I hadn’t seen this movie since I saw it in the theaters. I remember that it was on all the loop tapes we played in the video store I worked in. I saw the clips of the monkeys in the police car, and the animal stampede countless times, so much so that it almost overpowered my memory of the theatrical experience.

So here I am, thirty years later, taking a look at this film again. And it’s still vastly entertaining. There’s a pretty solid marriage between visual and practical effects, though the computer-generated effects haven’t really stood the test of time.

That being said, even at the time, they weren’t outstanding. They were solid, but they haven’t aged so well.

And all of that got to the point where it overshadowed the story, so I was glad to dig into it again.

Young Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) is growing up the son of a wealthy family in a small town. He’s bullied and can’t quite connect with his father (Jonathan Hyde), and when he discovers a strange game on a construction site, he gets pulled into an adventure he’s not ready for.

He and his friend, Sarah (Laura Bell Bundy), play the game, but when a swarm of bats attack and Alan gets sucked into the boardgame, known as Jumanji, everything falls apart.

The story leaps forward to the mid-90s and two young children, Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) discovere the game, and resume a game that began twenty-six years earlier. Alan (Robin Williams) is finally released after being held in the game for decades, but to finish it, they are going to have to find Sarah (Bonnie Hunt) to help wrap it all up.

But with each roll of the dice, dangers from the jungle are released, from lions, to stampedes, to a great white hunter, Van Pelt, who uses Alan’s father as his avatar. The game must be played to the end, but troubles are mounting, and spreading across the town, putting everyone in danger.

But should the game end, everything will return to the way it was.

It’s a fun, enjoyable family adventure, but if you actually watch Williams’ performance, he invests a lot in it. There’s humour there, of course, but there’s a real sense of tragedy over the years he’s lost in the game’s jungle, and the discover that his parents, and home are gone.

Hunt is absolutely charming, and I like the chemistry she and Williams have onscreen.

The practical effects, for the most part, are enjoyable, though you can see budget constraints at work. And obviously a lot of money was thrown at the visual effects, but it is complemented by the production design.

You throw in an adventurous score by James Horner, and some solid direction by Joe Johnston and you end up with a vastly entertaining film in spite of the dated computer effects.

It’s a lot of fun, and reminds me of how much Robin Williams is missed.