Some movies are regarded as classic for their contribution to cinema, while others have simply held-up as great marvels over time. Then there’s what I like to refer to as “nostalgic classics”, movies that can’t really be regarded as meaningful cinematic achievements, but still left an impressionable impact on our childhoods. 1995’s “Jumanji” is a prime example, as it was one of my favorite movies to re-watch at home as a kid, and it even expanded my imagination in ways that phew other genuine classics have done.
The original book kept all its attention on two siblings named Judy and Peter, but the movie highlights how the game gets passed on through the ages, and it brings in additional game players. We begin with a cold-opening set in the 1800’s, in which two brothers have clearly gone through hell playing the game, and are trying to bury it underground in an effort to spare anyone else from ever playing. It’s actually a chilling opening, and did a good job hooking my interest while showing very little.
We then jump ahead to the 1960’s, and we meet a young boy named Alan Parrish, who’s currently having a difficult relation with his father. He accidentally unearths the game, and while playing with his girlfriend Sara, he unexpectedly gets transported to the mysterious jungle world of Jumanji. 26 years later, we meet the novels original siblings Judy and Peter, who have just moved into the abandoned parish house. It doesn’t take long for the two to discover the discarded game, and upon playing, they not only unleash all the dangerous jungle creatures on the quiet town, but they also bring back Alan Parish, who’s now a grown man. After Alan reunites with his grown-up girlfriend Sara, the four decide to beat the game once and for all, return all the animals back to the jungle, and all while avoiding the deadly aim of a ruthless hunter.
While the book kept all the excitement contained in the house, the movie wisely takes things outside, expands on the mayhem caused by the animals, and gives our heroes a lot more ground to cover. Yet, the house still remains the central playing ground for the characters to fall back on, and the house itself ends up feeling like a character. On a technical level, it’s just a lot of fun watching the setting of the house get unmade, and transform all through the course of the movie. I especially love that there’s variety to the many obstacles that emerge from the game, whether it be animals or other dangerous jungle elements. The lion, monkeys, Rhino’s and in-door rain-storm were all lifted from the book, while other obstacles like the killer plants, giant bugs, quicksand, bats and crocodile were all original concepts for the movie. The main appeal of watching this movie as a kid was anticipating what kind of new and exciting obstacle may come from the game next. Both the lion and the man-eating plant were my two favorites, as they thrilled me the most, and led to some engaging action set pieces.
Let’s talk about Robin Williams in the lead role of Alan Parrish, as this is one of the key ingredients that allowed “Jumanji” to leave a memorable impression on us 90’s kids. Speaking personally, I was initially exposed to Robin Williams through various Disney films like “Aladdin” and “Flobber”, but it was his leading role in “Jumanji” that got me to put a face to the actor, and it’s here when I took note of his name. While not on par with his absolute greatest roles, I still find his portrayal of Alan Parrish to be an underrated performance on his filmography. As is typical with Robin Williams, he’s both consistently funny and charming, but he also adds subtle layers to the performance that take it a step above his other comedic roles. When Alan first returns to his present-day time, the movie wisely puts all the adventure elements with the animals on hold, and focuses solely on the emotions of the character as he returns to a home town, which has become a shadow of the life he knew as a child. It’s a lengthy sequence without any action, yet Robin Williams performance caries so much, to the point where I don’t even notice the lack of animals on screen. Of course, his witty remarks and animated personality likewise make the character all the more memorable and fun to watch.
Among the films many highlights is the villain, a deadly hunter called Van Pelt, who’s played with a lot of menace and charisma by Jonathan Hyde. Just like our main hero Alan, the villain Van Pelt was a completely original character created for the movie.
He was intimidating, had a memorable look, and yet, was enjoyably hammy in a lot of his delivery. He forever changed the way I’d play hid and seek with my childhood friends, because I’d never say “Here I come, ready or not” like a normal boy … oh no, I’d always be channeling Van Pelt the way he growls “coming, ready or not”. What really makes this character shine is how he parallels Alan’s relation with his father. Taking a page from “Peter Pan”, Jonathan Hyde plays both the hunter and Alan’s father, which was a brilliant idea.
