User reviews

I have not seen this movie in more then a decade perhaps even more so it was pretty new to me again. Sure I remembered a few things here and there but I didn't remember the amount of CGI for a movie made in 1995 or how well the story was.

The CGI is of course very dated compared to now but for its time this movie was amazing! The story for a movie that revolves around a board game is a very interesting concept and very well told. The acting by a young Kirsten Dunst and comedic Robin Williams and the rest of the cast is very well done.

This is a great movie and if you have children between the ages of 7 to 13 I would bet they'd like it too.

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.

I just used to love "Jumanji" as a kid. This was what was Oscar worthy to me, because I loved the special effects and Robin Williams. Even though I think I over did it with the Oscar worthy thoughts, still to this day I enjoy "Jumanji". It's a great family film that will make you feel good and have fun with.

Robin Williams plays Alan, a boy who when he was little and had a horrible fight with his father plays a game with his friend, Sarah, and the game happens to be cursed causing Alan to get sucked into the game until someone else plays it. Sarah freaking out by just what happened runs home and no one believes her leaving Alan behind for decades in the game. When a new family moves in, Judy and Peter and their Aunt Nora, they find the game and start playing and release Alan who has just survived decades in a jungle. When they realize that they must finish the game to make the horrible curses it brings go away, they find Sarah who is now the town loony, and must play it 'til they finish. But can they do that with all the spiders, elephants, lions, tsunami, vines, stampedes, and an angry hunter? You'll just have to wait and see.

This is a great movie for the family and I'd highly recommend it for a good watch. It's just a fun fill adventure with great effects and some fun performances by Robin and Bonnie and a very young Kirsten Dunst. So sit back, grab the popcorn, and enjoy "Jumanji"! 8/10

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"

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.

In 1969, in a small town in New Hampshire, a twelve-year-old boy named Alan Parrish finds a Victorian-era board game called "Jumanji", and starts to play it with his friend Sarah. What the children do not realise, however, is that the game has strange, mysterious powers, and when Alan's token lands on a particular square he is suddenly sucked into the game. Unsurprisingly traumatised by the disappearance of her friend, Sarah runs out of the house shrieking, leaving the game unfinished.

Twenty-six years later two more children, Peter and Judy, orphaned by the death of their parents in a car crash, move into the former Parrish family home with their Aunt Nora. They find the old Jumanji set and start playing the game; when Peter rolls a five Alan suddenly reappears, now a grown man. He explains to them that he has been trapped inside the game for the last twenty-six years and that they must now finish the game which he and Sarah started. This, however, is easier said than done. Not only must the children find Sarah and persuade her to take part, they must also cope with the magical effects of the game. Each roll of the dice results in strange happenings in keeping with the game's jungle adventure theme; animals such as lions, monkeys, elephants and rhinoceroses suddenly materialise and proceed to wreak havoc in the town. Just as deadly is a white hunter named Van Pelt who will take pot-shots at anything that moves, animal or human.

The big-name star in this film is Robin Williams, although it also features a young Kirsten Dunst, later to become a big name herself. This isn't Williams' best role- I generally prefer him in his more serious films like "Dead Poet's Society" or "Good Morning, Vietnam"- but it's a lot better than many of his comedies, which can descend into either silliness or sentimentality.

This is the sort of family film that offers something to entertain the adults as well as the children, and has some underlying serious themes. The main theme is that of courage and of confronting one's fears; the horrors unleashed by the game can (if one is in a particularly serious, analytic frame of mind) be seen as symbolic of the problems that the characters need to overcome. Although (or perhaps because) he is from a wealthy, privileged family, the young Alan is a shy, lonely boy who finds it difficult to make friends and who is neglected by his cold, distant parents. Nevertheless, he does win his father's approval when he finds the courage to stand up to a gang of bullies who have been tormenting him. There is doubtless some Freudian significance in the fact that Alan's father and the murderous Van Pelt are played by the same actor.

