Jumanji

Chris Van Allsburg’s 1981 children’s book, Jumanji as adapted into an adventure/fantasy film in 1995. Starring Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Hyde, and Bebe Neuwirth, it grossed over $200 million. It got a spiritual sequel in 2005 under the name of Zathura.

After Alan (Adam Hann-Byrd) and Sarah (Laura Bell Bundy) find a supernatural board game that makes animals and jungle hazards appear, the two play and Alan becomes trapped inside. Twenty-six years later, Judy (Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) move into the house and find the game. They free a now adult Alan (Williams) and seek out Sarah (Hunt) in order to finish the game.

It’s been said that Jumanji was supposed to be the definitive film for CGI usage in the 90s. And while the effects have a hit or miss effect, the story is quite good, especially with Williams not showing up until halfway through the film.  

The film is soaked CGI effects and was supposed to be the next big thing in development of the concept. However, while some of the effects were pretty good for mid-90s tech, like the vines and the lion. Transforming the wooden attic floor into quicksand was also fairly ok. However, a lot of it wasn’t and the effects don’t really age all that gracefully. The giant spiders near the end look incredibly fake as do the monkeys.

On the other hand, the plot of film is really good. It creates great suspense with the game itself from its first appearance until Alan and Sarah start playing, utilizing mysterious jungle drums to great effect. The inclusion of Van Pelt is a great way to bring home the idea of standing up for yourself instead of running away from your problems. Having him played by the same person that plays Alan’s father was a great idea.

Also, Williams, despite getting top billing, doesn’t show up until the second half of the film and he sort of plays against type. He’s not the manic funny guy, nor is he in the compassionate sagely role like he was in Good Will Hunting or Dead Poet’s Society. Here, he’s kind of shell shocked from experiencing the terrors of Jumanji for 26 years and just wants the game to end. He pulls it off really well, especially when he tells Peter how he’s not afraid because of all he’s been through.

Jumanji is pretty good, with the only real problem being how its digital effects stand up against the test of time. It’s well acted and has quite a good plot. 

Pocahontas

1995 saw the first animated Disney film to be based on a real character from history. Telling the story of the Native American woman of the same name, Pocahontas was released June 16. Starring Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, Billy Connolly, Christian Bale, David Ogden Stiers, and Linda Hunt, the film earned over $300 million worldwide. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song (Colors of the Wind) and Best Original Score, it also won four Annie Awards, an Artios Award, an ASCAP Award, a Film Music Awards, an Environmental Media Award, a Golden Globe, a Golden Reel and a Grammy. The Soundtrack also went Platinum six times. And, like most Disney Renaissance films, this got a direct to vide sequel.

The rebellious princess, Pocahontas (Bedard/Judy Kuhn), has been promised to the best warrior of the tribe by her father, Chief Powhatan (Russell Means). But she senses her life has greater purpose. When English settlers arrive to form Jamestown, she meets the idealistic John Smith (Gibson), who is interested in adventure and the beauty of the land. But the Governor Ratcliffe (Stiers) has the other settlers dig up the land in search of gold.

The Native Americans fear the English, who regard themselves as superior. A rendezvous between them leads to the death of her betrothed and John Smith is sentenced to die, which Ratcliffe uses as the perfect excuse to exterminate the natives.

Pocahontas doesn’t go through any development in the film. That’s because she’s the catalyst for the development of everybody else. Her involvement caused John Smith to go from understanding cultural differences (through the power of song no less), her people to not fear the colonists and the colonists to realize the only reason the natives didn’t like them is because of what they were doing. But the way the development happens is intriguing. Smith is convinced and does his best to get the other colonists to understand as well. But when they almost do, Ratcliffe convinces them Smith is being lied to. And Powhatan, understandably, is too preoccupied to listen to her. The standoff at the end shows that neither side really wants to do battle. They just believe they have to. Actually, the only one that really wants bloodshed is Ratcliffe.

He’s a good villain. Like many of the others, he wants fame, fortune, and glory. But he is willing to commit genocide to do it. Actually, he isn’t the one willing. He wants to be the instigator, sit back, let everyone else kill each other and reap the rewards. Plus, his lust for power is so strong, he convinces himself that if anyone says different than what he’s after, he must have been lied to. Ratcliff is the worst type of person. A bureaucrat. He’s also got a great foil by the way of Wiggins (also voiced by Stiers). Wiggins actually understands why the natives don’t like them, and tries to be a voice of reason to Ratcliffe, but is constantly ignored.

The music here is also some of the best from the Renaissance, though it’s a shame the ACLU or some such organization made them change one of the lyrics to what is now a completely forced rhyme. (“Their whole disgusting race is like a curse” to “this is what you get when races are diverse”) The soundtrack actually went platinum six times.

On the other hand, this film is rife with historical inaccuracies.

Pocahontas was a nickname, meaning “the naughty one.” Her real name was Matoaka. In reality, she was 10 or 11 when the Virginia Company arrived. She also wasn’t Powhatan’s only child. John Smith was not well-liked by his fellow colonists and the two never had a romantic relationship. After she was captured by the colonists she converted to Christianity and married John Rolfe. Also, while he was captain of The Discovery, Ratclife was not the first governor of Jamestown. He also wasn’t chained up and taken back to England. He was tied to a tree and skinned alive.

But then again, this story features a sentient weeping willow and a compass that points to one’s destiny. I shouldn’t really be upset about historical inaccuracies in a movie where the target audience is children. #16