Date: Fri 05-Apr-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-12

Quick Words:

Now-Playing-Jumanji-Williams

Full Text:

(rev "Jumanji" for Now Playing, 4/5/96)

Now Playing-

Williams' `Jumanji' Diverting Fare

By Trey Paul ALexander, III

When Robin Williams' holiday movie, Jumanji , was released last year, some

critics predicted it would be a flop because of its unusual title. They

figured potential ticket buyers would shrug in confusion at the name and move

along to the next flick. They figured wrong. The movie became a hit and now,

four months later, "jumanji!" has become a favorite exclamation of ESPN

sportscasters to describe thundering dunks by professional and collegiate

hoopsters.

For those of you still scratching your heads about this whole jumanji thing,

you'll have a chance to find out all about it as the movie begins a two-week

run at the Edmond Town Hall theatre April 5. This fun, if slightly garish,

fantasy film is based on a picture book by Chris Van Allsbury about a magical

board game.

A brief prologue, set in 1969, introduces us to an introspective child (Adam

Hann-Byrd), whose dysfunctional familial ties prompt him to retreat to a

mysterious game which he has unearthed from the muddy soil at a construction

site. (The fact that it's locked and beating ominously with the sound of bongo

drums doesn't seem to deter the youngster!) His escape becomes more actual

than he ever dared imagine when in the process of playing a round with his

next door neighbor, he is sucked into the confines of the game and literally

disappears off the face of the earth.

Fast-forward 26 years later and another set of kids (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley

Pierce) stumble upon the troublesome game. Against their better judgement, and

all the warnings carved into the game's casing, the siblings roll the dice. Lo

and behold, the missing child reappears, but now as an adult (Robin Williams)!

The good news is they have freed this missing person, who was stranded in a

treacherous jungle within the game; the bad news is they've also freed some

perilous forces from that very same wilderness, and the only way to rid their

quaint New Hampshire town of these destructive beasts is to play out the

contest until the very end.

You would think that any film featuring Williams, an inimitable man-child of

the big screen, in a role as a genuine man-child, would be bursting forth with

his manic energy. This one doesn't... or rather, its frenzied vitality comes

not from Williams, who is surprisingly restrained (though not without his

trademark moments), but from the chaotic special effects, which craft a bevy

of uncontrollable menaces out of computer technology.

Everything from maniacal monkeys, who commandeer a police car, to rampaging

rhinos, threatening to trample all of main street, is unleashed upon both our

unsuspecting heroes and the theatre's captive audience, which will be hanging

on the edge of their seats wondering what jungle creature is around the next

corner. Although the film is PG-rated and not graphic, it is extremely tense

and several persons have mentioned to me they found Jumanji too frightening

for smaller children.

For the most part, Jumanji is diverting fare that draws one into its clutches

for two hours, but once it's over, you will hardly think further on it... but

then, I think that's intentional. Director Joe Johnston ( Honey, I Shrunk the

Kids , The Rocketeer ) appears to have a soft spot in his heart for the big,

clunky sci-fi fantasy flicks of the 50s. Many of his films, including this

one, evoke that period. A former F/X whiz at George Lucas' effects house,

Industrial Light and Magic, Johnston has a knack for deliberately undermining

the visual effects by allowing a delectable sheen of artificiality to come to

the surface. He winks at us to let us know he's not trying to make this real,

but just pure fun.

Jumanji won't be a classic, but it merits a look from moviegoers who enjoy a

wild ride.