Children, of course, could not care less about Freudian symbolism and are generally allergic to underlying serious themes. When I was a child the one thing that would kill a book or a film stone dead for me was the suspicion that it was being used by the adult world to preach some morally improving message to me. (C.S. Lewis was a particular bête noire of mine after an intellectually precocious classmate, who even at the age of nine cherished the long-term ambition to become Archbishop of Canterbury, pointed out to me the Christian allegory behind the "Narnia" stories).

Fortunately, any moralising in "Jumanji" is fairly light, and I suspect that children will simply see it as an exciting adventure story, even if the final twist in the tale involves the intellectually difficult concept of "alternative timelines". The special effects used to create the scenes of the rampaging animals seem to have aroused some excitement when the film first came out, although thirteen years on they have a rather retro, nineties feel to them. (And from the point of view of today's techno-literate youngsters the 1990s probably seem only slightly less technologically backward than the 1890s). 7/10

The smash hit 1995 film Jumanji- based on the children's book- is a great family film. The plot of the story involves a young boy named Alan Parrish who in the 1960's finds a supernatural board game, that was buried underground in the 1800's. Alan is instantly drawn into playing the game, and Sarah-a girl who lives close to him- also joins in the game. After the powers of the game transport young Alan into the jungles of the board game, no one believes Sarah's story of what happened, and everyone suspects foul play.

Now in 1995, a girl named Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and her younger brother Peter have been drawn into the game after finding it in the attic of the old Parrish house. When they play however, Alan (Robin Williams) is released from the jungle accidentally when one of the kids rolls a certain number on the dice. Now, with the powers and creatures of Jumanji released, they must finish the game. But to do so, they must find Sarah (Bonnie Hunt), because now it is her turn to roll the dice. After finding her, they must hurry before the town they live in is destroyed and before they all die!

Jumanji is great family film, packed with - at the time - great graphics (that now look like a computer game). While some hate this film for being too terrifying for young children, people have forgotten what the rating PG means-PARENTAL GUIDANCE-NOT all ages. So with this in mind guidance is suggested for scary scenes, but I think any child over 3 can enjoy this film. It has no gore or attacks really. Sure, there're some mildly scary scenes, but look at Harry Potter – I think more kids I heard of thought that was scary than Jumanji. Another great thing about Jumanji, is that like Shrek and such films, adults can enjoy it as well. It's not one of those films where you have to suffer through, like many movies coming out today. I think movies like Jumanji are the best of their kind.

The acting was great, and Robin Williams is perfect for the role of Alan Parrish, and Bonnie Hunt and him had good chemistry. Kirsten Dunst in this film was further shaping her acting career, to appear in such films now like 'Spider-Man' and the teen movie 'Bring It On.' I honestly forget the name of the kid who plays Judy's brother Peter, but he was okay. I don't think he was great though. Okay, but not great. I doubt as he gets older he'll get a film career much past his teen years.

So if you want some good, family fun seeing a movie, rent Jumanji. And remember, PG = Parental Guidance, not All Ages, so do use discretion is your kids don't like mild terror, but I doubt you'll have to, especially on video (I'll admit the theater added some more terror). It's not as terrifying as Ebert stated in his review. With all the movies he's seen, I think he's way off mark. He compared Jumanji to being as suitable as Jaws was for children, but big news Ebert, Jaws WAS rated PG. Anyway, I hate when people think of Jumanji as a 'should be PG-13' because it's not. It's great family fun with loads of laughs, jungle animals and creatures, and just plain hilariousness! 4/5 stars. I loved Jumanji, and I DEFINITELY recommend it to families.

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.

Among the thousands of films I have viewed, this movie would rank near the top for sheer entertainment. That's not saying it's the best-made or most intelligent or scariest or funniest or features the best effects, etc. etc. But combine all those and you have a film that's tough to beat when you're looking for 100 minutes of escapist fun.

The film features some wild computer-enhanced special effects that were new to its day, but now about 10 years later, it's no big deal. In fact, some of it, such as the lion, look pretty hokey compared to the stuff that's out there now. To me, it was story that was the lure, anyway, not the special effects.

