Zathura [UMD for PSP] Reviews

• Would you take a child in kindergarten to see this?

  
  By A1EBJ93E1T50RT on 2005-11-14
  I took my 5 1/2 year-old nephew, a kindergartener, to see "Zathura". I expected Michael, as someone who's been exposed to a steady diet of Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and Spider-Man, as well as to Peanuts, the Wiggles and the Muppets, to enjoy the sci-fi elements. Predictably, he spent the second half of the film cowering in his seat, latched onto both of my arms... and he walked out of the theater at the end loving every minute of it, completely jazzed about the experience. We spent most of the 10-minute walk back talking about outer space, aliens, and how it was all fiction, and he drew a lot of pictures of aliens (most of whom looked like Muppets) once he got home.
  
  As others here have said, the language used by the two boys in the movie (10 and 7) is a little disconcerting. However, they use the same words I was exposed to at that age, and comparable to the language Michael is exposed to at home. Michael didn't walk out of the theater cursing, so that part of the movie did not bother me.
  
  The scare factor is somewhat intense. The predictable monsters don't show up until the final two reels and aren't what I'd call terrifying, although that's the part of the movie that had Michael cowering. There's also a big clunky '50s-style robot, but when you find out who provides the voice you'll realize that this wasn't meant to be terrifying -- not if anything to say about it Jon Favreau had. The images of the house floating through space, alongside asteroids and suns, is what will really stand out for the younger viewer.
  
  This is basically a kids' movie directed by Jon Favreau, so naturally it's going to seem odd. Based on the uncomfortably short shorts worn by the teenage girl in the movie (and she has nothing else to do at all), I'd say the target audience is boys 9 to 12. There's also a surprisingly deep plot twist involving another game player that the boys meet as their house drifts through space. I had trouble explaining that to my nephew, although his grandmother didn't understand it either.
  
  My final verdict is that it's safe to take a smaller child (6-ish) to this movie, and they will not take anything negative away from the experience. It's no loss if you make them wait another three years before seeing it, though.
  
  

• Excellent

  
  By A2WX1UESDOLXRE on 2005-11-12
  Yes, it does have the same basic premise as Jumanji (both books were written by the same guy, after all!)-- board game wreaks havoc on innocent children who happen to have a few problems other than an insane board game. But Zathura is about 100 times better. First of all, the characters aren't overshadowed by 1) huge special effects and 2)big name actors who take over the movie. This is a movie with heart, and a great way to start the holiday season, I might add. Remember how surprisingly good the fun, holiday movie Elf was? This is like that, and both are directed by Jon Favreau. This film does a marvelous job of making an implausible situation seem plausible, while giving the characters some realness.
  
  Two young boys, Walter (age 10) and Danny (age 6) are constantly fighting. Danny just wants someone to play with. Walter could care less. Their father (played by Tim Robbins) is newly divorced, which only adds to this family's stress. There's also an older sister, Lisa, who sleeps until 2 pm and doesn't care about anyone but herself. When Danny finds a mysterious game in the basement called Zathura, he begs Walter to play. Walter doesn't feel like it, so Danny begins to play anyway. On his first spin, the game spits out a card that reads, "Meteor Shower. Take evasive action." Danny can't really read, and it's not until their living room is being pelleted with meteors that the boys take evasive action. Danny runs in circles screaming. Eventually, when the house if floating in the middle of space, they rescue a stranded astronaut (played wonderfully by Dax Shephard!), who reveals that he also once played the game and that's why he's a stranded astronaut. There's actually a twist in this movie about the astronaut, which I totally didn't see coming. I had to explain it to my little cousins because they didn't really get it, but they still thought it was cool.
  
  In the words of a three year old movie critic prodigy, this movie is "really really cool, kinda scary, but really cool." She even said it was better than Jumanji! And if you can't take my word for it, take hers. This is a very sweet movie that explores not only the far reaches of space, but the relationship that siblings have with one another. Very good and PERFECT for kids (except a couple swear words, nothing to really worry about though), I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie!!
  
  

• A lot of fun and pleasing on the eye

  
  By A2T049UQONS0OY on 2007-03-31
  A highly entertaining family film about the inadvertant adventure of two boys and their teenage sister, "Zathura" is a space game the bumbling brothers find one day while stationed at dad's house (the parents are divorced and dad gets parenting time in this flick.) After about 15 minutes setting the scene of the brothers intermittently fighting, cutting down each other, failing to get along, and being bored at dad's house, dad goes to the store, the younger borther finds the game and, wow, does the movie go into outer space.
  
  The game requires each player to turn a knob which tells them where to move, after which their spaceship correspondingly advances on the board, and a card pops up with a message. Essentially, whatever comes up on a popup card in the game happens to the boys in real life. Right away, their dad's house is hoisted to the universe where they are variously attacked by spacecraft, hone in on and rescue a lost astronaut, try to survive a deranged robot, fail to be fried by passage too close to somebody's sun, and a half-dozen other calamaities. Oh yeah, their sister becomes cryonic during one of these gambits and spends time as a frozen statue. That astronaut turns out to be somebody pretty special, too.
  
  Jon Favreau's direction, the outer space staging, and the set designs are all sumptuous in this highly-evolved film that is basically for kids...but my wife and I laughed throughout and stayed involved all the way to the end. There's a moral to this tale, of course, that is predictably homespun. Tim Robbins plays the dad in the opening and closing scenes; he must have been filming elsewhere when he made this flick.
  
