Chris Van Allsburg’s award-winning 1981 illustrated children’s book, Jumanji, was the basis for the family-friendly, supernatural adventure film of the same name. Released in 1995, it starred Robin Williams (alongside a young Kirsten Dunst) under the direction of Joe Johnston – who’s perhaps better known nowadays for directing Jurassic Park III and Captain America.
Jumanji overcame mixed reviews to gross $263 million in theaters, eventually giving rise to a board game spinoff (based on the story’s namesake) and an animated TV series. While the long-rumored sequel never happened, a reboot/remake is now apparently in the cards (… yay?).
Columbia co-head Douglas Belgrad dropped the tidbit about a new Jumanji movie during a talk with The Hollywood Reporter, where he also dropped juicy tidbits about Amazing Spider-Man 2, Men in Black IV and 21 Jump Street 2. The plan is to “try and reimagine ‘Jumanji’ and update it for the present.”
Allsburg’s Jumanji book has a simple premise: hijinks and adventure ensues after some children begin to play a jungle-themed supernatural board game. Johnston’s film adaptation (based on a screen story co-written by Allsburg) doesn’t expand on the source material’s mythology, but does incorporate additional characters into the mix. Both versions of Jumanji are pretty timeless stories and nothing about them really feels “outdated” - unless you count the scene where Dunst’s character identifies the present year as 1995 (or the CGI effects, which are admittedly kind of shoddy by today’s standards).
Kirsten Dunst, Robin Williams, and Bradley Pierce in 'Jumanji'
That’s all to say: a new Jumanji movie doesn’t read as a project with potential to feel like a true reinvention of Allsburg’s original concept, once it’s been updated for a 21st century context (unlike, say, the RoboCop and Carrie remakes). The final product will probably unfold as little more than a shinier rehash of what’s been done before, with the sort of added touches one expects from a generic family movie nowadays (see: pop culture references/product placement in The Smurfs).
To be fair, though, we’ve yet to learn anything about what creative personnel is going to be recruited for the Jumanji remake/reboot (or whatever their approach will be). So who knows? Maybe this writer will be eating humble pie at the end of the day – assuming the project even comes to fruition (we’ll see about that, as well).
Anyone interested in a new Jumanji movie? Let us know in the comments section.
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Source: THR
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*openly weeps*
Really, Hollywood? Really?
Blasphemy! What the hell are they thinkin
Update for modern times sounds like code for video game movie. This is such a terrible idea. Who the hell keeps on making these terrible decisions?? Find them please and replace them with WRITERS (preferably literature majors).
So, it’s going to be an app instead of a game? I wouldn’t mind seeing a remake with Zach Galifianakis in the Robin Williams role.
NOOOOOOOO do NOT remake Jumanji I loved the original and remakes are almost never as good.
Oh great!! What next The Goonies?
SHHHHHH! Don`t give them any ideas!
Does anybody actually want to see a new version of Jumanji? I guess we can complain until we are literally dead about how Hollywood has no new ideas. But they literally have no new ideas. When they have to go dig around any movie more that 15 years old that can be re-made, you know they are out of ideas.
So what if you can do better cgi monkeys nowadays, this REALLY doesn’t need to be done.
Just put the old movie (that is still great to watch) back in the theaters and make instant profit.
Exactly
Hollywood has done it again.
Another stupid remake of a classic movie.
What’s next? The remake of The Goonies.
How far are these studios are going to go to ruin the mememories of the audience.
Hollywood may be trolling. Don’t give them any ideas.
Why fight the undertow at this point, everyone should just ride the wave to oblivion. Here are some other fresh ideas for Hollyweird to rehash, I mean re-imagine.
Revenge of the Nerds-Just use the cast from the Big Bang Theory, no one will be the wiser.
Doctor Detroit-Pimps are funny…
The Breakfast Club-Just use a mix of the casts of Twilight and the Hunger Games, instant book office.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High-Same set up as above.
Gremlins-A prequel showing the creatures destroying the village of the Chinese storekeeper from the original. Put Let Li and Jackie Chan in it and make it a Kung-Fu movie. CGI + martial arts=$$$$$$
Weird Science-The guys would have a better computer this time, so the woman would be created with more pixels. She would also be an energy vampire that kills people and can travel through the Internet. It will be a darker, grittier version of the original….
