Jumanji has been an immortal franchise that has enjoyed a firm fanbase over the years. The face of Robin Williams as the daredevil player of the game has stayed with fans despite it being released nearly 25 years ago.
The new line of Jumanji films has endured a lot of anger from fans for possibly tarnishing the reputation of Jumanji as set by Robin Williams. Nevertheless Jumanji: Welcome to the jungle made sure to remind fans that it follows in the footsteps of the first Jumanji film and does not mean to come across as a reboot to the Jumanji franchise.
The first step to this is the opening scene of Dwayne Johnson’s Jumanji. The film opens up with the Jumanji game board lying on a beach with a pair of feet approaching it. This is a direct follow-up to Robin Williams’ Jumanji which ended with the game being left on the beach with a pair of feet approaching.
Another tribute was made to the original Jumanji film when midway through the movie, the characters stumble upon a lodge. While not much is known about it, the name “Alan Parrish” is found carved into its walls. The name is a direct reference to the character of Robin Williams. In this way, the new Jumanji films confirm that they are only following in William’s footsteps and do not dare to call themselves the first Jumanji adventurers.
The idea and concept that breathe new life into the franchise are how the game transforms itself from a board game into a video game to cope with the changing interests of teenagers. Not only that but the previous two Jumanji films revolved around the game’s characters being unleashed into the outside world. The new Jumanji films, on the other hand, revolve around people entering into the game inhabiting the bodies of its characters.
This, in turn, has made the new Jumanji films very entertaining as they see Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black play a number of different characters. In Welcome to the Jungle, Johnson played the role of a timid schoolboy inhabiting his body, Hart played an annoyed bully and Black played a young, optimistic and full of life girl.
This will be taking a humorous turn in The Next Level as Johnson and Hart play the role of characters whose bodies have been inhabited by elderly men and Black plays a cranky and annoyed teenager. Their new characters’ reactions to the world of Jumanji and how they cope with it gives the film a lot of potential to be just as fresh and entertaining as the last. Karen Gillan will be inhabited by the same character in the last film and therefore will probably continue to give audiences exciting stunts to look forward to.
Currently, The Next Level also holds the air of mystery as to what the game’s new challenge are and if everyone makes it out alive this time. For that, one can only wait and hope that Jake Kasdan has recreated the adventure and excitement as the previous film.
Jumanji: The Next Level is set to release on December 13.
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