Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle stars Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart and Jack Black and is released in Singapore cinemas on 21 December. If you’re wondering if this is going to be just a ‘copy’ of the original Jumanji movie back in 1995, starring the late Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt, you’re wrong. This is actually a standalone homage to the first movie.
So here are seven things you need to know about the movie before you catch it in cinemas!
It’s Still in the Same Town
In the 1995 movie, it was set in a small New Hampshire town in the US. In this 2017 version, the board game appears to be washed up on a beach until someone brings it back to the same town. Fortunately, the town isn’t going to be facing the same problems with mysterious animals appearing from out of nowhere.
Not a Sequel
The 2017 movie isn’t exactly a sequel but it is part of the Jumanji universe. You don’t have to watch the first movie to follow this new one. It fits right in the universe because besides the first movie, there was also a Jumanji: The Animated Series, and you didn’t have to watch that to understand this either. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is what happens years later when the game is found again.
The Console Doesn’t Exist
If you’ve seen the trailers, you would have noticed that this time the game has magically transported its players into a video game. However, while there may be many replicas of the board game and even a mass produced generic one still sold online, the game console that appears in the movie is fictional. So perhaps it’s safe to know that you won’t accidentally get sucked into a Jumanji video game.
The Yellow Raincoat
Maybe you’ll notice this Easter egg when you watch Jumanji, but when Spencer (Dwayne Johnson) appears in his yellow raincoat, waiting for his friend, pay attention to how he does it because it might remind you of a certain horror movie with a killer clown.
Health Points ++
The movie really feels like a video game and because it’s meant to be, actress Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) had to go through intense training and exercise a lot for her role as Ruby Roundhouse, a “Lara Croft” inspired character who does a lot of fist-to-fist fighting. This is a big change from just running as Doctor Who’s companion or having small fight scenes in which she usually goes for weapons instead in the Guardians of the Galaxy. Do keep an eye out for Ruby Roundhouse’s stat points when it’s on screen.
Almost Starred Spidey
Nick Jonas’s role initially went to Tom Holland (Spiderman: Homecoming), but Holland had to drop out of the film, and was then replaced by Jonas.
Welcome to the Jungle
Yes, they did use Guns N’ Roses’ song ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ in the trailer for Jumanji. Along with that, there are other classic songs used which provide a somewhat light-hearted backdrop to what happens in the movie and the iconic Jumanji theme with that heavy drumbeat.
