Jumanji

In 1969, in a small town in New Hampshire, a twelve-year-old boy named Alan Parrish finds a Victorian-era board game called "Jumanji", and starts to play it with his friend Sarah. What the children do not realise, however, is that the game has strange, mysterious powers, and when Alan's token lands on a particular square he is suddenly sucked into the game. Unsurprisingly traumatised by the disappearance of her friend, Sarah runs out of the house shrieking, leaving the game unfinished.

Twenty-six years later two more children, Peter and Judy, orphaned by the death of their parents in a car crash, move into the former Parrish family home with their Aunt Nora. They find the old Jumanji set and start playing the game; when Peter rolls a five Alan suddenly reappears, now a grown man. He explains to them that he has been trapped inside the game for the last twenty-six years and that they must now finish the game which he and Sarah started. This, however, is easier said than done. Not only must the children find Sarah and persuade her to take part, they must also cope with the magical effects of the game. Each roll of the dice results in strange happenings in keeping with the game's jungle adventure theme; animals such as lions, monkeys, elephants and rhinoceroses suddenly materialise and proceed to wreak havoc in the town. Just as deadly is a white hunter named Van Pelt who will take pot-shots at anything that moves, animal or human.

The big-name star in this film is Robin Williams, although it also features a young Kirsten Dunst, later to become a big name herself. This isn't Williams' best role- I generally prefer him in his more serious films like "Dead Poet's Society" or "Good Morning, Vietnam"- but it's a lot better than many of his comedies, which can descend into either silliness or sentimentality.

This is the sort of family film that offers something to entertain the adults as well as the children, and has some underlying serious themes. The main theme is that of courage and of confronting one's fears; the horrors unleashed by the game can (if one is in a particularly serious, analytic frame of mind) be seen as symbolic of the problems that the characters need to overcome. Although (or perhaps because) he is from a wealthy, privileged family, the young Alan is a shy, lonely boy who finds it difficult to make friends and who is neglected by his cold, distant parents. Nevertheless, he does win his father's approval when he finds the courage to stand up to a gang of bullies who have been tormenting him. There is doubtless some Freudian significance in the fact that Alan's father and the murderous Van Pelt are played by the same actor.

Children, of course, could not care less about Freudian symbolism and are generally allergic to underlying serious themes. When I was a child the one thing that would kill a book or a film stone dead for me was the suspicion that it was being used by the adult world to preach some morally improving message to me. (C.S. Lewis was a particular bête noire of mine after an intellectually precocious classmate, who even at the age of nine cherished the long-term ambition to become Archbishop of Canterbury, pointed out to me the Christian allegory behind the "Narnia" stories).

Fortunately, any moralising in "Jumanji" is fairly light, and I suspect that children will simply see it as an exciting adventure story, even if the final twist in the tale involves the intellectually difficult concept of "alternative timelines". The special effects used to create the scenes of the rampaging animals seem to have aroused some excitement when the film first came out, although thirteen years on they have a rather retro, nineties feel to them. (And from the point of view of today's techno-literate youngsters the 1990s probably seem only slightly less technologically backward than the 1890s). 7/10

The hauntingly beautiful illustrations of the children's book are animated in this unique adventure for the entire family. Artistic at each turn this movie is probably not meant for those who have spent more time watching Star Wars than at the library. At least one reviewer could not understand why the computer images were not as "realistic" as in other computer generated animated films. That would be like asking why Roger Rabbit does not look like a real rabbit. They are not supposed to be real. The characters of Jumanji have literally popped out of the children's illustrations full of life and imagination. Similar to Roger Rabbit it meshes two different worlds together. Have fun. Read the book. Watch the movie. Play the game.

The smash hit 1995 film Jumanji- based on the children's book- is a great family film. The plot of the story involves a young boy named Alan Parrish who in the 1960's finds a supernatural board game, that was buried underground in the 1800's. Alan is instantly drawn into playing the game, and Sarah-a girl who lives close to him- also joins in the game. After the powers of the game transport young Alan into the jungles of the board game, no one believes Sarah's story of what happened, and everyone suspects foul play.

Now in 1995, a girl named Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and her younger brother Peter have been drawn into the game after finding it in the attic of the old Parrish house. When they play however, Alan (Robin Williams) is released from the jungle accidentally when one of the kids rolls a certain number on the dice. Now, with the powers and creatures of Jumanji released, they must finish the game. But to do so, they must find Sarah (Bonnie Hunt), because now it is her turn to roll the dice. After finding her, they must hurry before the town they live in is destroyed and before they all die!

Jumanji is great family film, packed with - at the time - great graphics (that now look like a computer game). While some hate this film for being too terrifying for young children, people have forgotten what the rating PG means-PARENTAL GUIDANCE-NOT all ages. So with this in mind guidance is suggested for scary scenes, but I think any child over 3 can enjoy this film. It has no gore or attacks really. Sure, there're some mildly scary scenes, but look at Harry Potter – I think more kids I heard of thought that was scary than Jumanji. Another great thing about Jumanji, is that like Shrek and such films, adults can enjoy it as well. It's not one of those films where you have to suffer through, like many movies coming out today. I think movies like Jumanji are the best of their kind.

The acting was great, and Robin Williams is perfect for the role of Alan Parrish, and Bonnie Hunt and him had good chemistry. Kirsten Dunst in this film was further shaping her acting career, to appear in such films now like 'Spider-Man' and the teen movie 'Bring It On.' I honestly forget the name of the kid who plays Judy's brother Peter, but he was okay. I don't think he was great though. Okay, but not great. I doubt as he gets older he'll get a film career much past his teen years.

So if you want some good, family fun seeing a movie, rent Jumanji. And remember, PG = Parental Guidance, not All Ages, so do use discretion is your kids don't like mild terror, but I doubt you'll have to, especially on video (I'll admit the theater added some more terror). It's not as terrifying as Ebert stated in his review. With all the movies he's seen, I think he's way off mark. He compared Jumanji to being as suitable as Jaws was for children, but big news Ebert, Jaws WAS rated PG. Anyway, I hate when people think of Jumanji as a 'should be PG-13' because it's not. It's great family fun with loads of laughs, jungle animals and creatures, and just plain hilariousness! 4/5 stars. I loved Jumanji, and I DEFINITELY recommend it to families.

I decided to watch this movie with my 7 year old boys and absolutely loved it!! The movie is perfect for that age - suspense, thriller, kids, humor, and Robin Williams. I grew up watching him and miss him so much. He is amazing in the movie, and my boys really enjoyed watching it. I had purchased the game so surprised them with it after the movie and we had a fun game night. I highly recommend it for that age. The new Jumanji is geared more towards teenagers and adults with cheesy dialogues just to generate cheap laughs; this one is a classic. I wish they continued making these for kids, because the new ones are definitely not geared towards kids.

You know the drill: young Alan Parrish gets sucked into a board game called Jumanji, returns when a brother and sister are playing 26 years later, and has to battle the animals that wreak havoc on the town. It all seems pretty simple, but they play some neat tricks with it in the movie. As the adult Alan, Robin Williams is more subdued than usual, but still makes the character admirable. With good support from Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, Bebe Neuwirth, Jonathan Hyde and Patricia Clarkson, this is a pretty interesting movie. I will admit that the monkeys looked pretty fake, but we can't dwell on that in this movie; the point is to enjoy oneself while watching it.

Oh and one more thing: from "Jumanji", I learned the difference between alligators and crocodiles.