Because it's so much fun, this is one of the fastest-moving films I've ever viewed. The time flies by. It's not to be analyzed or given much thought, because it's so ludicrous. You just go along for the wild ride in this fantasy-adventure and get a bunch of laughs and thrills along the way. That's one of the big attractions of this of film: the excellent combination of adventure and comedy.

Are there annoying things in this movie? Sure. To me, it was Bonnie Hunt's occult beliefs and too many OMGs and the overdone character of the hunter (Jonathan Hyde). Other than that, I loved the film the first I saw it and every time afterward. I've probably viewed this movie as much as any, simply because it was so entertaining.

Robin Williams, David Alan Grier and the two kids, Kristen Dunst and Bradley Pierce, were all great people to watch and share this adventure with.

Now THIS is entertainment!

A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts.

I believe I first saw this film when it came out in theaters, and it left a pretty good impact on me. Even culturally, I feel like it has left its mark because people still remember this one -- even if they have never seen it. The idea of a board game that takes on a life of its own is brilliant, and well-executed here.

Apparently this film was seen as the next step in CGI following "Jurassic Park". Arguably, "Jurassic" is still better, but it probably had the bigger budget. For the mid-1990s, these are some great animal effects. Rarely are they surpassed today, and generally we see things much worse (yes, I mean you, SyFy network).

Bonus: Kirsten Dunst before most people knew who she was (though I believe this was still after "Interview with the Vampire").

Jumanji is a game that teaches you a lesson...If you start something you'd better be prepared to finish it.

Thankfully, this is a movie in which that is easy to do. The premise, a game that produces real consequences (like a stampede of wild African animals, or a floor that turns into quicksand), is a fun way to introduce several exciting--sometimes hysterical, sometimes terrifying--circumstances for Robin Williams and the rest of the cast to have fun with, and fun it is, like a roller coaster at Six Flags.

But in a way this film is also about growing up; about learning how to fit in, how to be responsible for yourself, and above all how perseverance can win the day. Yes, this is a fantasy-adventure movie. But there is a point to it all, and that point is that sticking to something in the face of terrible adversity has its own very special rewards.

One last thing. This is supposed to be a Robin Williams movie. But good as he is, Jonathan Hyde as Hunter Van Pelt and David Alan Grier as Carl Bentley steal every scene they are in.

Roll 1 for talented Robin Williams starring in yet another saccharine role that is completely beneath him.

Roll a 2 for ropy CGI effects that wouldn't even fool Stevie Wonder.

Roll a 3 for screamy shouty kids with clichéd "disfunctional" background.

Roll a 4 for charmless predictability, nauseating incidental music and unimaginative direction.

Roll a 5 - you've landed on the only inspired moment in the whole film - the CGI monkeys watching The Wizard of Oz and then trying to fly. A rare bit of inspiration - go back three spaces.

Roll a 6 for a one-joke film that seems to last four hours despite the fact it's only 95 minutes long.

Do not pass go. Do not collect £200.

"Jumanji" is a quite original movie which the main attraction are outstanding special effects. They're extracted from a fair screenplay that becomes a little diabolical when it shows us the rules of the game "jumanji" and when the fierce creatures appear suddenly. It's a pity that the director, Joe Johnston doesn't emphasize enough on the dramatical side of the story and on the dangerous side of the game. Moreover, he obviously meant to tell this story in a comedy tone. It's a good idea but not very well exploited. You especially laugh when the sheriff appears and when he makes blunders. He's only a decorative character who plays a minor role in the plot. It doesn't stop the movie to contain irresistible moments. At the end, this movie is a good entertainment that remains confined to a plain familial comedy.

NOTE: this comment is provided by Christopher Dorian and Peter Rhydon.

When young Alan Parish and his friend Sarah Wittle sat in Alan's living room and began playing to that strange game named "Jumanji", neither them, nor the audience, could have expected what was coming after.

Because "Jumanji" is not your parents' "Payday". The game instructions are simple: roll the dice and the player who reaches the end first is the winner. It's just in-between that things go a little bit different...

What was just a little game meeting transforms into a special effects extravaganza, filled with all sorts of creatures and eye-catching action scenes and stunts that seem to be borrowed from the best moments of the Indiana Jones adventures.