It’s especially effective how they mirror each-others words. In the past, Alan as a boy would get scolded by his father, telling him that “he’ll never be a man, until he starts acting like one”. Then during the climax, Alan finally stands up for himself, faces his fears head on, and Van Pelt responds with the chilling words “good lad … you’re finally acting like a man”. One of most mysterious moments is when the boy Peter first arrives in Alan's abandoned home, and discovers the statue of an intimidating man, who also resembles the villain. That always had me speculating if Van Pelt was a long past decedent of Alan’s family, which would further explain why he bears a resemblance to his father. In short, this performance, laced with the duality of the character made Van Pelt one of my favorite childhood villains of the 90’s.
The remaining cast is all very likable, and even memorable in their own special ways. Bonnie Hunt plays our grown love interest Sarah Whittle, and she’s a perfect counter point to Robin Williams. It’s another committed performance brimming with personality, but she’s more closed-in, next to the lively Robin Williams, and yet they both convey a charming chemistry when on screen together. Bradley Pierce is the quiet boy Peter, who says little, but is always quick to think on his feet. Weather, it be using reverse psychology on a grown adult or climbing a log over a water fall to retrieve something valuable from going over, he’s always quick to adapt to a situation, and displays a great deal of courage during frightening situations. It was something that always inspired me at a young age, because I was also a quiet boy that didn’t socialize, yet I always felt that urge to break out of my comfort zone and do something exciting. One little detail I never cared for was the boy getting transformed into a half-child half-monkey hybrid. It isn’t exactly a bad addition to the film, it just doesn’t seem to serve much of a point.
At last, we come to the young Kirsten Dunst as the older sister Judy, who is cute as a peach, and like Williams, she adds a lot to the film’s nostalgia factor.
She was one of those young actresses I grew up watching through several movies from the decade, like “Kiki's Delivery Service”, “Little Women”, “Interview with the Vampire”, “Small Soldiers”, and even a memorable episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. As I grew older, I found myself exposed to even more memorable films with her, all while she was growing from teenager into a young adult, and it’s one of those special cases in which I felt like I was making a connection with an actress through the ages. I bring this up because “Jumanji” was the movie that introduced me to Kirsten Dunst, and there’s something special about looking back at her in this film while in that mind set.
Her performance has even held up fairly well, as she brings her own charisma to the table, and manages to stand out while sharing a scene with such big talents as Robin Williams and Bonnie Hunt … that’s no small feat for a child actress.
There is one small detail revolving her character that always felt a pinch off-putting, and it takes place during the films climax. While battling some nasty creatures in the attic, Kirsten Dunst’s character Judy encounters a deadly plant that spits venomous barbs into her neck. She collapses shortly after, and Alan states that “her only chance is if we finish the game”, which always suggested to me that she might have actually died. Obviously, Kirsten Dunst is no stranger to playing the pretty damsel, but seeing her die, even temporarily, might have been a bit much.
A common criticism aimed at this movie is that it was far too scary and intense, which I can understand to a degree, but then again, I was about six years old when I first saw this, and I handled everything just fine. Truthfully, the only scene that actually scared me and kept me awake at night was that dooming monologue conveyed by Robin Williams on what it means to face real fear. Isn’t that interesting, the one scene that actually scared me is the only one that didn’t feature any monsters attacking the kids.
I will admit that the animal attacks are far more menacing then “fun”, but for me, it was that element of real danger that elevated the excitement. Even when I was a kid, I never felt that an adventure would feel complete without facing something intimidating. In fact, the over-arching theme of the movie is about facing fear, and growing into another stage of adulthood when you stand-up to the things that terrify you. Whenever I watched this film as a little kid, I always felt that I was climbing a figurative latter into maturity, as I was able to face the menacing creatures on screen, and got a damn thrilling adventure in the process. I should also note that the director of the movie is Joe Johnson, who’s known for making family movies with a slight edge. His first movie was “Honey I shrunk the Kinds”, which was another film that got criticized for being too intense for children, yet has a dedicated fan base from kids that grew up watching it. In a sense, I feel that movies on the line of both “Jumanji” and “Honey I shrunk the Kind” provide a sense of danger and intimidation that’s actually kind of healthy for kids to grow up with. Life in general provides frightening obstacles all the time, and when a kid can say they were able to face something menacing on film, it’s an important stepping stone for them to face the real-life horrors that will inevitably come.
