When Judy and Peter move into a new house with their Aunt following the death of their parents it isn't long until they find a mysterious game in the old Parrish house. Rumours of what happened to Alan have circulated around the town for decades. When they start playing the strange game he is released, amongst many other things from the jungle!
This was one of my favourites films as a kid and I still enjoy watching it a lot now I actually could not believe I hadn't already reviewed it in all honesty! Especially considering that I cannot resist watching it whether it be on Sky Cinema or Netflix every now and then. Robin Williams was the 90s and so many people's childhoods. This film therefore holds a special place in my heart, while it might not look fantastic to this day but I still feel as though it has a lot of magic if you remember playing board games of course!
To be able to finish the game they must find Sarah Whittle who had started it with Alan 26 years earlier and had been trying to deal with what happened that night when he was sucked into the board game. Obviously no-one would believe her story at all and she was pretty much seen as being total crazy. As each player had their next turn they had to deal with what was going to come out of the game next, including monkeys, killer plants and Van Pelt.
Can I also add that it took me a lot of years to release that Van Pelt was also played by Jonathan Hyde who was also Alan's father. Yes, seriously you just don't notice things like that when you are a kid. I still feel that Robin Williams' is perfect in this film and his performance is just brilliant from start to finish. Add in Bonnie Hunt and a young Kirsten Dunst and you really do have a good core group not forgetting Bradley Pierce and a small role for Bebe Neuwirth.
The game gives you clues before the next thing appears from the game to cause chaos around the small town. Can you quickly guess what it's going to be before it's too late? That is something which Alan really helps with considering he was stuck in the jungle for 26 years, and the struggle he faces being back in the real world and attempting to find his parents. Not being able to do the normal things a man of his age can do, like driving a car does create some rather amusing moments.
I really cannot help but still love this film a lot and I don't even care what anyone thinks about that, I feel that this film is a classic from my childhood and still find it very enjoyable to this day. Even if I do know the whole script and what is going to happen next it is one of those films that holds a very special place in my heart!
