From Deseret News archives:

Jumanji

Published: Thursday, March 25, 1999 11:12 a.m. MST
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And you thought Ouija Boards were trouble.

The mysterious board game "Jumanji," in the movie of the same name, is the catharsis for a whole world of changes in the ecosystem that turn a modern-day New Hampshire town upside-down with raging exotic animals and a virus that threatens to wipe out the human race. (Where's Dustin Hoffman when you need him?)

Based on a children's book that is decidedly less chaotic (and focuses on the children, not the adults), "Jumanji" the movie stars Robin Williams as a sort of man-child who, along with Bonnie Hunt and two children, Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce, must finish playing a game of Jumanji that was started more than 25 years earlier.

With each role of the dice, a new and more terrifying event is unleashed on the world, but the game must be played out to return things to normal. So, terrified as they are, this foursome perseveres — as everything from giant mosquitoes and spiders to mischievous monkeys (who resemble those nasty "Gremlins") to a rampaging herd of elephants and rhinos terrorize the town.

Story continues below

The film begins as a couple of youngsters in 1869 — who are apparently well aware of the game's dangers — bury it deep in the ground. A century later, it is accidentally unearthed and found by a young boy who begins playing it with his girlfriend. An unexpected tragedy ensues, and it's another 26 years before the game they started is continued.

Along the way, there are some wild surprises, nearly all of which have been ruined if you've seen the theatrical preview. But for those who have not seen that preview, suffice it to say that the players find themselves pitted against dangers they don't expect to encounter in modern suburbia.

Everyone is good here, with Williams taking on the unusual persona of straightman much of the way. But it is David Alan Grier's scene-stealing antics as a local police officer that garner the most laughs.

And if you thought "Toy Story" was a wow — and it is, of course — wait till you see the three-dimensional computer-generated creatures on display here.

"Jumanji" is rated PG for violence and some mild profanity and vulgarity but is obviously too intense for small children.

Recent comments

Main problem with this movie is that, despite it's clever
premise,...

Avi Green | April 8, 2000 at 3:39 p.m.

The fun and cute aspects of this rather intense silliness
are...

Dennis Orgill | Oct. 10, 1999 at 8:22 a.m.

Movie Info
Rated PG for violence, profanity, vulgarity.

Cast: Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, Bebe Neuwirth, David Alan Grier.
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