Movie review: ‘Jumanji’

FloridaGator80
A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

I was going to do a review of “Jumanji” in August 2014, but the tragic death of Robin Williams took it off my schedule. However, I finally decided to re-watch and review it. The film is unusual in that there is a time travel aspect (or should I say, “time reset”) that doesn’t come into play until the denouement – usually the time such a component comes much earlier in a film. In any case, “Jumanji” is delightful on a variety of levels from its family-friendly component to the work of Williams and somewhat newcomer Kirsten Dunst. If you haven’t seen “Jumanji” in some time, check it out again. It will be worth your time.

‘Jumanji’
(1995; 104 minutes; rated PG; directed by Joe Johnston and starring Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt)

GETTING LOST IN THE GAME

(NOTE: I expanded this review with additional trivia, more opinion and the updating of links on Oct. 11, 2017. I again expanded the review on Aug. 16, 2021. I again expanded it on May 13, 2026.)

Of course, it’s easy to use hindsight to know that the late Robin Williams was the perfect choice for the lead in “Jumanji” – after all, the film was a success at the box office and it showed its strength of fan support with a worldwide take of $262 million. But, until you expend the time and energy to see it again, you might find it difficult to remember the great man-is-a-boy work of Williams.

Also, with “Jumanji,” you get a wonderful performance from Kirsten Dunst, who was 13 when the film was released. Even though “Jumanji” was her eighth film and 13th acting credit overall (including a skit on TV’s “Saturday Night Live”), it was her biggest part to date and she handles it like the consummate professional she remains. The supporting cast here isn’t deep, but it is talented and gives a good effort that elevates the film.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

“Jumanji” opens with a boy (“Alan Parrish”) being bullied and while running away from his troubles, including an argument with his father. He finds a mysterious board game called “Jumanji” and winds up playing it with a girl from school who visits after seeing him bullied. As the two play the game, the boy is physically sucked into the game and the rules say he won’t be released until a “5” or “8” is rolled as the game needs to continue. In terror, as bats arrive because of the game, she flees and therefore he is left stuck inside the game.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

Fast forward 26 years and a woman with two orphaned children move into the boy’s house, which is now decrepit. Naturally, they find the board game (its thumping drums are a lure to only the ears of its next victim or victims) and begin playing. After a few turns and the beginning of the avalanche of problems, the number five is rolled and an adult “Alan” played by Williams appears a few minutes later to save them from a lion that has appeared from the game.

The three bond quickly and realize they must keep playing the game to set time back to 1969 when “Alan” disappeared into it. The future of the boy’s hometown is bleak and Williams finds that his parents have died. However, they manage to locate the little girl (now a grown-up Bonnie Hunt) because they need her to complete the game. The group begins an adventure where they are chased by a “great white hunter”-type who has it in for Williams (he suspiciously resembles the father!).

They conquer all the game’s tests (from huge mosquitoes to a crocodile to a roaming stampede of animals) and, as in all family-friendly films, everything turns out with a happy ending for everyone – except the hunter, of course – and things revert to back how they were when “Alan” was sucked into the game. The last scene is a nice second fast-forward to see Williams and Hunt together as adults in the end as they meet their two young friends for the “first” time.

“Jumanji” is filled with computer generated animals and birds and the monkeys are very funny, especially the crew riding a police motorcycle.

Let’s take a look at some of the principal cast:

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

    The most remarkable acting job is how Oscar winner (not for this one) Williams as the adult “Alan Parrish” projects himself as having a boy’s personality in an adult’s body. He is more mature when he appears, but he has been ducking creatures and the hunter for years and has no idea what the modern world contains. He even chortles with glee like a boy as he fools Hunt into playing the game again. The transformation of the boy coming out of the man is truly excellent work by Williams. Williams is most recognizable as “ Doubtfire” as well as having gotten a nomination for “Good Morning, Vietnam” and was in the little-remembered but excellent “Moscow on the Hudson.” He won his Oscar for “Good Will Hunting” and was nominated for “The Fisher King” and “Dead Poets Society.” Sadly, he took his own life in 2014 at the age of 63.

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

    However, it is Oscar nominee and four-time Golden Globe nominee (not for this one) Dunst as “Judy Shepherd” who is the backbone of the film. She’s the older sibling and has a knack for being in charge of her younger brother. Dunst carries the day as the adventurous girl who provides the spine for the entire group. It’s easy for a young actor to be vulnerable, but she elevates her role. Dunst has also been in the “Spider-Man” franchise as well as “Wimbledon” and the little-remembered but hilarious “Dick” where two girls befriend President Nixon. She was nominated for the TV version of “Fargo” and in film for “Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles.” I also enjoyed her brief appearance in “Wag the Dog” (click here to read my review). Dunst was nominated for an Oscar and a Globe for her work in “The Power of the Dog.”

