Wonkette Movie Night: Jumanji

'In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight.'

Jumanji

A game for those who seek to find

A way to leave their world behind.

I have often heard many a Wonker wishing for that very thing. To find a way to get a break from the daily nightmares that ooze out from the Trump administration. But make sure to read both sides of the gameboard:

Adventurers beware

Do not begin unless you intend to finish.

The exciting consequences of the game will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name.

Now that I think about it maybe we are all currently stuck in a giant game of Jumanji. So somebody needs to win this game. Then we can bury the damn thing for another 100 years. The movie shows us the game being buried in 1869 and dug out of a construction site in 1969 by a bullied young man, Alan Parrish. Drawn by its drums, he starts the game with a friend but is quickly sucked into it after the game board tells him, “In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight.”

Zip forward 26 years and the game is found by a brother and sister, Peter and Judy. Their game play brings out giant mosquitos, monkeys, and a lion, as well as a very hairy Robin Williams. Well the all grown up Alan Parrish portrayed by Williams shows up to help the brother and sister after a five or eight was rolled and he was set free. But Alan doesn’t realize time has moved on without him.

Jumanji demands that the game be finished or all the trouble and curses brought by it will only get worse. Peter and Judy convince Alan to help them get to Jumanji and end the game he started in 1969 before it ends them. Just a few rolls of the dice, how hard could it be? Just avoid the human eating plants; the human hunter Van Pelt; a stampede of rhinos, elephants, and zebras; turning into a monkey; a monsoon; a crocodile; quicksand; giant spiders and an earthquake. All that is needed is to face your fears and win the game.

It’s the 30th anniversary of Jumanji and the town of Keene, New Hampshire, has good reason to celebrate. It is where Jumanji was filmed. Their celebration included “a ‘Rhino Rumble Road Race’ saluting the film’s stampede scenes of elephants, rhinos and zebras. Runners in inflatable animal costumes sprinted about a quarter mile” on June 21.

Jumanji stars Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bonnie Hunt, Bradley Pierce, Jonathan Hyde, Laura Bell Bundy, and Bebe Neuwirth. Directed by Joe Johnston.

Jumanji is available with subscription on Peacock and Philo. Free on YouTube but broken up into 22 sections that play one after another. $3.99 in the usual places.

To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.

The animated short celebrates gay pride. Drawn To You was directed and written by Eleanor Davitt.

Our next Movie Night selection is our traditional July 4th matinee showing of Jaws at 4 p.m. ET. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jaws, it is available with subscription on Peacock. $3.99 in the usual places.