Jumanji Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio in this overall recommended Blu-ray release
When two kids play an old magic board-game they found, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game.
Imagine a family board game where the stakes of every roll of the dice are far greater than being forcibly moved back a few spaces, paying a hefty fine,
or
landing in a figurative jail. What if instead of losing a piece, sinking a plastic one-inch battleship, or failing to answer a question, the consequences of
each turn were literally life and death, as the playing arena comes alive with every move and threatens to tear apart the very fabric of time and
place, altering the environment and even the players themselves, with every roll ringing in not only the next player's turn but a new physically harmful
and death-defying challenge? Such is the premise of Jumanji, an exciting smorgasbord of originality and special effects that puts a decidedly
deadly but at the same time full-on fun spin on family game night. For ages eight and up; don't try this at home; play only with parental supervision;
warning: Jumanji may cause irreparable harm to players and their environment; for Heaven's sake, put this game away; don't you dare; oh yes you
did; it's so on. Don't say we didn't warn you.
If you think I'm rolling you're out of your mind.
In 1969 New Hampshire, young Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) one day discovers a long-since buried board game at a local construction site.
Following a fight with his shoe factory-owning father, he threatens to run away and never speak to him again. Before hitting the road with a
suitcase full of clothes, bread, and peanut butter, he opens up his new toy -- a game oddly entitled "Jumanji" -- and, in the presence of a young
neighbor girl named Sarah (Laura Bell Bundy), is pulled into the game, never to be heard from again. Twenty-six years later, the Parrish's house is
but an empty shell. An out-of-towner and her niece Judy and nephew Peter (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) move in with the intention of
turning the old house into a posh bed and breakfast. Before school one day, Judy and Peter hear a mysterious thump-thump-thump emanating
from a dusty attic. They're surprised to find that it's a board game calling to them, and little do they know the consequences the first roll of the dice
will bring. One move leads to another, and before they know it, they've unleashed killer mosquitoes and a man-child whom they discover to be the
long-lost occupant of the house, Alan Parish (Robin Williams). Unfortunately, they learn that only by one of them winning the game will they be
able to restore order and reset things as they once were, but winning means playing, and playing means utter chaos.
If Jumanji's greatest asset is its originality, its second greatest asset is the delicate balancing act Director Joe Johnston maintains
throughout
the film. Not only can Jumanji be flat-out frightening and darkly serious with every roll and each passing frame, it manages to be playfully
fun
and highly intoxicating at the same time. The film walks that fine tightrope with every shot, and does so with confidence. Robin Williams proves to
be
the perfect fit for the movie and it's consistent up-down roller-coaster-ride tone. He's more than capable of playing things light as a boy trapped in a
man's body, but he also demonstrates the wherewithal to handle the picture's more sinister side with equal charisma and physical skill.
His co-stars manage the same, too, playing their parts with a deadly serious posture as they battle all sorts of natural elements and creatures, but at
the same time they prove more than proficient at going with the flow and playing with the underlying humor and wink-and-a-nod attitude that
carries
the film and allows it to play equally scary and equally fun. The film is a veritable fountain of energy; it builds and builds and builds some more, with
most any of the many intensive segments seeming like the perfect climax, only to be topped by something all the more outrageous yet easily
plausible
given that the film's very premise allows for it to continue to go over the top with every passing moment.
With Jumanji, then, a literal haven for the stuff of cartoonish nightmares come true, it's no surprise that the picture is a hotbed of
impressive special effects. Plants that are capable of crushing cars, monkeys that can drive motorcycles, herds of large animals rampaging through
the streets, floodwaters overtaking a house, a lion napping on a bed, mosquitoes the size of buzzards and as deadly as a kitchen knives swarming
about, and a host of
additional creepy and creepy-crawly jungle-like elements all play a critical part in making the movie work. Indeed, the effects artists have put in
plenty of overtime in making Jumanji such a success; rarely can a movie withstand this much raw effects work and succeed, but here's one
"kitchen sink" movie where, when even all the options and special effects have been all but exhausted, the audience will be left craving more. Sure
it's all over the top, but the skill with which it's done, the original plot in which it is based, and the delicateness through which the film maneuvers
that allows it to go crazy without appearing crazy all play a critical part in allowing it to work so well. This is good old fashioned
spectacle-as-entertainment done right.
Jumanji's Blu-ray debut is a shaky one, but at the end of the day the image earns a passing grade. Sony's 1080p release of this
sixteen-year-old film definitely sports some warts -- it looks a bit overly processed and features some harmful edge halos -- but it's for the most part
otherwise routinely stable and nice looking. Fine detailing and general crispness and clarity tend to waver a bit; fine definition in groups of leaves, for
instance, never really move beyond appearing clumpy and mushy, but more general close-in textures -- faces, clothes, and the like -- are quite good. In
fact, the transfer does a remarkably good job during the critical close-up shots of the board game; it looks nicely worn, and the 1080p image brings out
the
finest little details in the general wear and tear, stains, accumulated grime, and the wooden texturing of both the game board and built-in case quite
nicely.