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

    A two-time Golden Globe nominee and Primetime Emmy nominee (not for this one), Bonnie Hunt is especially good here as the grown up “Sarah Whittle.” She lives in the same house in town (that’s how they find her) but she’s going by another name and has her shrink on speed dial. Hunt shows all the range of emotions from the retiring woman hiding behind a door to antsy when she sees the game board again and finally to fighting for herself and her friends. Hunt is even better here than she was in “Cheaper by the Dozen” and its sequel (click here to read my review of the sequel). Hunt has also been in “Return to Me” and “Jerry Maguire” as well as TV and voicing roles. She received her nominations for her self-titled TV series “Life with Bonnie.”

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

    The father/bad guy in this one is Jonathan Hyde, who plays “Sam Parrish” and the hunter “Van Pelt.” Hyde does a good job in character(s) that are not dissimilar. As the father, he’s aloof but ultimately caring and as “Van Pelt” he’s absolutely focused and purposefully strident in trying “to make a man” out of Williams. He carries the role perfectly balanced and it’s one of the few times that the actor playing the bad guy comes up roses in the end. Hyde was also in “Titanic” and “The Mummy.” I liked him best in the kid flick “Ri¢hie Ri¢h.”

Below the starring cast, you’ll find two very fine actors who have neat supporting roles here:

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

    David Alan Grier, who made his early mark with TV’s outstandingly creative “In Living Color,” plays “Carl Bentley,” who is fired by Williams’ father back in the day and is a policeman when Williams returns as an adult. He’s kind of pinballing it through the story since he does a good job in conveying his character never getting his feet set at any one time. Grier has also been in “Stuart Little” and the film version of “Bewitched.”

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

    A two-time Primetime Emmy winner and two-time nominee, Bebe Neuwirth, plays “Nora Shepherd” as the kids’ aunt. She’s trying to settle down a home life for the newly orphaned youngsters and she’s struggling to achieve balance for the whole mess. Neuwirth, who’s most recognizable for her role as the frosty “Dr. Lilith Sternin-Crane” on TV’s “Cheers” (both her Emmy wins), glides through her work here but doesn’t push it into something-special territory. Neuwirth has also been in “The Faculty” and the remake of “Fame” from 2009. She was nominated for both TV’s “Frasier” and the TV flick “Dash and Lilly.”

Rounding out my look at the cast are:

Bradley Pierce is the younger sib of Dunst here as he plays “Peter Shepherd.” Pierce is solid in this role and I don’t believe any young actor with this much screen time can do a bad job. Pierce has also been in “The Undercover Kid” and a string of TV roles.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Jumanji.”

Darryl Henriques plays a gun store salesman and he turns a nifty effort here as Hyde comes in for ammo. When he’s told that they don’t make it for his ancient rifle, he wants to buy a new weapon (right out of today’s headlines: it is a semi-automatic with drum magazine and scoped with suppressor). Henriques starts talking about a waiting period and all the paperwork needed to purchase such a weapon, so Hyde pours out a handful of gold coins. Without pause, Henriques continues smoothly “… or I could fill these out” and then asks, “You’re not a postal worker, are you?” Heriques has also been in “The Right Stuff” (click here to read my review) and “Beverly Hills Cop II.”

“Jumanji” was seventh at the U.S. box office in 1995 with $100.4 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. “Jumanji” made $262.7 million worldwide on a budget of $65 million, according to Wiki. The No. 1 film was “Toy Story” with $191.7 million and “Jumanji” was just ahead of “Casper” with its $100.3 million. Here are the other films from 1995 that I’ve reviewed:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Williams’ middle name was McLaurin; Neuwirth’s full birth name is Beatrice J. Neuwirth; and Henriques was born on the island of Jamaica.
  • Scarlett Johansson auditioned for the role of “Judy,” but thank goodness Dunst won out. It would have been difficult to take Johansson here at an even younger age than Dunst was at the time of filming. While watchable on screen (and I especially enjoyed her work in the Coen brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” – click here to read my review), wasn’t then or isn’t now at the acting level of Dunst.
  • The word “jumanj” is Zulu for “many effects.”
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Was considered the next major motion picture to further develop the CGI concepts used previously in Jurassic Park (1993).”
  • Jodie Foster was reportedly considered for the role given to Hunt. An interesting idea, but I believe Hunt brought more of an emotional approach to her character than Jodie ever could have accomplished.
  • Directly from com: “Tom Hanks was the first choice to play Alan Parrish. Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Richard Dreyfuss, Michael Douglas, Rupert Everett, Harrison Ford, Andy Garcia, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Michael Keaton, Kevin Kline, Bill Murray, Bill Paxton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Travolta were also considered for the role.” Hmmm … only way to express it: A bad idea for each and every one of them – Williams was pitch-perfect.
  • In the gun shop scene, the original music playing in the background was the national anthem of Mexico.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “Although Carl Bentley is shown to have still been an adult when Allen Parrish was a child, David Alan Grier, who plays Carl, is actually four years younger than Robin Williams, who plays the adult Allen. Williams was also ten years older than Bonnie Hunt, although they play characters who were children together.”

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