Welcome to The 90-Minute Movie! This is where I assign myself homework to write about a different short film every week. Some are good! Some are terrible! Some are bad but I love them anyway. Some are good and I hate them anyway. We’ll explore what it means to be concise in the world of filmmaking. Interested? Subscribe now. It’s free and literally makes me smile every time I see that new subscriber email.
This week I’m covering the iconic Jumanji (1995, 100 minutes) starring Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bonnie Hunt, David Alan Grier and Jonathan Hyde. I usually steer clear of movies that are so beloved because so much has already been said about them, but today I remembered that this is The 90-Minute Movie and there’s so much to explore behind this movie’s succinct delivery and character development, that it’s worth putting a little bit more content out there. This movie changed every kid who saw it, including this kid, whose imagination was ignited like a barrel of gasoline.
The story goes a little something like this: in 1969 Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) discovers an intriguing board game called Jumanji, buried deep underground and only revealed by construction. He brings it home and engages his friend Sarah Whittle (Laura Bell Bundy) in a casual game. Only it’s not casual at all and he’s soon sucked into the game while Sarah runs out traumatized. Fast forward 26 years later to when Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Shepard (Bradley Pierce) move into Alan’s old house with their Aunt (Bebe Neuwirth) and discover the same mysterious game. It isn’t long before the game releases the jungle into New Hampshire-- including a much older, stronger, Alan Parrish (Robin Williams). Together, with Sarah now also grown (Bonnie Hunt), the group commits to finishing the game, so that their lives may go on, uninterrupted.
It’s hard for me to remember all of the details of the original source material for Jumanji (a children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg), but I do remember the black and white artwork as a little bit unsettling in their realness. And that is perhaps what kids loved about the movie too, it was fantastical but so very real. There’s a great article on Bloody Disgusting about Jumanji as a “gateway horror” I suggest you give it a read because it digs into the elements of the movie that are inherently scary. Like the idea of something as innocuous as a board game being dangerous enough to alter your life. Jumanji produced real fear and adventure for kids of all ages, while softening some of the blows with humor and silly monkeys.
Yes, the script has its weak points, but the writers overall build logical and significant backstories for all of the main characters. Jumanji follows one of my favorite rules for short movies (and movies in general): you don’t need to explain to us how everything works or how it is possible, we just need to trust that you know. As long as the rules of the movie all make sense, it’s very easy to suspend disbelief. Some movies explain too much, and we’re bored out of our minds, others don’t know their own rules and we spend the entire movie looking for holes. Jumanji keeps it pretty simple, the board game is powerful and it will suck you into its world - literally.
Viewers meet the main characters one-by-one in quick succession and they are introduced by their traumas and fears. Because in the end this is simply a movie about trauma and fear with the jungle standing in as a physical representation of it all. (Not a bad metaphor for a kid’s movie.) Alan is unable to stand up to his father and his bullies, Judy lies her way through the pain of the death of her parents while her brother Peter chooses to not speak at all, and Sarah has tried to convince herself that her night with Alan and Jumanji never really happened.
In order to overcome their fears and trauma, our characters must play the game. We get here fast-- maybe 20 minutes or so-- and then the movie takes off running (with a stampede!) Each roll of the dice is an escalation of stakes. The things coming out of the game become more and more dangerous, challenging our characters mental and physical toughness with each turn. This is summed up in the “...I will not stop playing” scene. Sara expresses her fear about being sucked into the jungle but Alan, Judy, and Peter promise to keep playing the game. Maybe it’s a little on the nose but it works and keeps this movie moving at a quick clip.
Simple plot tools are used to keep Judy and Peter’s aunt and police officer (and former Parrish employee) Bentley away from the house for as long as possible (simply because this isn’t about them). Nothing is too complex and it all circles back to either the house or the jungle taking over their sleepy town.
I grew up near the sleepy town by the way, and still to this day there exists a Parrish shoes mural. At the time of Williams’ untimely death, the mural served as a memorial for the beloved actor.
The plot is also very self-serving in that every element that is released from the game not only becomes an exciting threat but works as a device to move the characters through their fears and get closer to one another. It’s an easy rhythm for a short film that relies on one big metaphor (jungle = fear) but doesn’t get too sticky or boring (again, jungle = fear for the audience too.) There are many reasons to love Jumanji outside of its concise storytelling - that just happens to be my favorite part. I know - I have a sick problem.
When was the last time you watched Jumanji and did it hold up for you? Let me know in the comments.
One of my all-time favorites! I am still waiting to see Jungle animals running around the streets of Keene!
I remember going to see Jumanji in the cinema when it first came out and thinking how dark it was for a “kids” film
I enjoyed it well enough but it never came close to The Fisher King as my favourite Robin Williams movie
But then when my son was young he was a really big fan of Aladdin and loved Williams as the genie, so he began watching his live action movies. This was his all time favourite
I lost count of the number of times he watched it in the back of the car, or we took the DVD on holiday with us so he could watch it on the first night to feel “at home” wherever we were staying 😁
Because of that, it will always have a special place in my heart. Thanks for reminding me about it 👍🏼🙂