Colors
are sturdy and well-balanced, with the image handling the bright greens and yellows and blues that abound all over the frame with ease, while also
delivering neutral flesh tones and generally stable blacks. A bit of film grain is present over the image, and aside from a few random white pops, the
print is in very good shape. This isn't a perfect transfer by a long shot, and it could definitely do without some of the lingering edge enhancement, but all
said it's a pleasant and watchable transfer that's definitely a marked improvement over previous standard-definition releases.
Jumanji arrives on Blu-ray with a crowd-pleasing, potent, and ever-active DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There's definitely no shortage of
volume and activity with this one. This is a big, roaring listen that throws as much at the audience sonically as picture does visually. It's not quite as
naturally pristine as might be a more modern track, but this one's nonetheless a whole lot of fun and is guaranteed to give even the best sound systems
a hearty workout. From the film's open, it's evident that the track means business. The surrounds are used extensively, carrying not only natural
ambience but music and sound effects, too. The heavy drumbeat Jumnaji game board calling card is way over the top, a bit sloppy, but highly
effective on the senses in a raw sort of way. The soundstage comes alive with every natural attack, whether mosquitos that zip through the
soundstage, water that spills in from every direction, or stampeding herds that crush everything in their path as they traverse from one speaker to the
next. This is the very definition of a track that's an assault on the aural senses. It could certainly use a touch of refinement, but the impossibly loud
and always-exciting sensation more than makes up for any technical shortcomings. Rounded out by center-specific dialogue that's never forced to
compete with music or effects, Jumanji's lossless soundtrack may be labeled a winner.
Jumanji brings a small stampede's worth of extras onto Blu-ray, the collection headlined by a comprehensive, multi-participant special effects
audio commentary track.
Jungle Adventure: Virtual Board Game (1080p): Two to four players may participate in this digital Jumanji-themed trivia board
game.
Special Effects Crew Commentary: President of Sony Pictures Imageworks Ken Ralston; Amalgamated Dynamics's
Tom Woodruff, Jr. and Alec Gillis; Sequence Supervisor Jim Mitchell; CG Supervisor Carl Frederick; Sequence Supervisor Doug Smythe; and Computer
Graphics Supervisor Ellen Poon man an
intriguing, technically-oriented commentary that covers what seems to be the entirety of the making of the film's various effects and the many layers
and processes involved. The track is unfortunately a bit hard to follow; the participants have, for the most part, been recorded separately and their
comments edited together for flow. After their initial introduction there's no way of easily identifying them. However, the overall scope of the
commentary
outweighs any confusion that may exist within it. Some of the material may be outdated, but it still makes for an intriguing, if not occasionally
frustrating, listen.
Making Jumanji: The Realm of Imagination (480p, 20:04): A fairly routine behind-the-scenes overview feature that contains
plenty of interview clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and scenes from the film. The piece covers everything from the basics of the plot to the
construction of the film's intricate special effects, complete with plenty of humorous quips from Robin Williams sprinkled in throughout.
Lions and Monkeys and Pods...Oh My! (480p, 14:34): A more concentrated look at the making of the film's digital wildlife, from the
beginning design stages to the implementation of the animatronic and digital characters into the final film.
Production Design: Bringing Down the House (480p, 3:05): Production Designer Jim Bissell speaks on shooting in the film's
primary location while in various stages of both normalcy and destruction.
Storyboard Comparisons (480p, 3:41): In Bats, Rhino Stampede, and Earthquake, viewers may watch the finished
product compared against the corresponding hand-drawn storyboards.
Jumanji cuts no corners and never shies away from bombarding audiences with everything in its arsenal. That usually spells trouble, but not
here. The very premise allows for the filmmakers to go overboard, to place their characters in one helpless situation after another, and come out of it all
with a smile on their faces but still rocking and ready to face the next challenge. This is a crowd-pleaser if there ever was one; it's fine entertainment,
original through and through, and a highly enjoyable escapist fantasy that's suitable for all but the youngest and most impressionable of viewers. Sony's
Blu-ray release of Jumanji does everything well but nothing perfectly. Decent picture quality, strong lossless sound, and a nice helping
of extras round this into a quality, but not quite exceptional, Blu-ray release. Still, it comes with a hearty recommendation.
In an early announcement to retailers, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have revealed that they will bring four popular catalog titles to Blu-ray on June 28th. The titles are: Joe Johnston's Jumanji (1995), Jon Favreau's Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), and Rob ...