This is also one of those movies that’s stuffed with little moments that have always stuck with me, like the one lone rhino trying to keep up with the herd, the monkeys watching “The Wizard of Oz” on TV, the police officers busted car noting his door is ajar when it’s actually missing, that randomly changing music montage of the step-mother putting the house together, and the whole film is just full of details I could further take note of. The special effects on display are a little mixed, but for the most part are still quiet spectacular. Some of the CGI dose admittedly look a little dated, namely the monkeys, the quicksand, and even some shots of the stampede. Thankfully, this movie wasn’t overly reliant on CGI, and features a fair amount of practical effects, which have all held up extremely well. For example, both the man-eating plant and the giant spiders were all brought to life through puppets and animatronics, and they still look great. Even the climactic sequence of the house getting ripped in half by an earthquake was mostly done in-camera with practical miniatures.
Now, without going into full reviews, I wanted to quickly comment on the further "Jumanji" spin-offs that came after the movie.
"Jumanji: The Animated Series" (1996-1999)
First came the animated series, which ran for three seasons in the late 90's, and had a total of 40 episodes. I'll admit, while I was well aware of the show back when I was a kid, I never actively watched it, and only caught glimpses of it. As such, I don't have too much to say, although from what I gathered, it featured most of the main characters from the movie, but without any direct continuity. It also had it's own set-universe rules, as instead of the game interring the real world, each episode followed the kids as they enter the game for a different quest ... a concept that carried over into the later live-action sequels. The overarching narrative is trying to free Alan Parish, who doesn't escape the game until the very last episode. Van Pelt is naturally present as the main villain again, but there was also a selection of new rouges, and other dangers that the kids had to face. It seems like a reasonable set-up for a series, but I remember I just couldn't get into the overall look, and design of the show. I'm sure the series has it's fans who grew-up with it, so I'll leave it to them to talk about it.
“Zathura: A Space Adventure” (2005)
In 2002, Chris Van Allsburg, the author of the original "Jumanji", wrote a sequel book titled "Zathura", which had a similar premise ... except now it was outer-space themed. Naturally, a movie adaption followed in 2005, which had no direct tie-in to "Jumanji", but it's still part of the same series. Once again, this movie revolves around two siblings who discover an enchanted board-game that comes to life, and takes the players on a wild adventure. Just like in the book, this venture is set in outer-space, and features obstacles ranging from out of control robots, to meteor showers, to nasty aliens, and so forth.
I neither grew-up with this film, nor saw it in the theater, so it has no nostalgia barring, but it’s actually a credible spin-off, and it’s a good alternative to “Jumanji”. “Zathura” is far more fun and lighthearted, yet still packs the elements of adventure and excitement. While the characters are mostly forgettable, and there’s some cringe moments, the “game play” in “Zathura” is actually superior to “Jumanji”, as there’s more to it then just surviving dangerous obstacles. Sometimes the players need to aid a stranded astronaut, other times they can use a code to win an enemy robot to their side, and there’s just so much more detail, and variety to it. Truthfully, while “Zathura” has never stuck with me like its predecessor, it’s still a fun family adventure flick, and one that I think deserves a little more attention then what it’s gotten.
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (2017)
“Jumanji: The Next Level” (2019)
My favorite game-based franchise returned only two years later with a direct sequel, and brought back all the same cast members in their respected roles. In short, it was another round of refreshing escapist fun, with new creative adventure set-pieces, and three-times the charismatic performances, as the dynamic cast find themselves switching between avatars, which led to some fun new interplay between characters. While this sequel admittedly didn't have too much new to offer, it still had it’s own identity, along with some freshly planted seeds of heart, and in the end … this was just another really pleasant and exciting new Jumanji adventure that rejuvenated my inner child.
In the end, "Jumanji" has remained a cherished gem from my childhood, and I think it’s aged better than most people give it credit for. It may not be the smartest, or most heartfelt, or even plot driven, but it is still an exciting adventure movie that can appeal to both kids and adults. If done right, I think a straight forward adventure is all a movie needs to be.
Thanks for reading my review of 1995’s “Jumanji” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
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