  One unanticipated devlopment from this game, er, movie -- the score reminded me so much of Gustav Holst's "The Planets" that I soon bought a newer version of that music. Don't know if that one's any good; I'll grade it here later. This movie is definitely a winner for anyone that is or once was a child and has (or had) an imagination. Even if you don't have it anymore, you'll remember what it was like having one watching this flick.
  
  

• How the heck did this one slide in and out of the theaters?

  
  By A1PIOTD9Q0BKZ9 on 2006-03-10
  On no basis other than the fact it turned up on my Amazon.com "Recommendations" screen when I was noodling around for another reason, I put this movie in my shopping cart and included it in my next order.
  
  When the grandchildren (a sophisticated 6-year-old debutante, her hyperactive 5-year-old brother, and the perpetually teething 10-month-old) yelled for a movie last night, I plunked it in the DVD player and told them "This is too scarey for little kids. You're not allowed to watch it."
  
  The next hundred minutes was spent with the first-grader peeping over my shoulder (while hiding under a blanket), the pre-schooler alternately bobbing up in front and ducking down behind the arm of the sofa, and the baby gazing at the screen in wonder, the whole crew as much involved in the snarling and sniping of the brothers as in the hissing, clanking menace of the Zorgons.
  
  Today I'm finding sketches of defective robots all over the living room, and the older kids are conspiring to lock their 14-year-old cousin in the bathroom to see whether or not she can be put into cryonic sleep for five turns.
  
  This one is definitely a keeper.
  
  ...
  
  

• Seems Oddly Familiar.....

  
  By A2RKI7RPP5CJMG on 2006-05-13
  "Zathura" is a passable "family" flick. I say that for two reasons: 1)The story is sort of dull, even with a huge "gee-whiz" factor going for it and, 2)It's no surprise that liberal lug Tim Robbins raises two potty-mouthed kids in this film. If you have children, I'd wait until they're at least eight before letting them watch this film due to the fact that the two kiddie leads have some pretty rough mouths and there are a few sequences that can get pretty scary for young'uns.
  
  The reason that this seems familiar is that it's written by the same guy who wrote "Jumanji." I liked this story much better when it was "Jumanji." It's as if writer Chris Van Allsburg decided that "Hey, it worked with jungle creatures, why not outerspace?" This film is almost an exact carbon copy of "Jumanji," all the way down to a regretful former player of the game trapped within it. The only thing missing is the huge patrol car-eating vines.
  
  So, with that said, I'm sure any child between the ages of eight and twelve will love this film. However, if you want to give them a real treat, let them watch "Jumanji" first and then have them compare the two. I think you'll find that most kids will prefer the original over its lesser follow-up.
  
  
• We do not All live in America
  By A3294VGYIYQ79O on 2006-01-31
  In response to Timothy D. Erenberger "timerenberger" (Iowa, USA) statement ' Well unless you have been living under a rock for the past year or so etc etc ' I must hold my hand up because I have just Crawled out from Under a Rock.
  
  In the UK the Film has not even been released so while Americans can Buy the DVD in a few weeks time if you Search
  www.amazon.co.uk you will not find any Information on Zathura at all.
  
  Although not applicable to Zathura I have seen British Films filmed in Britain but the DVD version has only been released to America and it can take up to two Years before the Studio allows the ' Rest of The World ' to see it.
  
  The European Union has a higher GDP { Gross domestic product } than America and the EU is ranked First in the World by the World Bank but for some strange reason American Studios still believe that the American market is larger.
  
  In the vain hope that someone will read this please appreciate that the World is a Large Place
  
  
• Another disappointing kids movie
  By A1EAFFJQ2NDHGC on 2006-05-06
  I love a good kids film. Often I like them better than films aimed exclusively at adults. There is less objectionable material. Plots are not convoluted. Often there is genuine sentiment, and a moral to the story. What I do not enjoy is the increasing tendency of movies for kids to rely on kinetic energy (or wild special effects) as a substitute for good writing and acting. I think that is part of what happened with Zathura.
  
  Zathura is a movie like Jumanji -- where kids start playing a board game (called Zathura, naturally) and they enter an alternate reality -- the world of the game made real. They have to finish the game to get back to the normal world.
  
  The acting isn't very good. Haley Joel Osment and Dakota Fanning have raised the bar so high now that what used to be a passable job of acting for a child now looks silly and amateurish. I got bored about halfway through and started fast forwarding furiously to the end.
  
  Zathura is supposed to have a "moral," but that aspect is so ham-handedly written and acted that it almost seems pasted on.
  
  The game involves a series of challenges and threats, as the children journey to outer space and confront robots and lizard aliens and friendly stranded astronouts. It is mostly a succession of strange things (involving expensive special effects photography) happening every time a kid takes a turn at the game. The kids then react badly (or badly act) in fright and stumble their way through until the game ends.
  
  I don't know why this movie was made. The only thing it has going for it is a lot of action whenever the game play results in peril. In between the peril, the dialogue is dull.
  
  There are so many great kids movies, or even mediocre kid's movies, better than this -- almost any of the animated classics directed by Hayao Miyazaki, or Secondhand Lions. I kind of enjoyed Holes, and The Sandlot, too. The old My Bodyguard. The Incredibles was very entertaining.
  
