Twenty-five years ago we were catapulted for the first time into an adventure that would forever change our conception of board game. Jumanji, a 1995 film directed by Joe Johnston starring Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce, returned to everyone's lips three years ago, with the release of a sequel (and then a 'trequel' last year) that he managed to get a great success, thanks to the name he supported.
Speaking of names, have you ever wondered what the word means Jumanji?
The title
Doing a quick search, we find that in language zulu Jumanji can be translated with "Many effects". A choice that fits perfectly with the characteristics of the board game, full of unpredictable consequences based on the roll of the dice: crazed monkeys, hungry lions, elephants, spiders ... Author Chris Van Allsburg was looking for something that aroused curiosity and gave the idea of the exotic. We have to admit that he succeeded, or not?
Two roles, one actor
Perhaps not everyone will have noticed that to interpret the father of Alan Parrish and the mad hunter Van Pelt there is the same actor, jonathan hyde. Hyde had already made himself known the year before, in 1994, alongside Macaulay Culkin in Richie Rich while after Jumanji, also in the 90s, he starred in films such as Anaconda, Titanic e The Mummy.
Why wasn't another actor hired to differentiate roles? Neither the producers nor the director have provided an official answer to this question, but fans have put forward a theory that appears to be satisfactory.
For some, Van Pelt would be something of a hallucination by Alan, a version of his subconscious how he wanted to be in the game. Van Pelt is in fact a bold, fearless hunter, a sort of projection of everything that Alan was not as a child and that his father would like him to be. Alan sees his father as a strong man and therefore the two would look the same.
What do you think? Does it convince you as a theory?
Article Jumanji, what does the title mean? Why does the same actor play both the father and Van Pelt? From We of the 80-90s.
