As a child, one of my favourite actors was Robin Williams. I loved him in films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Aladdin, Night At The Museum and many others. When I first watched Jumanji, I didn't enjoy it as I was very young and it proved to be too scary and intense for me. However, now an adult, I enjoy watching it more than I did as a child.
When young Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) discovers a mysterious board game, he doesn't realize its unimaginable powers, until he is magically transported before the startled eyes of his friend, Sarah (Laura Bell Bundy), into the untamed jungles of Jumanji! There he remains for 26 years until he is freed from the game's spell by two unsuspecting children. Now a grown man (Williams), Alan reunites with Sarah (Bonnie Hunt) and together with Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) tries to outwit the game's powerful forces in this imaginative adventure that combines special effects with an enchanting mixture of comedy, magic and thrills.
When this was first released in 1995, it was negatively received by critics, mainly because of the computer-generated imagery and lack of plot. Some critics said that the tone of Jumanji might be too dark and scary for younger viewers. While I did find this scary when I first watched it as a child, it’s now become one of my favourite films. No, the CGI isn’t that great but it was made in the mid-1990s on a tight budget so what do you expect? Because Jumanji is so fun to watch, the CGI is easy to overlook.
Mainly because of Williams' performance as the grown-up Alan Parrish, Jumanji is never dull. He first makes his appearance about 20 minutes into the film and, when we first see him, he’s dressed in banana leaves and has wild, bushy hair. Due to him being trapped in the board game for 26 years, he has been left traumatised and is shocked to discover how much the world has changed since his disappearance. However, he soon learns that he must finish the game along with Judy, Peter and his childhood crush, Sarah Whittle, who, like Alan, was also left traumatised by the game and deemed crazy by others.
Most of the humour does come from Williams' performance, with his one-liners, however, he proves he can handle the most dramatic scenes really well. It doesn’t take us long to forget about his previous performances as the Genie in Aladdin and in Mrs. Doubtfire. This is why he was one of the greatest actors and he will always be remembered.
Strong supporting roles come from Bonnie Hunt, who gives an effective performance as Sarah, and Kirsten Dunst as the mischievous Judy.
Jumanji is filled with a lot of twists and turns and is never far from a thrilling adventure. Throughout the 103 minute runtime, monkeys, a lion, large spiders, man-eating plants, a hunter named Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde) and a stampede of animals including rhinos, elephants and zebras all emerge from the game causing chaos. This makes the game even harder to complete.
Despite the negative critical reception, Jumanji was successful at the box office, receiving over $262million.
Of course, over 20 years after its release, it may seem a bit dated now, what with the technology we have now and most children playing games on iPads and through other means of technology. However, I do think that Jumanji will appeal more to older viewers who spent their childhood playing board games as it will give them that feeling of nostalgia.
I do have my doubts about the upcoming sequel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, as, judging from the trailer, it just looks like an average adventure film that is using the 1995 original as a way to get audiences to see it. The filmmakers have described it as a ‘re-imagining’ of the original. The leading actor, Dwayne Johnson, has stated that it’s not a reboot, rather a follow-up. In 2005, Zathura: A Space Adventure was released and had a similar concept to Jumanji, with many describing it as ‘Jumanji in space’. The reason why the two feature films are similar is that they’re both based on books by Chris Van Allsburg. However, Zathura was never described as a sequel to Jumanji, rather, it was described as coming from the same imaginative mind. While the two films were very similar, Zathura worked well as a stand-alone film. This is the problem with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, it won’t be able to work without being associated with the original. It’s already received a negative reception, with some saying that the follow-up is ‘unnecessary and kind of insulting’, because of Williams’ tragic death in 2014.
In my opinion, I do think that Jumanji is underrated and I highly recommend that you watch it if you haven’t already. It’s fun, entertaining, full of adventure and features one of Robin Williams’ many great performances.
7/10
Mainly because of Williams' performance as the grown-up Alan Parrish, Jumanji is never dull. He first makes his appearance about 20 minutes into the film and, when we first see him, he’s dressed in banana leaves and has wild, bushy hair. Due to him being trapped in the board game for 26 years, he has been left traumatised and is shocked to discover how much the world has changed since his disappearance. However, he soon learns that he must finish the game along with Judy, Peter and his childhood crush, Sarah Whittle, who, like Alan, was also left traumatised by the game and deemed crazy by others.
Most of the humour does come from Williams' performance, with his one-liners, however, he proves he can handle the most dramatic scenes really well. It doesn’t take us long to forget about his previous performances as the Genie in Aladdin and in Mrs. Doubtfire. This is why he was one of the greatest actors and he will always be remembered.
Strong supporting roles come from Bonnie Hunt, who gives an effective performance as Sarah, and Kirsten Dunst as the mischievous Judy.
Jumanji is filled with a lot of twists and turns and is never far from a thrilling adventure. Throughout the 103 minute runtime, monkeys, a lion, large spiders, man-eating plants, a hunter named Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde) and a stampede of animals including rhinos, elephants and zebras all emerge from the game causing chaos. This makes the game even harder to complete.
Despite the negative critical reception, Jumanji was successful at the box office, receiving over $262million.
Of course, over 20 years after its release, it may seem a bit dated now, what with the technology we have now and most children playing games on iPads and through other means of technology. However, I do think that Jumanji will appeal more to older viewers who spent their childhood playing board games as it will give them that feeling of nostalgia.
I do have my doubts about the upcoming sequel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, as, judging from the trailer, it just looks like an average adventure film that is using the 1995 original as a way to get audiences to see it. The filmmakers have described it as a ‘re-imagining’ of the original. The leading actor, Dwayne Johnson, has stated that it’s not a reboot, rather a follow-up. In 2005, Zathura: A Space Adventure was released and had a similar concept to Jumanji, with many describing it as ‘Jumanji in space’. The reason why the two feature films are similar is that they’re both based on books by Chris Van Allsburg. However, Zathura was never described as a sequel to Jumanji, rather, it was described as coming from the same imaginative mind. While the two films were very similar, Zathura worked well as a stand-alone film. This is the problem with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, it won’t be able to work without being associated with the original. It’s already received a negative reception, with some saying that the follow-up is ‘unnecessary and kind of insulting’, because of Williams’ tragic death in 2014.
In my opinion, I do think that Jumanji is underrated and I highly recommend that you watch it if you haven’t already. It’s fun, entertaining, full of adventure and features one of Robin Williams’ many great performances.
7/10
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