LMAO!!! I actually like that Gremlins premise…
I think that jumanji remake would be cool if they did it right and did the original justice, that was one of my favorite childhood movies!
I absolutely loved jumanji, and I would love to see a remake of it!
Can’t wait!!! and I also can’t wait to see the Garbage Pale kids remake and the Howard the Duck remake and the pippy long stockings remake and the……
Ugh…please no. I loved the original…I just showed it to my little nephews who are 5/7, which I was when I saw it…and they love it.
I’m all for a sequel, the board could be anywhere from 1969 til now. Make the setting half modern day/half in the game or something, and maybe a Robin Williams cameo too. Why remake it though? Just dumb.
Movie production companies are getting lazy. Too lazy to find new material so they would rather ruin an already great idea for a fast and easy buck. Tell ya what – contact me… All of my information is listed above and here is my email – shadesdown2001@yahoo.com. I am a writer and I have PLENTY of new ideas that are just dying to get recognized. If not me, then find it from someone else. STOP BEING SO LAZY AND GREEDY!!
….and the monkey pushes another button.
That’s probably in the script several times…..
Sounds good now lets get a Remake to Creature From The Black Lagoon already. and make it really creepy, and dark. Update the creature to make him really leathal. but anyway would like to see this remake.
While it was a good movie, why does Hollywood feel the need to remake so many movies? Doesn’t anyone in Hollywood have an original thought anymore?
…Really? I just…wow I have no words. The pity I feel for this new generation is almost too much to handle.
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Hollywood, dont even think of trying to screw with my childhood. Jumanji is a timeless classic and doesnt need to be screwed with.
When they say update a movie for modern times it’s a cop out, there’s no need to update these movies, most of these films still hold up today. I know younger people who love them. Most of the time they don’t even bother to make them better. It’s a money scam.
One way to end this remake nonsense is to tell people not to see these movies, if enough of them flop the studios will be forced to rethink their direction. Our money fuels the machine. The problem is a lot of people pay to see this garbage, studio cashes in and the raping of cinema history continues.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! spiderman i can handle, Im still trying to recover from what they did to the classic star wars. But touch jumanji Im gonna accidently go into a coma
How does one accidentally go into a coma, i think if they do it well and cast correctly it will be awesome
well, we have to wait to criticize it, that said… the words “Wacky extra characters” keep flashing in my head and I’m worried that they will try to shove in as many of those as they can… this is probably not going to be good
Instead of remaking these movies why don’t they just re release them, there was nothing better than watching Jaws on the big screen for the first time last month!!
Surely it’s more cost effective to polish up the sound and picture quality and maybe improve some special effects than completely remaking the whole thing!
Hollywood struggles to make great family movies these days like Jumanji and Home Alone, even Mrs Doubtfire was a classic!
Re release not remake!
No sequel?? ZATHURA? has to be considered a close remake!
Absolutely terrible. I don’t think anyone can replace Robin Williams for this role. And while (if they include the same elements) the animals and everything would look better, I bet they’ll get lazy and just CGI the house falling apart and everything else, leaving the old one visually superior as well.
Really, the visuals are the only thing in this movie that are really outdated, and that’s the same with all the classics. I don’t see anyone remaking Terminator, Jurassic Park, Star Wars?
No, please no :/ they’ve ruined several childhood franchises already (Smurfs, Yogi Bear, Top Cat to name a few) and I can see this, as the article said, having lots of pop culture references shoved into it, because apparently that’s what appeals to the kids of today; it just doesn’t need a remake. I don’t think anyone will be able to replace the cast, Robin Williams and Jonathon Hyde especially. The whole thing about making it look better for current times, yes, I do see how an updated version of the Jumanji world would be pretty awesome if they did it right, but I think the bad CGI one of the funny little old-school kinks people love about the film nowadays, at least I do
, and looks aren’t everything, especially when we get awful looking CGI fests like Journey 2 The Lost Island. Also, extra characters? I think that some modern family films can be weighed down by too many new characters (Ice Age franchise e.g.)that mostly just pad out the story unnecessarily, I hope they know what they’re doing :p
So here is why there are so many remakes, most kids these days dont whatch movies that are older than 1999. So they remake exposes these kids to ilder classics