  I don't know how the kiddies reacted to Zathura, but it seems like a waste of time to me. You may find yourself wishing the kids did get pulled into the black hole, just to end the movie early.
  
  
• a Very Pretty, Fast-paced, MOSTLY HARMLESS family film
  By A27P0MW8TE1JQP on 2005-11-13
  Zathura propels the audience and two squabbling siblings into deep space while playing a mysterious board game. The live-action film is based on Chris Van Allsburg's 2002 follow-up to his award-winning Jumanji. Brothers Danny and Walter's combative relationship is established immediately along with a four-letter word, which is more jarring given the young age of the film's target audience. Zathura is rated PG, but considering the overall family tone of the film, the line is awkward at best. Tim Robbins plays the inefficient dad who appears only long enough to leave Danny and Walter in the problematic care of the sleeping older sister. After this not-entirely, unnecessary, initial exposition the movie is remarkably fast-paced leaving little need to think too hard about the physics or lackthereof. One cool effect is followed another as the brothers take their turns to make matters worse, one card after the next, just like Jumanji and its movie adaptation. And like Jumanji there is an adult who shows up in the form of an astronaut, played by Dax Shephard, to help end the game before the house is entirely wrecked by the barrage of black holes and bad robots. The astronauts presence, not only gives the parents a character to connect too, but creates a much more interesting dynamic between the brothers. The game itself is nicely sci-fi retro, as are the sci-fi scenarios, the art direction and the music.
  
  A mostly harmless family film which looks as pretty as Chris Van Allsburg's artwork (too bad he didn't add color to HIS Zathura).
  
  Watch for the "Citizen Kane" homage in the alien ship.
  
  
  
• Get Off Jumanji And Get On-Board With Zathura
  By A2ATWKOFJXRRR1 on 2006-02-16
  Open up your imagination to the world of Zathura. Kids and adults alike will revel in this great story about two young brothers who find an old board-style game called Zathura that literally launches them and their home into outer-space. Danny and Walter are the brothers and when their father leaves them alone with their teenage sister for a few minutes, worlds collide and their home becomes a space-bound asteroid, but not because of any interstellar cataclysm. It's all related to the game Zathura that the younger Danny finds and begins playing.
  
  Their father's beautiful arts and crafts style home is magically transported to the nether reaches of space and as the boys play the game - in an attempt to get back to Earth - more and more bizarre occurrences happen. A meteor shower pummels the house. A defective robot tries to kill the elder brother, Walter. Zorgons, weird, space-faring lizard-men, track their home because of the warmth radiating off it. A stranded spaceman joins the duo and has much more vested in the game than we could ever imagine. Walter and Danny's sister goes into cryogenic sleep for "five turns" only to awaken in the midst of this spaceflight odyssey.
  
  Can the boys make it home? Will they be able to finish the game? Can they put aside their sibling rivalries and become loving brothers? Why is the stranded astronaut helping them? What will Dad say when he gets home and finds out there is no home?
  _______________________________________________________________________________________
  
  There's been a lot of controversial talk amongst film-o-philes about this movie and JUMANJI. There's no doubt that there's an incredibly strong similarity between the two (a house being overrun by animals versus space creatures; a family in crisis that's forced to come together; a board game that recreates a fantasy; a happy ending that gets fixed-up before adults arrive back in the picture; and so on).
  
  Regardless of those striking comparisons, Zathura is a really fun film to watch. The two brothers are believable, and when they fight it reminded me of the great arguments I had with my brothers when I was growing up.
  
  The amazingly beautiful arts and crafts home. It was painful watching it get destroyed piece by piece. Sitting on a gimbal, too, it was surprising (watching the special features on the DVD) to learn that director Jon Favreau used minimal digital special effects and built miniatures, etc. in order to get the desired effects for the film.
  
  The ridiculous nature of the story allowed me to suspend disbelief and just go with it. We all know that fire doesn't burn in outer-space (they light a sofa on fire and kick it out the door), and that a person could never survive fifteen years floating around in space in a spacesuit (the astronaut), but so what.
  
  I was also a tad surprised about the astronaut. I'd surmised quite a bit about the movie as it continued (being able to guess pretty easily what was going to happen next and why) but when the true nature of the stranded astronaut came to light, I felt a bit choked-up (yeah, yeah, I know).
  
  So sit back and enjoy the film, and try not to get overly critical about its obvious relation to JUMANJI.
  
  
• unimaginative
  By A1XAR44IW48IEK on 2006-10-15
  Saw this on televisian. There really was nothing better to do at the time.
  
  Special effects are unimaginative. Settings nice. But overall this film is a cheap and unimaginative nock off of Jumanji.
  
  
• The Fantasy Game for Space-Oriented Children Of All Ages.
  By A2F3SXHT6RBV81 on 2005-11-11
  This was a space odyssey game for astronomers as most of the action takes place out there in space among the planets, stars, meteor showers, and black holes. Two squabbling brothers go on a space adventure, courtesy of Zathura, an old-fashioned board game. It is one of those "be careful what you wish for" moral stories and shows that, sometimes, small is better.
  
  Danny, the younger brother, is never satisfied and is forever needing attention. These children (an older sister is on board) are the products of a broken home, and it shows in their mis-behavior and discontent with the hand fate dealt them. Walter is the most maladjusted as he foolishly blames the youngster for the parents' breakup.
  
