2.5/4  Lots of action for a kids movie
In 1969, "Alan Parrish" (Adam Hann-Byrd) and the object of his schoolboy crush, "Sarah Whittle" (Laura Bell Bundy) play an unusual game -- which sucks "Alan" into itself. 26 years later, two children (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) move... (read full)

3.5/4  Jumanji Quick Review
This was a pretty fun movie. I loved it as a kid. It had a lot of action and adventure. I

2.5/4  Jumanji Quick Review
Fun show for kids. Lots of adventure and comedy.

0.5/4  Jumanji Quick Review
Pretty dumb film.

3/4  Jumanji Quick Review
An interesting concept that's well executed, Jumanji has a mix of adventure, comedy and even some drama thrown in for good measure. The special effects look a little dated, but overall I think its held up pretty well. A good family film.

2.5/4  Jumanji Quick Review
Upon first viewing it was great back in 1995. Now, after seeing it a few times, it has lost it's luster. I still really enjoy the concept and it is executed ok. I just think that it was truly made for the younger audience - I am older now.

5/5 Family Fun
  by Brice L. Korte (Summerdale, Al.)
First time I watched it, I did a 'ho-hum',by the 3rd, I was hooked, and added to my collection.

5/5 jumanji review
  by aloha from hawaii (Hawaiian Paradise)
Love this movie, exciting, funny, good for the whole family! Unable to locate this item in the stores, but of course, now I'm learning, just go to amazon.com to find anything you desire. Great service and prices.

5/5 Action and adventure for the kids
  by H. Mario (Texas, USA)
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.

5/5 The Everlasting Game
  by Michael G. Patterson (Florence, Alabama USA)
This movie is a lot of fun. It's full of action and adventure and, at the same time, has its very tender moments. You can't help but get interested in the characters immediately and you stay involved until the very satisfying conclusion.

3/5 Puh-Lease!
  by D. Mikels (Skunk Holler)
I couldn't wait to see JUMANJI when it first came out in the mid-Nineties. A magical board game that brings the wilds of the jungle to life? Action, mayhem, and special effects? Robin Williams? Sign me up!

Yet I walked away from the theater disappointed with this movie; and the other day after viewing it on cable my disappointment hasn't wavered. While some scenes were certainly exciting and entertaining, for the most part JUMANJI was annoying--from David Alan Grier's (who added nothing to this film) wrecked police cruiser, to Robin Williams's "poor me" sappiness, to Kirsten Dunst being an irritating smart aleck, to a young Bradley Pierce whimpering with monkey makeup on. Yuck. And the special effects. . .let's just say CGI has come a long way since the last decade. No, the monkeys and spiders and bats and elephants and the lion and rhinos did not look real. And what, pray tell, was the point in playing this (terrifying) game in the first place? Games are played for fun--not to teach near-lethal life lessons.

Now the good. Jonathan Hyde was fun to watch in his dual role as Williams's father/hunter-protagonist; and Bebe Neuwirth is always easy on the eye, no matter what the venue. And I liked the juvenile, bawdy, irreverent orneriness of the game board itself; in many ways it was the best character in JUMANJI, and kept the movie from rolling snake eyes.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning