Jumanji is an iconic fantasy adventure film released in 1995. It is based on the 1981 children's book of the same name written by Chris Van Allsburg. The movie won an Academy Award in 1996 for Best Visual Effects.
The film stars Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bonnie Hunt, and Bradley Pierce. It centers around the magical board game Jumanji, and its four players must finish the game to be freed from its mysterious power.
The movie's premise is that two kids find the magical Jumanji board game in the forest and inadvertently unleash its power on the world. They must then complete the tasks set within the game to reverse its effects.
During the game, the four players are transformed into their avatars, a child, a hunter, a zoologist, and a woman, and they face a host of challenges.
The film has spawned two sequels and a spin-off based on the premise of the game being played by different characters in different settings.
The audience is exposed to an array of wild animals, including a rhinoceros, an elephant, a herd of Stampede, and a predator that attacks the four players.
The board game was designed by the special effects department for the movie and featured various tokens that mimic the characters' movements and objects contained in the game.
Although the game is incredibly challenging, the four players ultimately win only after facing obstacles from within the game and from the villain, Van Pelt.
Jumanji was one of the first blockbuster films to use computer-generated imagery, and its use of special effects won it an Academy Award.
Besides the animated board game, the original film also features various settings filmed on location, such as jungles, lagoons, and rivers.
After the first film's success, a spin-off version of the board game was released in 1997 - Jumanji: The Next Level - featuring a storyline that leads its four players on an entirely different adventure.
