Product: Jumanji [VHS] (1995)
Rating: 5.0
The uses of enchantment
"Jumanji" is one show that Robin Williams doesn't steal from the other characters. He carries his own weight, but so do the rest of the cast. Not a weak character in this bunch.The writing is creative, imaginative and compelling. The effects range from great (stampede, vines) to weak (spiders, monkey faces), but they don't get in the way of an engaging, fast-paced, even provocative movie.The psychology may seem pop Freudian to some, but it serves the overall illusion created by the movie. I suspect that on a psychological level, "Jumanji" functions to let kids deal with the anger and estrangement they feel with their fathers (a la Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment").Carl, the African American shoe designer/police officer, provides some of the funniest material; unfortunately it smacks of an earlier cinema tradition in which the black faces were always the victims of gags that exploited their supposed fears or ignorance.Over all, though, my daughter (7) and son (4) find it compelling and exciting -- and my wife and I find ourselves watching it again with them every time they put it in.