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Parents' Guide to

Jumanji

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Some thrills, but may be too much for little ones.

Movie PG 1995 104 minutes
Jumanji Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 38 parent reviews

s3w47m88
s3w47m88 Adult
September 6, 2020
age 12+

All time favorite, but you guys didn't include some key notes!

Early in the movie a bat removal guy says the kids were murdered. And then the little girl says the boy was chopped into pieces and put in the wall! Horrible and should have been in the Language or Violence section,

This title has:

Too much swearing
3 people found this helpful.
Dad2020
Dad2020 Adult
December 31, 2019
age 18+

Cussing is not needed

Good movie just don’t understand why the writer would put cussing in it. They take the Lord’s name twice. G**D****. Why? Not needed and offensive. My wife is a teacher and will make sure she doesn’t show it at school

This title has:

Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
See all 38 parent reviews

What's the Story?

JUMANJI begins with a 19th century expedition to bury a board game of unexplained origin. In 1969, young Alan happens to dig up the game and plays it. The relic materializes multitudes of hostile African animals, and Alan gets sucked into the jungle-world of the game. More than 25 years later two orphans (Bradley Pierce, Kirsten Dunst) move into Alan's old house, find the game, and start playing, unleashing a fresh rampage of vicious beasts and Alan (Robin Williams). Alan is now a full-grown semi-wild man, being tracked by Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde), a crazed, implacable, old-school safari hunter. The only way to return everything to normal is for the kids to continue playing the game to the end, even though each roll of the dice unleashes more attacking animals, from demonic bats to man-eating plants to a ghastly herd of giant spiders.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (38 ):
Kids say (81 ):

There's no sense of wonder, really, just one scare after another, and the fact that the killer Van Pelt is played by the same actor who embodied Alan's snooty father adds another dark note. Young viewers who aren't nightmare-prone might be diverted a little by the computer-generated beasts, which all have a slightly livid, unreal glaze that's fitting for how lurid engravings and drawings of the late 1800s might portray exotic beasts.

But Jumanji's script is weak, and Williams pretty much plays it straight as the time-displaced, long-marooned Alan. The young actors are good, but there's a heavy undercurrent of continual peril, death, and morbidity, with no breathing room. The ending, in which history is rewritten for all the characters even better than It's a Wonderful Life, seems a little forced, to say the least, and doesn't dispel the general unpleasantness.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what they think makes for a good fantasy adventure film. Was Jumanji funny, or more on the darker side?

  • If you were going to make this movie, is there anything you'd change, and if so, what?

  • Which game would you like to see come alive?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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