Jumanji

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to rewatch this movie last night; as a matter of fact, I had no specific movie in mind. My first choice was Ace Ventura, but I could only find the sequel, and out of the blue, this movie just popped up, so I gave it a try. I have to admit this movie was great, although it wasn't perfect since I didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I was a child. There were elements in this movie that I found quite amusing and entertaining, but the aspect I want to emphasize is fear. What makes this movie awesome, apart from how chaotic and powerful the Jumanji board game was, is how the characters deal with fear. Each character lived through a traumatic or awful experience, either before or after playing Jumanji. Alan was bullied by some jerks, especially the big boss, who didn't want him to get along with "his" girlfriend. Feeling different and avoided because the teens of his age saw him as just another Parrish, they perceived him as a rich boy burdened with a legacy since his family founded the city he came from, and now they owned a shoe factory. He wanted to live his own life, not be stuck as another Parrish, but unfortunately, after playing Jumanji, he ended up stuck for 26 years in the Jumanji dimension. Sarah lived a normal life before Jumanji, but after witnessing Alan being absorbed by the game and how the game could release such evils like African bats, she ran off and tried to erase those nasty memories from her mind. She tried to convince herself that it was all her imagination, that none of it was real, since no one believed her tale. She ended up avoided, so she changed her name, trying to start a new life from scratch. After 26 years, we got Judy and Peter, two orphans whose aunt had bought the Parrish manor, each one of them dealt with a different way the death of their parents, Peter hasn’t spoken to anyone, remaining “mute” and Judy, she developed some sort of mythomania and tried to convince herself she didn’t miss them (or that’s the way I remembered it) but, deep down, she knew it wasn’t true since, after all, she was a kid. Judy and Peter, without knowing, released the evils held by Jumanji and they’ll try, no matter what, to finish the game since they don’t want to make their aunt feel like a cat on a hot tin roof after watching the mayhem their new house has become. After rolling the dice, they summoned a lion and also released Alan from that Jumanji dimension. After spending 26 years stuck in Jumanji, Alan turned into some sort of Tarzan and witnessed all kinds of horrors that made him reluctant to play again Jumanji. In other words, an afraid Tarzan. After using some reverse psychology on Alan to convince him to play again, they realized they can’t roll the dice since it was Sarah’s turn but no one knew anything about Sarah. The boys managed to get in touch with her but, if Alan was reluctant to play Jumanji again, she was even more so. She tried to run away but it was no use since Alan “convinced” her to play again and finish this cursed game. I said what makes this movie great was how the characters managed to deal with fear. At first, Alan was a shy and insecure boy who didn't want to be a Parrish, but after getting stuck in Jumanji and forced to play again, he started to make peace with his past. After learning that his parents are dead and he's alone, he realized how much he loved his family, especially his father. He was forced to confront his fears, face the evils of Jumanji such as Van Pelt (a hunter who was trying to kill him and didn't stop calling him a coward), and start looking after Judy and Peter, especially Peter since he's like him when he was a boy. His relationship with Peter made him realize things like, "Okay, maybe I was wrong about my father; maybe he wasn't a cold-hearted father. All he wanted was for me to be brave, and in the end, I was turning into a wrong version of him. This kid is like me; he needs some guidance. I can't push him; he's dealing with too much weight for a boy." He learned how to be brave and had some significant moments, like wrestling an alligator for Sarah. Judy, well, throughout the movie, she started to show her true side and admitted how much she missed her parents to a "cursed" Peter. In the end, Alan wins the round, and everything goes back to normal, but he and Sarah keep their memories of everything they lived through while they turn into kids again. Sadly, they realized Judy and Peter are no longer with them since they don't exist yet. But they know one thing for sure: they have to fix everything and live the life Jumanji took away from them. Alan makes peace with his father; they share a deep father-son moment. Alan and Sarah also share a kiss, which was cool, and in the future, they end up together, running the Parrish company. Finally, they meet (again) Judy and Peter and prevent the death of their parents. It seemed everything came back to normal after all; there was no trace of Jumanji. But, in the end, this game somehow manages to be always found by someone else. No matter how you try to hide or bury Jumanji, it always comes back. So, having this as the ending was quite great. I think the movie deserves an 8 out of 10.