The Jumanji franchise is not only full of fantasy and adventure, but each film in the series can be seen as a Christmas movie. Jumanji first leapt onto the big-screen in 1995, adapted from Chris Van Allsburg's children's book about a board game unleashing jungle animals into the real world. Over two decades later, the Jumanji franchise roared back into cinemas with 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and 2019's Jumanji: The Next Level, which both turned the eponymous board game into a video game.

The Jumanji movie series does not ultilize such holiday season staples as Santa Claus or flying reindeer despite its fantastical elements. However, the Jumanji franchise has had a close relationship with the Christmas season right from the start. In addition to the kinds of stories the Jumanji movies tell, there is ample reason to see all of them as Christmas movies.

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The Jumanji Movies Are Associated With Christmas

Jumanji Christmas scene pic

The Jumanji movies have long had the Christmas season as their backdrop in both real life and the movies themselves. Each of the Jumanji movies was released in December of its respective year, and all three were clearly aware of the time frame in which they were debuting. Jumanji's ending of Alan Parrish (Robin Williams) and Sarah Whittle (Bonnie Hunt) hosting a Christmas party even added some overt holiday season cheer to the movie.

When Dwayne Johnson boarded the Jumanji franchise in Welcome to the Jungle, the movie's real-world scenes show Christmas decorations all over the place, making clear that the film takes place in the month of December. The Next Level took the Jumanji franchise's Christmas setting further than ever with frequent use of Christmas carols on the soundtrack, and the movie's young protagonists all returning home from college during the holidays. At every turn, the Jumanji movies have clearly made sure to remind audiences that they take place during the festivities of Christmas.

Why The Jumanji Movies Can Be Seen As Christmas Movies

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle pic

A prevalent theme in Christmas movies is characters going on a journey of self-discovery and coming out greatly changed. Alan Parrish and Sarah Whittle are most certainly changed by their adventure in Jumanji, with both learning to overcome the fears that have held them back in their lives. Though ignoring the original book, the Jumanji sequels also give each of their teenage heroes Spencer (Alex Wolff), Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain), Bethany (Madison Iseman), and Martha (Morgan Turner) an arc in which they learn more about themselves and improving as people.

The idea of a Christmas movie often tends to be predicated on how much Christmas itself is the focal point, but the Jumanji franchise shows there is far more to it than that. Each Jumanji movie carries an aura of Christmas that shows the malleability of the season to different kinds of cinematic stories. If A Christmas Carol were re-imagined as an adventure involving jungle animals and hunters like Van Pelt, the Jumanji movies would effectively be the end result with plenty of Christmas magic of their own.

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