Jumanji

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.

In Bradford, New Hampshire, in 1969, the bullied boy Alan Parrish overhears drumbeats and finds a boarding game called "Jumanji" that was buried one hundred years ago by two boys in the real estate of Alan's father Sam Parrish (Jonathan Hyde). Alan plays the game with his sweetheart Sarah Whittle and vanishes while Sarah flees from bats that have arrived in his mansion.

In the present days, in 1995, Nora Shepherd (Bebe Neuwirth) moves to the abandoned house that belonged to Sam Parrish with her orphan niece Judy Shepherd (Kirsten Dunst) and nephew Peter Shepherd (Bradley Pierce) that lost their parents in a car accident in Canada. They hear the drumbeats, find the Jumanji and decide to play the boarding game. They bring giant mosquitoes, monkeys, a lion and Alan Parrish (Robin Williams) back home twenty-six years older. Soon they discover that they need to finish the game to restore everything the way they were. But the game is too dangerous and brings different threats to them and to Bradford while they play.

"Jumanji" is a delightful adventure and family entertainment from the 90's. The story is original and the special effects are still great after twenty years. It is so good to see Robin Williams again and curious to recall Kirsten Dunst still a girl. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Jumanji"

I watched this classic in 2021 for the first time. Trust me, I never felt like old boring stuff. It was truly amazing. Nor, after watching the Jumanji movies till now except for this, did I find this one to be similar. It was different. It was Classical. It was a great show. Fantastical Fantasy. Good adventure although latest ones have lot more. However, this, suprised me considering I had made up my mind of what Jumanji could be. But this was truly amazing. Although latest ones have great cast, next level VFX, astounding adventure, this one's the best. I do love the first part of the latest ones that came in 2017, I'd find rather take a tie between the two than selecting one. Thank you. However, lemme tell you, it was leaving Prime, so I watched and it was worth it.

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.

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.