Director: Joe Johnston
Release Date: 1995
Running Time: 1hr 39 minutes
Genre: Adventure
Rating: PG
Synopsis:
When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game.
Jumanji was always a movie that I cherished watching as a child, something that has thankfully followed me into adulthood. Still to this day, it goes down as one of my all time favourites films. The story begins in 1969 on the outskirts of a construction site in New Hampshire, New England. Young Alan Parish is on his way home from school when he quickly realises he is being hunted down by a bunch of school bullies, quick to escape he finds sanctuary in his father's shoe factory. On returning home he hears the sounds of drums, curious he comes across an old board game buried in a construction site. Eager to play, Alan and his friend Sarah begin Jumanji. Nothing could quite prepare them for what comes next, when Alan is suddenly sucked into the game. The journey that continues from that moment on is truly captivating.
The storyline dives into time travel, parallel universes and physical transformations. You constantly find yourself questioning what you are watching. Is Alan dreaming? Is it all a fragment of his imagination, where he tries to come to term with his strained relationship with his dad, who is desperate for him to go to boarding school. The storyline also focuses on death, love and friendship. It really is up to you as the audience to decide how you interpret it. I believe they are living in a fantasy world where magic board games exist and did exist as early as 1869 (two brothers are seen desperately trying to bury it at the beginning of the film) and as the story continues it lands in the hands of Alan Parish and Sarah Whittle in 1969.
Robin Williams stars as grown up Alan Parish, having spent twenty-six years trapped inside Jumanji, he finds himself rescued when Judy (Dunst) and Peter (Pearce) play the game in 1995. Robin Williams is truly magnificent and really brings a child-like quality to his role. You really get a sense of what life was like for him in the jungle all of those years, how it shaped him into the man that he is now. The friendship that he shares with Sarah Whittle (Hunt) feels very real and emotional. Bonnie Hunt portrays grown up Sarah Whittle beautifully. Hunt is fantastic at expressing what she went through in those twenty-six years when Alan dissapeared. The struggle becomes real when they both realise they have to play to finish the game. Judy and Peter find themselves thrust along for the ride when they, too understand they must play the game to help finish it.
Is it time-travel? A parallel Universe? Or simply twenty-six years into the future? Although some characters begin to make sense the more the story goes on, others really have you questioning what you are actually seeing. Alan's dad for example is now a notorious killer named Van Pelt. Jonathan Hyde proves that he is capable of playing an emotional loving father and an evil figure that has it in for Alan Parish. One can only imagine that this is someone that Alan came into contact with whilst he was stuck inside the game. Or is it a figment of Alan's imagination? Is Van Pelt an alter-ego of his father? Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Peace both give tremendous performances as brother and sister Judy and Peter.
The special effects deserve a superb amount of praise. The extensive detail that is shown in each and every scene is gorgeous. The beautiful detail on the board game, from the instructions to the pieces themselves. The way Alan's home looks after it has been hit by a monsoon. You really are led to believe that it's real. The set design is magical, enchanting and mysterious. A library that makes you want to look at all of the sleeves on the books, an attic full of junk including other board games, a fully fledged working shoe factory. The list goes on. It's an enchanting story that will have you tugging on your heart strings and wanting more. Emotional, funny and action packed. This is an absolute must watch!
5/5
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