Product: Jumanji [VHS] (1995)
Rating: 5.0
"Any last words?" . . . "Jumanji!"
The movie "Jumanji" is one of the best action/adventure movies you can find on the market. It takes place in a small town in New Hampshire. Alan Parrish is a boy growing up in 1969. His father is cold towards him, his classmates bully him . . . he tries to please his father and always seems to fail. Stumbling onto a digging site where a construction crew is building, he comes across a buried chest. Inside he finds a . . . board game? Yes, a board game! Called "Jumanji", it looks interesting, and he takes it home. Later, Alan and his neighbor Sarah begin to play the game. But when Sarah rolls the dice, words appear in the middle of the board . . . "At night they fly, you better run, these winged things are not much fun." Alan then drops the dice in alarm, and sees on the board "In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight." After Alan disappears into the board before Sarah's eyes, she is chased out of the house by a mob of bats that appear in the chimney. ---------- Fast-forward to 26 years later, when a woman and her niece and nephew (Judy and Peter) move into the house where Alan used to live. The two kids find the game and begin to play. They find out too late that once you start, you can't stop. The only way to make everything that seems to be coming from the game (like mosquitos and a lion) disappear is to finish the game, with the person who rolls the winning number to end yelling out "Jumanji!" ---------- This movie does not try to "Wow" you with special effects (although the special effects are good). Instead, the acting takes precedent. The younger actors and actresses (who play Judy, Peter, and a young Alan and Sarah) are really good. Bonnie Hunt, as Sarah 26 years later, is wonderful; as is Robin Williams as Alan Parrish. There IS an overlying message in this story (contrary to the viewpoints of other review-writers): Stand up to what you are afraid of. It's okay to be scared, but stand up to it. And unlike some adventure movies, there is enough comedy to keep things interesting ("Sarah and I would like to get OUT of the floor, so . . . "). With great music and a moving plot, this is a great movie. Any last comments? "Jumanji . . . "