  As the house floats around in space, reminiscent to Dorothy's house there in the tornado which lands in Oz, they run into a destructive, defective robot, some metal lizard men, and goats with multiple eyes. All misfits. As the astronaut teaches them, there are some games you simply cannot play alone, and that once started you must finish this game. This is 'a move forward to the future,' as the past is relived, and the moral of the story is to appreciate what you have and value those you love. Walter is prevented from making the wrong 'wish.'
  
  Even though the family home is completely destroyed out in space, it is magically restored after the robot is reprogrammed, the astronaut from the future eats a 'dagwood' sandwich, and the harried dad returns from his urgent errand to hand them over to their mother for a four-day week.
  
  This might be a little too scary (even with the gerbil) for smaller children, but pre-teens should have a good time with the subliminal experiences and violence all adolescents feel when frustrated with uncaring parents and authority figures. "Jumanji" director, Jon Favreau, did wonders with Chris Van Allsburg's fantasy game come to fulfillment, better than his original jungle adventure.
  
  
• If Your Tired Of Jumanji Don't Watch It
  By A3E5OY3YLZMOA9 on 2006-10-18
  Zathura is pretty good and it's a movie that will definitely keep most kids entertained thanks to the wacky characters and special effects. Its back-story is exactly like Van Allsburg's first book turned film Jumanji but the acting isn't as solid. So now you know it's just like Jumanji, so you know that two kids basically start to play a game and somehow someway they're thrown into the game and everything that the game says will happen actually happens. As a person who already saw Jumanji and I'm sure everyone in the world has too seeing as Jumanji's videotape stays in every classroom I've ever been in, I should only have to explain the quality of Zathura. These kids are a little too old for their own good, and they push the PG rating as far they can. Older brother Walter has one dirty mouth so if your child still has virgin ears you may want to watch out for that.
  
  Though this story is much like Jumanji Van Allsburg still does a nice job of delivering a different set of characters and ending with a moral that will have siblings hugging each other. The ending is very predictable but if a kid is watching he/she probably won't even notice because the explosive action and fat aliens will catch most of their attention. If you are watching a movie like this with your children you can always stretch a little fib at the end and say "see this will happen if you keep being mean to your brother". Zathura is not really trying to come across as a children's classic or an original work but it is a nice family movie though that PG rating is used to the fullest. Walter is funny when he says it but it's not really needed. I would suggest watching Zathura on Starz first since it's being played on there now, it will save you money.
  
  
• If you liked Jumanji........
  By A3OOU0AI8TDS4C on 2006-03-26
  If you liked Jumanji, then Zathura is a must-see! It is a well written and exciting story line that is fun for adults as well as children. My 7 year old and I enjoy watching it together all the time!
  
  
• Disappointing!
  By A1RXDGFPLS3CGA on 2006-07-20
  Idea for the movie is great! Build-up it received during the last season of "Apprentice" made me think it was a great film. But was I disappointed... probably because I was expecting a space version of "Jumanji". It is far from it; underdeveloped protagonists in form of little pricks, and their very shallow connections. One thing is childish characters - but these were really really mean kids, and I think a bit too much on the mean side. One of the child-protagonists was portrayed as a cute and cunning little kid, but a dengerous pathological liar non the less. If there are kids like that out there, there should not be any movies with characters like it for our children to watch. So much more could have been done! To the director's credit, the old-school special effects are really cool, but they cannot replace underdeveloped story, mean characters. In conclusion, if you want to see a great family movie with your kids, great special effects, and a worthy story line with the point that will make your kids grow up into better people, watch "Jumanji" again and do not waste the time with this underachiever. Really - don't bother. Or do bother, and see for your self before showing it to your kids, and see what I mean.
  
  
• DEJUMANJI
  By A3LZGLA88K0LA0 on 2006-02-25
  No, it's not surprising that ZATHURA and JUMANI are so similar---they're based books by the same author, Chris Van Allesberg, although ZATHURA doesn't have the big name value of Robin Williams. On its own merits, however, it's an entertaining if noisy little film. The brothers, wisecracking insensitive Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and whiny, nerdish Danny (Jonah Bobo), aren't instantly likeable as all they do is fuss and feud and act like little hellions. Father (Tim Robbins) and mama are divorced and that excuse of a broken home souring the kids is used again. (Coming from a broken home myself, I find it insulting to think that divorce is blamed once again; the father has actually spoiled the brats). They also have the obligatory insolent older sister (Kristen Stewart). One day little Danny finds a board game called Zathura and before you know it, the siblings find themselves off into space, house and all. They play the game with varying perils and they hook up with a stranded astronaut (an effective Dax Stewart) who aids them in a fight against reptilian aliens called Zorgons. The movie tries a little surprise but seasoned viewers will have seen it coming. The effects are pretty good, the movie having a cartoonish atmosphere at times and kids should enjoy the dangerous events. Not as inventive as JUMANJI but okay after all.
  
  
• Fun movie with some mildly questionable language
  By A28IK698VHKLUK on 2006-03-22
  "Zathura" is a very cute, well-made adventure movie that is, for the most part, kid friendly and entertaining for adults, too. The special effects are fantastic, and a plot twist or two make the movie more cerebrally stimulating than your average pre-teen adventure flick.
  
  Parents, be forewarned, though -- the main characters (two brothers, ages 10 and 6) spout a few mildly bad words and phrases that struck me as being ripe for parroting. "Sucks," for example. The one "bad" line that stands out most to me is "Get me a juicebox, beeatch!" In context (shouted at a robot), it's funny and memorable, so I know that if I were a pre-teen boy, I'd repeat it ad naseum. Probably at my sister.
  