The computerized special FX are the main aspects of the movie and they mostly succeed to their task. While they may look archaic today, remember that these visual tricks were created in 1995, and that computer-driven movies were a new sensation. Looking at the lion's faces isn't completely interesting, but it's worth the effort.

Action scenes are well conceived, well acted, and well pictured. Particularly memorable is the crocodile fight in the flooded house, with the characters trying to defend themselves like the Orca crew in "Jaws".

Those two points are tightly linked with one man: director Joe Johnston, who previously made "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "The Pagemaster". He clearly shows that his former employers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg had a huge effect on him and that he gets inspiration from those two phenomenons. And when we see the final result, we could feel that Johnston could become a phenomenon too.

But it isn't the case. And why? Because "Jumanji" relies on a quicksand storyline and poor lines, because characters are occasionally believable and because action scenes are not epic in the Star Wars or Indiana Jones style. The concept is excellent, but the developed elements are not on the same level. Characters are often performing in cliché and predictable scenes, instead of innovative situations.

If we talk about the actors, one should prevail from the others: Robin Williams. Even if his grinning smile looks stuck on his face like The Joker, he is a convincing jungle raider and his performance is fantastic, whatever it is for dramatic, terrifying or comic moments.

What is also good about the film is that it can be enjoyed by people from all ages. Children will be delighted and excited by the animals depicted here and adults will enjoy the magnitude of the special effects employed during the film. The dialog is generally well suited for a general audience and there is no real troubling or disturbing moment.

It's good to see that the '90s still deals with that kind of stuff. Technological developments imply more and more sophisticated video games of all kinds, but it's heart-warming to see that classic board games can provide excitement like this. After seeing that movie, playing "Monopoly" would seem to be like a tea party or some other kind of silly joke.

A child living in an up-and-coming town in the 1960's discovers a crate which was buried a long time ago (1869 - as established at the start of the film). Inside the crate is a board game. One night, he and his friend Sarah, start playing the board game. The board game, however, isn't all it seems to be, as the children soon learn. Allan is sucked into the board game and Sarah is chased out of the house by bats. Twenty six years things are different. The town is a run-down ghost of its previous self, the disappearance of Allan is a folklore in which his dad supposedly cut him into pieces and hid his body parts, and Sarah is a psychic with emotional issues as nobody believed what she witnessed as a child. Allan's old house has new inhabitants. Orphaned children and their aunt are moving in. The children discover the board game and start playing. Unbeknown to them, they free Allan Parrish, now, much older. They also free the board game to continue its mayhem and chaos in a jungle theme. To stop all the mayhem and chaos they must first finish the game, to finish the game they need all the players, including Sarah. All the random events that the board game throws up come face to face with modern 1990's living.

This is a great family film from the 1990's and is a lot of fun for everybody. It used special effect techniques at the time which were revolutionary but haven't aged that well. The story and plot too are a bit generic, but are by no means weak - just occasionally predictable (but hey, it's a family film, it's hardly going to randomly kill off half the cast). The casting and acting throughout was good. I'm not usually a fan of Robin Williams because I tended to find his approach a little to full-on and in-your-face, in this film however he has a wider array of emotions to show off. As well as Williams, there are stars of yester-year and the future littered amongst the scenes, notably Kirsten Dunst appears as a child actor here. It's clear to see why this was a blockbuster of its time.

Beyond the obvious situations/events on-screen which younger audiences will primarily follow, there are more subtle events unfolding which offer a lot of depth to film savvy minds; such as multiverse's, fragmented realities, time travel, butterfly effects, inanimate objects with powers. Packaged the way it is, there is something for all in this classic.

FTR, I'm watching this as an adult in 2018, prior to watching the current Jumanji film, although some of the effects in this original look a little dated, it's nothing that'll put you off. I can confidently say that almost twenty years after it was released, this film is as good as it was in the 1990's. 7 out of 10 from me, thanks for reading and enjoy

One of the best 90's child's movie. Includes adventure, humor and love. The plot heightens the intensity of the jungle by bringing a board game to actual life, with really good special effects for a 90's film. Robin Williams is amazing as always and his role also symbolizes the struggling bond between father and son and overcoming fear. I'm thrilled that my kids loved the movie the same way i did when I was in their age.

