Jumanji
| ♥ | This article is dedicated to Robin Williams (1951-2014) |
| Jumanji | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 "I've seen things you've only seen in your nightmares. Things you can't even imagine; things you can't even see. There are things that haunt you in the night; then something screams, and you hope to god you will not meet the same fate. Afraid? You don't even know what afraid is." -Alan Parrish
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Jumanji (stylized as JUMANJI) is a 1995 fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Joe Johnston. It is loosely based on the 1981 children's novel by Chris Van Allsburg and the first installment of the Jumanji franchise. The film was written by Greg Taylor, Jonathan Hensleigh, Van Allsburg and Jim Strain. It stars Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, Bonnie Hunt, Bradley Pierce, Jonathan Hyde and Bebe Neuwirth.
Plot
A magical board game unleashes a world of adventure on siblings Peter (Bradley Pierce) and Judy Shepherd (Kirsten Dunst). While exploring an old mansion, the youngsters find a curious, jungle-themed game called Jumanji in the attic. When they start playing, they free Alan Parrish (Robin Williams), who's been stuck in the game's inner world for decades. If they win Jumanji, the kids can free Alan for good -- but that means braving giant bugs, ill-mannered monkeys and even stampeding rhinos!
Why It Rocks
- The idea of a cursed, magical board game is a fantastic and well executed premise.
- Amazing acting, especially from Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce. Jonathan Hyde was also good as the villain Van Pelt and Samuel Parrish.
- Brilliant, beautiful, and sometimes suspenseful score that was composed by James Horner.
- Fantastic visual and special effects that are a nice blend of practical and CGI.
- The scene where Alan Parrish discovers that he has been trapped in the board game for 26 years and realizes that his parents are dead is emotional and heartbreaking.
- The story is well written and a fantastic mixture of adventure, drama, comedy, thriller and horror.
- Memorable characters, especially Alan Parrish and Sarah Whittle.
- Lots of suspenseful and intense moments, such as Alan being sucked into the board game and the stampede of animals being unleashed.
- Excellent directing from Joe Johnston.
- The cinematography by Thomas E. Ackerman is good.
- Significant dialogue, like Alan's monologue after Peter tries reverse psychology to get him to play, "You think monkeys, mosquitoes, and lions are bad? That's just the beginning. I've seen things you've only seen in your nightmares. Things you can't even imagine. Things you can't even see. There are things that hunt you in the night. Then something screams. Then you hear them eating, and you hope to God that you're not dessert. Afraid? You don't even know what afraid is. You will not last 5 minutes without me."
- Memorable and great quotes, such as "End of the line, Sonny Jim. Game's up. Start Running" and "What year is it?!".
- The film spawned an animated series, the 2017 reboot and its sequel, a prequel, and a spin-off film, Zathura: A Space Adventure.
Bad Qualities
- The CGI effects, even for its time in 1995, are terrible and has not aged well for today's standards.
- There are some scenes that can be very frightening for its target audience, like the scene when Alan gets sucked into Jumanji when he was young.
- It has unlikable characters like Billy Jessup (Alan Parrish's bully), who is never seen again and doesn't get any comeuppance.
Reception
Box Office
Jumanji did well at the box office, opening at number 1 and earning $100.5 million in North America and an additional $162.3 million overseas, making a worldwide gross of $262.8 million. It was declared a box office success.
Critical Response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 54% from 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's consensus reads, "A feast for the eyes with a somewhat shaky plot, Jumanji is a good adventure that offers a decent amount for the whole family". The film has a 39 out of 100 on Metacritic with 7.7/10 user score.
Van Allsburg approved of the film despite the changes from the book and it not being as "idiosyncratic and peculiar", declaring that "the film is faithful in reproducing the chaos level that comes with having a jungle animal in the house. It's a good movie".
Trivia
- According to author Chris Van Allsburg, the word "jumanji" is Zulu for "many effects," which alludes to "the exciting consequences of the game" as mentioned in the film.
- Bradley Pierce underwent three hours of applying prosthetic makeup for his scenes as a monkey, for about 15 to 20 days.
- The Jumanji game board was very popular throughout the years, to the point where a screen used board was sold in 2014 for $60,800.
- There was a scene in the movie where the monkeys come in front of the window of a shop and see that a TV is playing a scene from The Wizard of Oz where the Tin Man fights the winged monkeys.
Videos
External Links
Jumanji at the Internet Movie Database
Jumanji on Rotten Tomatoes