  "Sucks" and "Beeatch" notwithstanding, "Zathura" has an unmistakeably positive "family" message (i.e. brothers and sisters should love, respect, and protect one another). Your kids will enjoy it, and so will you.
  
  
• To put it simply... Wow.
  By A284BF4U7KL3JE on 2006-05-15
  I saw the previews in theaters thinking, "well, this looks... decent... not good... but something I'd see"
  
  So when my mom rented it as a "family movie" when it came out I wasn't expecting it to hit me like it did.
  
  Jumanji came out when I was much younger... and it freaked me out so badly I had a hard time watching it some years later and while parts of Zathura are rather intense for a kids movie (mom and I have both agreed that they need a rating between PG and PG13) it is lightent with perfectly timed humor and cute antics (mostly by the youngest brother Danny).
  
  My only problem with the film was the languaged used by Danny and Walter. But seeing as most movies now are like that its no real suprise.
  
  
• Meteor shower--take evasive action
  By A31RM5QU797HPJ on 2006-06-10
  
  
  "Zathura" is about two brothers that fight all the time. The younger brother finds a sci-fi board game called "Zathura" in the basement, and wants his bratty older brother to play with him. The older brother is less than excited about playing a board game, but quickly comes around when a meteor shower happens in the living room.
  "Zathura" is basically Jumanji in space...but without the good story. The effects are top-notch, but the story isn't. We've seen this movie before, and we don't need to see a second-rate remake.
  
  
• Kindergarten to Fifth Grade Unless You are a Kristen Stewart Fan
  By A30LMTLC9XVWKJ on 2006-08-04
  
  Those who criticize "Zathura" for being a copycat "Jumanji" are apparently clueless about the Van Allsburg's books. "Zathura" is a sequel to "Jumanji", it is about what happened when the Budwing brothers opened the game box that Peter and Judy discarded at the end of "Jumanji". Early board games were often designed with two-sided boards so that the game pieces could be used to play two different games-usually of the same type. "Zathura" was the flip side of the "Jumanji" game board and the ones the brothers choose to play (because Walter did not like jungle games). So it is supposed to be another "Jumanji".
  
  Having grown up with this same sibling age dynamic (six and ten) I was not surprised at the amount of yelling, anger, and resentment that goes on between the two brothers. I was however surprised that anyone would find this sort of thing entertaining. While their divorced father (Tim Robbins playing the only sympathetic character in the film) is away at a meeting, the younger brother (Danny) finds an old Zathura game in the basement. Based on those old 1950's tin toys it involves two tin spaceships on a track racing around space. Each spin of the dial determines the distance the ship will move on that turn and a card is ejected detailing what happens to the ship at that point of space.
  
  As Danny and Walter face the challenges of space they discover that they can work as a team and they even develop some affection for each other (a more unrealistic idea than anything they actually encounter in space).
  
  Like the source book, the movie adaptation of "Zathura" targets kindergarten to Grade 5 children. Like "Sharkboy and Lavagirl", older viewers will find very little of interest other than a fun production design and nice effects.
  
  Unfortunately "Zathura" it is not as pure as that film which uniquely refused to compromise its "for kids only" story. "Zathura" does compromise, as the producers attempt to expand their audience by creating an older sister (Lisa played by Kristen Stewart) who was not a character in the book. While Stewart is fine in this role and even provides some comic relief, it is rather disturbing that the producers chose to turn her into a pubescent sex object, blustering around the house in her underwear for most of the film. Van Allsburg's illustrations are the best part of his books but this image is not one than he has ever published.
  
  The DVD has some excellent special features, which even older viewers will enjoy. The best is an interview with Van Allsburg in which he discusses his influences and his other books.
  
  Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
  
  
• Interesting design and effects, but extremely weak otherwise
  By A16QODENBJVUI1 on 2006-08-13
  I suppose if I were six this might be a good film. The special effects are quite good and the art design is outstanding, but as an adult I require a bit of a story to go with my smoke and mirrors. The film does a large number of things right. The look is absolutely spectacular from beginning to end and I loved the way that the art design reminded one of the forties to fit the design of the game. Unfortunately, the plot was pretty much nonexistent. If one has seen the quite excellent JUMANJI, one knows what to expect. But this one lacks the originality of that film as well as the large cast and varied sets. This film is restricted to a house in outer space, precluding both varieties in locations and in cast.
  
  Despite the above-mentioned restrictions, this might still have been a good movie if only the script had been stronger. There just wasn't much to it, and the entire brother versus brother aspect got intensely tiresome well before the utterly predictable bonding that inevitably took place before the end of the film. Indeed, the screaming matches between the two brothers caused me more than once to nearly turn the film off before I had completed it, something that almost never happens (I can almost count all the films I have started but not finished on the fingers of both hands).
  
  Would I recommend a parent showing this to a younger child? I think it might be a bit jarring for a child under six. It would probably an average child over eleven. It might be OK for those in between, but I can't imagine many adults enjoying this one.
  
  
• Boreing
  By A396KX3PLIYHX on 2006-09-03
  For the life of me I cannot understand how any one could like this deplorable and stupid film. I was totally bored who wrote the script for this film? A load of codswollop.
  
