We knew that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was going to be different from the original 1995 film starring Robin Williams, but until today’s trailer release we had no idea this sequel was going to be part Tron, part The Breakfast Club, part Avatar, and part…well, part Jumanji.
The trailer promises just as much comedy as action, and explains that the main characters’ absurd names (like Dr. Smolder Gravestone and Franklin “Moose” Finbar) and even more absurd clothing choices (what kind of adventurer would wear short shorts and a half a shirt in the jungle?) are because, this time around, Jumanji is a ’90s style video game instead of a board game.
And the players, an eclectic group of high schoolers stuck in detention together, get sucked inside the game, into the world of Jumanji, instead of the game coming to them like in the original movie. So while they might look like The Rock, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart, they are actually a bunch of scared kids who suddenly find themselves with specific, super attributes.
In addition to all of the others movies this seems inspired by, the whole “Jack Black is really a teenage girl” thing also reminds us of Rob Schneider’s The Hot Chick. But we won’t hold it against the movie, since this trailer seems like a lot more self-aware than that movie.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, directed by Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), comes out this December on Christmas.
What do you think of this trailer? What other movies does it look like it is inspired by? Escape into the world of our comments section below to tell us your thoughts.
Images: Columbia Pictures
