Parents' Guide to

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Star-studded reboot is charming; some iffy stuff.

Movie PG-13 2017 119 minutes
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 145 parent reviews

age 16+

It could of been excellent

If you care anything about your children and what goes into their ears then don’t take any child to this movie. Hollywood cares nothing about making a great movie clean. There is no need in taking the Lord God’s name in vain so many times. At least ten times during the film and with in the first minute or two into the move . What a disgrace that they couldn’t make a movie without damning the creator of the world.

This title has:

Too much swearing
5 people found this helpful.
age 11+

Mild sexuality appropriate for kids beyond 5th grade, not under 10

My family with an 11-year-old (mature) girl and 13-year-old boy, my husband and myself really enjoyed this movie during the Coronavirus Social Distancing first week. We were trying to find a movie none of us had seen, wasn't animated, and appealed to all of us (getting harder and harder to do). Really fun to see teens transform into avatar characters in a video game. A bit uncomfortable when a scantily clad bad-ass girl used dance moves to distract thugs to help the others get in to a secure location. The Jack Black "girl" teaches the bad-ass girl how to "flirt" by tossing her hair and biting her lip, but the girl does it so badly it's really funny, not appealing. When we discussed it later as we often do, my daughter understood SHE WAS A VIDEO GAME CHARACTER and liked the fact it was a smart girl inside who lacked confidence but in that avatar- body became "stronger" as a result (not sexier--my daughter remembered more the kickboxing moves, not the "flirting" attempts). My kids also thought it was funny that the Jack Black video game character was really a self-absorbed phone-crazy girl inside so the penis references were giggle-worthy, not gross. The erection comment was so fast they didn't even hear it through my husband and I laughing hard during that sequence at other comments. It was a funny, fast-paced, action-packed movie with gorgeous scenery whose themes were teamwork, self-challenges, transformation, believing in yourself, and finding friends in unexpected places. We look forward to seeing the next one. But its best for kids beyond 5th-grade education (when kids learn about puberty changes, including erections, in both sexes) and kids who have heard swearing but know not to use it. Don't have your little kid watch this--too much peril and innuendo.

This title has:

Great messages
1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (145):
Kids say (219):

This crowd-pleasing reboot may not be earth-shatteringly good, but it benefits from its stars' irresistible comedic and action charm. At this point, there's not a movie that The Rock doesn't make better by his presence. Because of his size, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has a lot of wink-wink nods to his smoldering looks and seemingly invincible body -- which are even funnier because he has to play being amazed by his own strength, considering he's actually the lanky, nerdy Spencer inside. All of the adult actors do a fine job portraying the insecure, horrified, or awed teens controlling their avatar bodies. And the young actors who bookend the movie are believable as two nerds and two popular kids thrown together for an intense, unexpected adventure.

Hart's and Black's characters will naturally get the biggest laughs -- mostly joking at their own expense. Considering that the 5-foot-4 Hart is literally a foot shorter than Blain, prepare for an onslaught of height jokes. Women may cringe at Bethany's (as played by Black) "flirting class" to teach the Hermione-esque Martha how to manipulate men by sparkling like an anime character, but watching Black give this lesson in a falsetto is admittedly quite funny. At least Martha voices her indignation at her crop top and short-shorts, which she astutely points out make no sense as an explorer's outfit. Director Jake Kasdan definitely isn't creating anything new here, and the male leads are all playing to their established strengths, but the character-within-a-character setup is entertaining enough to make audiences cheer, jump out of their seats, and even laugh aloud in this mashup of Jumanji, The Breakfast Club, and Avatar.

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