  
• Similar to Jumanji....
  By A3AOKQCH0YBZDS on 2007-06-26
  Except it involves being in outer space rather than a jungle theme. Nice special effects in this movie, along with nice acting from the cast members.
  
  Some really funny scenes take place, however some scenes may be too scary for those five years old and under. The movie's/story's message seems to be one of working together to solve a problem and brotherly love.
  
  
• Fun family Sci-fi fantasy movie!
  By A1COW0UIB5HA9J on 2008-04-23
  12 year old Walter (Josh Hutcherson) with his brother Danny (Jonah Bobo) as well their sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart) must take care of the house for the day while their father (Tim Robbins) goes to work. Danny's all board until when he is put down in the basement, he discovers an old board game called "Zathura" as him and his brother decide to play it. Unknown to them it is an enchanted board game as it takes them and their home away into Outer Space where they encounter deadly meteorites, vicious reptilian aliens, one maniacal Robot (voiced by Frank Oz), and a lost astronaut (Dax Shepard) as they must play the game to finish it in order to get back home.
  
  Charming and entertaining Sci-fi fantasy adventure from the author of "Jumanji" Chris Van Alsburg. Jon Favreau who directed the splendid "Elf" in 2003 has made yet another very good family film and is faithful to the book, i personally thought this was better then "Jumanji". If you want a good movie that the whole family can enjoy then i recommend this movie.
  
  This DVD contains good extras like an audio commentary, a behind the scenes documentary, visual effects documentary, cast and crew info, and a few more featurettes including interviews.
  
  
• Jimanji 2
  By on 2005-11-13
  This is a pretty good film. It's like a "What if Jumanji was in Space?". The action is clear and impressive. The best part is probably where the robot goes psycho and seeks the boy that spun him. That or when the Zorgon invade the house. The movie has some neat twists and turns. I remember when everyone in the theater gasped(literally) when the younger brother swears at the beginning. Yeah. So the only problems are a little more swearing than actually needed and a few plot holes(how did the time period repeat like it did?).
  
  
• An Adventure for the Whole Family
  By A3M2WW0PO34B94 on 2005-11-16
  Danny (Jonah Bobo), seven years old, and Walter (Josh Hutcherson), ten, are left in the care of their older sister, Lisa (Kirsten Stewart). Dad (Tim Robbins) asks her to keep an eye on them as he runs to the office to pick up something for an upcoming meeting. Being the teenager she is, she promptly goes back to sleep. Walter wants to watch baseball on TV, avoiding his younger brother. When Danny proves to be too much of a pest, Walter chases him throughout the house. He finds Danny hiding in the old dumb waiter and lowers him into the basement. Danny finds his way to the stairs and notices an old board game hiding between the wooden steps. "Zathura, a Space Adventure for Two Players". Danny excitedly shows the game to Walter who ignores him. Danny opens the box and turns the key on the board, causing a button to pop out. He presses the button. His spaceship is moved mechanically across the board. A card pops out. It reads "Meteor Shower. Take Evasive Action." Danny can't read the card and shows Walter. Walter looks at the card and explains what it means just as meteors begin to destroy the living room. They soon realize that their house is floating in outer space. The only way home? To complete the game.
  
  "Zathura", directed by Jon Favreau ("Elf", "Made", "Swingers"), is based on a Chris Van Allsburg book, the same children's book author behind "Jumanji" and "The Polar Express".
  
  A well-crafted film suitable for the whole family, "Zathura" is a delight.
  
  The story is involving and interesting and effectively brings us into the lives of these children. As Danny and Walter run around the house, getting on each others nerves, they seem entirely realistic; two young boys, stuck inside, bored, on a Saturday afternoon. What else would they do except annoy each other, get into mischief and make various attempts to play together? As soon as they find the game, the story really kicks into gear. They realize that they have to play the game through to the end, to get their house back to its small lot in Pasadena and for everything to return to normal. As they play the game, they realize that they have to work together to overcome the challenges of Zathura.
  
  "Jumanji" had a similar premise, but "Zathura" is a very different film. The first film seemed overflowing with characters and animals. "Zathura" takes a different approach, telling the story of the two brothers and a couple of visitors who help out through the course of the story. Because of this, "Zathura" seems more manageable, more intimate. The first film had Robin Williams' antics, but this new film seems better, more enjoyable, more like a real adventure.
  
  Each card popping out of the machine signals the beginning of a new part of the adventure, a new challenge. Some of these put the two boys in dangerous situations that only strengthen the bond between them, others provide some comic relief. An early card reads "Player enters cryogenic sleep chamber. For next five turns." Lisa (Stewart), still not realizing that the house is floating through space walks into her bathroom, concerned that she will be late for her date, and instantly freezes solid. The two boys don't know what to do, except to keep her safe until that action has expired. Another card reads "Rescue Abandoned Astronaut". At that very moment, an astronaut (Dax Shepard, TV's "Punked") flies by the front door. After they rescue him, he proves particularly useful during the remaining challenges.
  
  When you were a kid, you most likely played games or with toys, imagining they were real and you were actually interacting with them. "Zathura" brilliantly captures this feeling, taking it to a new level. Two little boys who were playing a real board game would probably interact in the same way. If one of the players started imagining something a little scary, the other would either encourage him to keep going, to become stronger, or help him through the challenge. The two brothers do this throughout. As various parts of the house are demolished by a robot, heat seeking aliens, and meteors, they scramble to keep the board game, their ticket home, intact.
  
