rather than that of a pin-up model.

[5] She collaborated with producer Kathleen Kennedy on the character's appearance, and worked with writer David Koepp to incorporate some instances of feminist dialogue:[13][14] After surviving a raptor attack in the maintenance shed, Sattler falls to the ground and breaks down in tears.

Ellie was absent from the previous draft, so Payne and Taylor decided to write in a small part for Dern to reprise the character.

[2] Colin Trevorrow, the film's director and co-writer, did not want to feature Sattler or other original characters without a compelling reason to involve them in the story.

[32] Dern expressed an interest in eventually reprising her role for the film series,[33][34] and confirmed in 2019 that she would do so for Jurassic World Dominion, along with Neill and Malcolm actor Jeff Goldblum.

[42][43] Goldblum and Neill had both starred in their own Jurassic Park sequel, and Trevorrow considered Dominion to be Dern's film among the trio.

[64] Reviewing the first film, Adam Mars-Jones of The Independent wrote that Sattler is "conventionally devoted to Grant, but has odd fits of feminism when talking to anyone else".

[68] Saim Cheeda of Screen Rant praised Sattler's newfound independence: "She went from holding herself back for Alan and her ex-husband to taking charge in exposing Biosyn's corruption".

[69] Zoe Jordan, also writing for Screen Rant, believed that the film "slowly undermines [Sattler's] established strengths", particularly in two scenes where she behaves squeamishly around the locusts.

Jordan opined that Dominion "sadly devastates the legendary bravery of her character, especially because the second scene is played off as comic relief and unneeded".

[72][73][74] David Crow, writing for Den of Geek, praised Dominion for reuniting the two romantically,[72] while Gilchrist found this aspect to be clumsily handled.

[71] In the first film, Sattler's primary outfit consists of khaki shorts and an open, pink-colored button shirt, tied at its bottom above the waist and worn over a blue tank top.

[75][76] Kyle Munzenrieder of W called the outfit "decidedly feminine without overtly catering to the male gaze", further writing: "It’s casual, yet conveys a sense of authority and intellect.

However, they did not view Jurassic Park as an "unmitigated feminist achievement", noting that Sattler's expertise "is never treated as especially deep or relevant".

They found it surprising that Sattler is initially unaware of chaos theory, and wrote that Malcolm "explains it to her in the context of a teasing sex scene that treats her like a silly teenage bimbo".

[77] Author Lisa Yaszek wrote in 2013 that Sattler is initially portrayed in the film as "a bridge between masculine/ technological production and feminine/ biological reproduction", noting that she is the only female scientist and the only adult who "wants and values children" as much as her scientific work.

[84] Tom Chapman, writing for Screen Rant in 2017, considered Sattler a "perfect" female lead in the first film, though not quite on the same level as Ellen Ripley.

He considered it "a damn shame she was brought back for the threequel only to be relegated to the sidelines of all the action", concluding, "The world’s foremost paleobotanist deserves so much better".

[80] Kayleigh Dray of Stylist praised the character's portrayal in the first film: "Ellie Sattler didn't just break all the moulds: she positively shattered them.

Andrew McGrotty of MovieWeb ranked Jurassic Park among her best films, writing that she brought "life and nuance to the character, making her the fiercely intelligent and capable scientist that we remember".

[87] Author Lester D. Friedman called her "a powerful and aggressive heroine, a distinct advancement over most female figures in horror movies and within Spielberg's other productions".

[82] Matthew Jacobs of Vulture.com offered particular praise for Dern's performance in the first film, and wrote that the character "has been memed, quoted, and Halloween-costumed to death".