I
disliked “Jumanji” when I saw it in theaters. I cannot recall why: Too much
newbie CGI, or just an irritation with Robin Williams running loony? But with this
second viewing, I like its goofy innocence.
The story: Orphans Judy (Kirsten
Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) arrive in a New England town with their aunt
(Bebe Neuwirth), a woman who can renovate an entire derelict mansion in one
day. Sorry. That is not the plot.
This is: The children find a centuries-old bored game
called “Jumanji” in the attic, begin to play it, and out comes jungle beasts
and bugs, and a bushy man (Robin Williams) who once was a boy in that same
house, trapped in the game for decades. The rest of Joe Johnston’s film follows
the trio -– Dunst, Pierce, and Williams -– keeping the board game’s animals,
vines, and raging waters in control.
It’s a playful film, not
afraid to break the fourth wall, and let kids in on the joke of goofy
fun. I cringed again at David Allan Grier’s policeman, all big eyes. It rubs
wrong. I may have been wrong in 1995. B+
Monday, February 25, 2013
Jumanji (1995)
Labels:
1995,
animals,
Bebe Nuewirth,
CGI,
children,
David Allan Grier,
fun,
games,
Jumanji,
jungle,
Kirsten Dunst,
Robin Williams,
special effects
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