  Director Jon Favreau does a great job at the helm. From the beautiful house, a million plus dollar Arts and Crafts home that dad (Robbins) says he is fixing up, to the look and feel of the board game, Favreau has a definite and unique style. Much like in "Elf", Favreau likes everything to seem a little retro. In "Zathura", the board game graphics and design appear to have been plucked out of the Fifties. A robot, looking more like something from "Forbidden Planet" than "Star Wars Episode III", makes an appearance. It actually looks like some of the special effects were created the old fashioned way, with models and miniature, rather than excessive CGI, lending the film a charm many parents should appreciate.
  
  Favreau also does a nice job with the actors. The two brothers are great. Funny and entirely believable, they could live in any house on your street. Kirsten Stewart is also very funny as Lisa, the typical teenage girl. And Dax Stewart does a nice job as the slightly charismatic astronaut.
  
  "Zathura" is that rare live action film good for the entire family. Kids will love it and adults will enjoy watching it. A couple of the scenes are probably too scary for some of the youngest children. Children Danny's age, under 7, will probably find the film too scary. But everyone else should have a great time playing "Zathura".
  
  
  
• Technically flawed, but exceptionally good in a bad movie year.
  By A2JYIDH7JIG48H on 2005-11-20
  Zathura
  During the first half of Zathura, I was thinking of subtracting one star for this review due to scientific flaws. Destination Moon, made over 50 years ago, was more accurate. However, by the end the story was so good it gets 5 stars anyway.
  It's about two brothers who find an old game, Zathura, in the basement, and when they play it, like in the same author's "Jumanji," things start to happen. A game card warns of a meteor shower, and real meteors breech the roof of the house. It turns out once they started playing, the whole house has been displaced into outer space, and they have to finish the game to get back, even if it brings on horrendous aliens and other grave dangers. It's more than just "Jumanji In Space" though, with some family lessons as good as, but different from that earlier film.
  The most glaring mistakes are: One, when the house enters a gravity field. We see things falling off shelves all over the house, and pieces falling off the outside of the house. You don't have to be a science student; anyone who reads sci-fi (Heinlein, Clarke, etc.) knows that the house would fall at the same rate as everything in it and there would be no relative motion. Furthermore, in the next scene there are still some dishes on the shelves to rattle and fall. Two, they set a couch on fire and push it out into space, where it continues buring with visible yellow flames as it floats away. Of course there's no oxygen in space and nothing would burn in that manner even if supplied with oxygen. All that's really a shame because the movie could have had some educational value if they'd bothered to get some facts right.
  I guess you just have to take it as a children's fantasy instead of serious SF, and as such it's an exceptionally good movie.
  
  
• Figures
  By A1RCK2HOA824AB on 2005-11-27
  So I'm 14. Not the brand of person to go and see such a movie for my own gratification; it really was one of those 'well, it's the only thing playing...' sort of deals; like you were almost FORCED to go via ennui.
  
  I would have NEVER comprehended sitting through Zathura at the edge of my seat, encouraging and cheering the siblings and the stranded Astronaut on with every ounce of oomph I could (I might have been screaming it out loud too...) rally, laughing out loud at Danny's charming personality and loving the benevolence maturity of Walter as the film progressed. The action is exhilarating for the kids and prudently done for the parents and a tale that redefines BRILLIANCE and, dare I saw, overtakes the area of Jumonji and all its glory. Zathura is not only a thriller with a plethora of feat and battle, but also a case in point of siblinghood and collaboration shown in such a way it's sure to be super glued to your memory. More than just a film, it's an exemplar for all disagreements of family, clearly not only by telling but SHOWING you that it really does take two; or three and possibly even four hundreds. The numbers could matter less; it's the moral behind the turn of the key and the little tin rocket ships on the board game.
  
  A brilliant film with a three dimensional story for the entire family, young, old, my age, whatever, I command that you see it with anyone you can find. They don't want to go? Drag them blood, tooth and nail into the theater by their legs if you must. It's worth every scratch, every penny and every single moment.
  
  I'm seeing it for the third time tomorrow.
  
  Heh, I'm insane, I know.
  
  
  
• "Jumanji" Updated: Joyful Adventure Story in Outer Space
  By ABO2ZI2Y5DQ9T on 2005-12-10
  Once `Jumanji' brought us an adventure story in deep jungle (deep jungle in your house, to be precise). Now its updated version `Zathura' arrives, which is about a `space adventure' by two brothers Walter and Danny. The boys are stranded in the outer space (with unsuspecting sister in her room) after starting the game of the film's title. To go back to the Earth alive, they have to finish the game, pushing the red `GO' button, one player after the other. Unfortunately, however, Walter and Danny are not always co-operative, both having a quarrel with each other.
  
  Yes, `Zathura' is about an old game found in the basement in the brothers' house, and Danny accidentally becomes the first player of it. Unlike `Jumanji' in which wild animals of the jungle rush into your living room, the game of `Zathura' transports the entire house into the outer space, where many life-threatening events happen to the brothers. After the rather weak initial 15 minutes which introduce the family (including their father Tim Robbins, and sister Kristen Stewart), `Zathura' keeps entertaining us like a roller coaster despite some slack moments.
  
