Jumanji - Film Review

In preparation of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle I thought I’d give the original 1995 Jumanji a watch, it’s a film I absolutely loved as a kid and I was interested to find out if it still held up today. It’s directed by Joe Johnston whose other work includes Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jurassic Park III, October Sky and Captain America: The First Avenger and it’s based on the 1981 children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg. If you haven’t seen Jumanji it’s a kid’s fantasy adventure film about an ancient jungle themed board game that, when played, unleashes all sorts of chaos into the world bringing the dangers of its self-contained jungle to a small American town in New Hampshire.   

Having such fond memories of Jumanji as a kid it was a pleasant experience to watch it again and have it hold up, don’t get me wrong, it’s a kid’s film this isn’t something I’d recommend to adults but if you have kids, it’s a must watch in my opinion, there’s something comforting about the chaos of it. It’s a fun premise with likeable characters, Robin Williams is fantastic, he’s always great his presence helps elevate films and that’s certainly the case here but I liked everyone. This is probably the most charismatic performance I’ve seen from Kirsten Dunst, I didn’t even realise she was in it until this re-watch, she did great! I liked Bebe Neuwirth as well, mainly because she plays Lilith in Frasier.   

There’s a real sense of adventure in Jumanji, as a kid you’re one of the kids and who better to chaperone you than Robin Williams! It’s an innocent film, it’s warm, it’s cosy and I thought it was really well paced, they build the atmosphere, they build the intrigue and the excitement and it pays off. Jonathan Hyde plays a great villain in Van Pelt, seeing him makes me think of the Ghetts line ‘’I’m the guy with the shotgun in Jumanji’’, he’s an iconic kid’s film villain, menacing enough to hold weight but at the same time fairly non-threatening, he’s not Killer Joe he’s not gonna make you perform oral sex on a chicken wing after brutally battering you, I liked him.   

There’s definitely something to be said for the animation as well, they use some CGI and in 2018 it doesn’t hold up, it’s not a problem but it’s noticeable however they predominantly use animatronics and it all holds up very well, for a film made 23 years ago and for a film with this scope that’s impressive, that’s the difference between things that actually exist in the physical world and things that don’t, I can’t really defend those monkeys though. As far as how it’s written I thought everything was sufficient, the chaos of the premise allows for more freedom narratively so it works and the characters are sufficiently established and likeable and it’s easy to be invested in the story.   

Lots of iconic scenes from my childhood came flooding back to me when I watched this and if you watched it when you were a kid as well I’m sure it would be the same for you, obviously we’re all adults now, but if you have kids, there’s your excuse, watch it with them and watch their little faces light up, the later into their teens they are the more passion will go into their eyes rolling but the littler they are, the more they’re love it I imagine. So to simplify, would I recommend it? To adults no, to kids yes 100% it’s a lot of fun, it’s the mundane lives of adults getting completely thrown into chaotic destruction, I’m gonna give Jumanji 7.6/10.   

What’s your favourite kid’s film?