Joe Johnston's Jumanji is very good family movie that is well paced. The movie is the story of a mysterious game that involves it's players more than the normal board game. The movie begins with a young boy, Alan Parrish, finding the abandoned game. He talks the girl he has a crush on, Sarah Whittle, into playing with him. Once the game starts, chaos ensues.

Robin Williams carries this movie, giving it life. The other actors do okay with the bare dialogue. Joe Johnston uses the experiences on the Indiana Jones and Star Wars movies to craft a fantasy world that is believable.

Though not outstanding in any way, Jumanji is a fun movie that should delight children with its action and fantasy. 6 out of 10 stars.

Find a comfortable chair, lay out the board, grab the dice, and get ready to play. But remember: once you start this game, you can't stop. If it takes you over twenty years to finish, finish you must.

"Jumanji" is loosely based on the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. The basic premise stays the same: a sister and brother find a strange game based on a jungle safari adventure. When they begin playing it, they find they cannot stop, for the characters and events of the game come to life and start filling their house with monkeys, lions, explorers and other strange things. Only finishing the game will make it all go away.

In the hands of Hollywood, more story is added. Now we have a game spanning 26 years, when one of the two children playing the game in 1969 gets sucked into the game itself. He's trapped there until a fresh pair of children in 1995 find the game and begin playing. The right number is rolled, and out Alan comes...as Robin Williams! Finding the grown girl to complete the group, the four must complete the game before their town is destroyed by the stampeding rhinos, killer pod vines and crazed Great White Hunter.

Robin has some good moments in this film, though he isn't allowed to riff as much as in other vehicles. He's supported by an excellent cast, including a young Kirsten Dunst as the sister of the new pair of children; Jonathan Hyde as both the 1969 father and Van Pelt, the Great White Hunter from the game; and Bebe Neuwirth as the modern children's aunt. The effects are, not surprisingly, ILM-excellent -- necessary in a film of this type. The script was co-written by Van Allsburg to insure the atmosphere of the film and book mesh, but he did not fall into the "This is MY baby" syndrome, and received good help from his two co-writers (for details, see the main page). Highly recommended for old and young alike.

Heck, "classics" like 'The Room' and 'Jack and Jill' have garnered a cult status...yet we all know they are abysmal. Fortunately Jumanji isn't that bad however, there are various stumbles that prevent it from being classed as great. Two young kids come across an ancient and mysterious board game known as Jumanji, where every move they make will affect reality. They must withstand and survive the onslaught of jungle madness and complete the game. If you were a 90s kid (like myself) you would've watched this over and over and over again. "Wow! Look mum, check out the graphics on those monkeys!". "I'm scared of both exotic plants and giant spiders!". "When I grow up, I want to be just like Adam and get stuck in a board game!". The point is, it's a story that evokes imagination and creativity. The fantastical chaos that ensues is one that younger audiences can truly appreciate and become enthralled in. Robin Williams owned the 90s in terms of family flicks and he does so again here. Comedic and yet somewhat emotionally involving. A young Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce gave fun performances, and that's exactly what this film is...fun! I mean what other film would you expect to see giant plants, a lion, monkeys and even a monsoon in your own house? Exactly. For older audiences and viewers who are revisiting the epitome of the 90s, you may view this differently. The narrative and plot are flimsy where character development is minimal and the budget was spent showcasing the visual effects which are now horrendously outdated (seriously, did not age well...). The plot just felt generic somehow, given the peculiar and original concept found within its source material. By the end, you have no emotional connection with any of the characters. Like I said, they are just a means to demonstrate the effects and creativity of the crazy wildlife. A perfectly good family film that really does not amount to anything. I suspect nostalgia plays a vital part in the overwhelming positive opinions.

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.

I will always enjoy Robin Williams in movies (RIP) and I also like Kristen Dunst because of Spider-Man. If you look at Jumanji in a critical standpoint, it's not good but it's great if you just want to be purely entertained.