  Though the appearance of Tim Robbins is too short, which is little better than a cameo, Dax Shepard provides a good support as a stranded astronaut, who is probably better than the over-the-top Robin Williams in 'Jumanji'. The two child actors Josh Hutcherson and Jonah Bobo are also good, though I find some part of their acting (especially when quarrelling) is irritating and overdone.
  
  `Zathura''s simple premise is based on the book of the same title, beautifully illustrated one by Chris Van Allsburg (`The Polar Express' and of course, `Jumanji'). And the story resembles those of them - children learning a precious thing or two about family or life itself after the incredible and imaginative adventures set in another world. Some viewers would complain, perhaps with good reasons, that the script of `Zathura' (by David Koepp and John Kamps) recycles some elements from `Jumaji.' I understand, but you know, both of the films are based on the same concept - kids playing a potentially deadly board game - so let's ignore the resemblance. And the predictability of the `game' should also be forgiven because, as you know, all the games of this type will end in only one way.
  
  You may not praise actor-turned-director Jon Favreau for inventiveness and originality, but it must be said too that he succeeds in imbuing the old-fashioned feeling into the film, which, in spite of plot holes and some unnecessary slapsticks, turns out a delightful, well-told tale for children and adults alike. The film is greatly helped by the first-rate CGIs, but the real charms of `Zathura' are its touch of the good old sci-fi films in the 50s. Don't expect `Star Wars: Episode III' here; `Zathura' is like one upgraded version of the original TV `Star Trek,' sometimes corny but ultimately joyful and optimistic adventure story.
  
  
• Zathura: A Fun Ride
  By A1W661TC1P6VQI on 2006-01-22
  I like the movie "Jumanji." I don't think it's a great film, but it was a fairly decent movie. The special effects haven't held up quite as well as they used to, but that's okay, that's just the way things work sometimes. With that in mind, I wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing "Zathura." Like "Elf," the movie just looked too dopy and childish for me. However, like "Elf," I walked away from "Zathura" quite surprised. I only then learned that the guy who directed "Elf" directed "Zathura" too.
  
  The storyline is simple: Boys who hate each other find board game, start playing, weird stuff happens, boys must learn to love each other if they are to survive. In this regard, "Zathura" is nothing special, as this story has been told multiple times before. What makes this movie worth seeing is that it is told in a very fun way. While "Jumanji" was a good movie, calling it a family film (and giving the film it's too flexible PG rating) was a joke, as that film was capable of terrifying kids. "Zathura" makes this a fun ride by establishing very early on that this is going to be a fun fantasy ride.
  
  The first thing that happens is a huge meteor shower takes place in the living room. The meteors fall everywhere, destroying the room, but the kids are unharmed. So while it looks like the kids are avoiding the meteors, it's really the meteors that are avoiding the kids. This scene does a great job in setting up the fact that this is all just going to be fun. As more disasters show up, there is always something to protect the kids, and (in a brilliant stroke of genius) some of the special effects are old fashioned. The old fashioned special effects (like the robot) helps establish the fantasy setting we are in.
  
  The actors all do a commendable job in the movie. There is no Oscar work to be found here, but what is in here works. Save for Tim Robbins in a very minor supporting role as the dad who doesn't have for his kids, the cast is made up entirely of unknowns. This is also okay, as we don't want anyone mistaking this movie for art. Still, it's a great family film, and even if you don't have kids it is quite and enjoyable ride in itself. Just remember: It's only a game.
  
  
• Sci Fi Action Adventure
  By AB1UMC7SB9D7Z on 2006-02-18
  Well it's been a good couple of weeks for family and family-rated films out on DVD these past couple of weeks. We've gotten the amazing and utterly joyful Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Wererabbit, we've gotten the magical and rich world of MirrorMask, and we've gotten the science fiction bonanza of Zathura.
  
  The latter film and the focus of this little review is a story about a breaking home, two brothers in a divorced family that argue all of the time and can't seem to be comfortable with each other and who, eventually, must work out their differences in a pretty magnificent and original way: tearing apart the home pane-by-pane as they shoot through outer-space playing a board game.
  
  Which is interesting, if you think about it, the whole theme of broken home/horrors of nature that the characters experience in this film and in Jumanji, it's counterpart. It's not a big theme, it's just something that's there, but both groups of children have relatively unhappy homelifes and they both play a board game that realizes their fears and causes them to grow up, in a sense.
  
  In terms of any realness to this picture, some people might feel stuff a bit lacking. You know, they can breathe in space, the couch keeps burning after it leaves the atmosphere of the living room, so on and so forth. Actual physics has next to nothing of importance in this film, but what it does have is pretty amazing special effects... as in, really, I couldn't see through any of them. Huh, weird, since much bigger and more appreciated films with much bigger budgets tend to have very obvious special effects and an entire lack of a plot, too! State of contemporary film, people.
  
  The only thing really a problem with this film, if one considers it a problem, is that the character of Lisa is pretty underdeveloped and actually helps undermine a lot of what the boys discover about trust and growing up. However, she becomes such a minor character that it's mostly incidental, so if she bothers you she's easier to ignore. Then, of course, it's kind of hard to imagine any house taking that much abuse and still stand, right to the very end, even taking into account the lack of care for physics and reality in it. So if those are issues that really bother you, I guess you'll just have to be bothered.
  
  --PolarisDiB
  
  

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• Jumanji (Collector's Series)
• Zathura The Game
• Sky High (Widescreen Edition)
• Night at the Museum (Widescreen Edition)
• Zathura