- [Andrew] Hi everyone, I'm Andrew,
and it's a jungle out there!
In 2017, a reboot of a childhood classic managed
to hold its own against 'Star Wars,'
and this month, 'Jumanji: The Next Level'
goes toe to toe with 'Rise of the Skywalker'
in a no-holds-barred box office rematch.
- You've got to have eyes in the back of your head!
- What in the Sam hill?
- Obviously, 'Star Wars' has a very strong advantage,
but don't discount the draw that is
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
The new 'Jumanji' movie is a great example
of how to do reboots right.
But just how did a 32-page children's book
spawn a billion dollar movie franchise?
What were the original, extremely bizarre
plans for a sequel?
And how did the current incarnation take shape?
This is The True Story of 'Jumanji.'
When 'Jumanji' creator Chris Van Allsburg
earned a Master's degree in sculpture,
he was surprised to learn that full-time employment
as a sculptor was somewhat hard to come by.
I hear you, buddy.
In his downtime, he doodled designs for future pieces,
and when his wife saw his detailed, dreamlike, pencil
and charcoal drawings,
she suggested that he turn them into illustrations
for a children's book.
Van Allsburg's first story, 'The Garden of Abdul Gasazi'
was published in 1979,
and while it sold well,
his next book placed him in the upper-echelon
of author/illustrators.
'Jumanji' was inspired by childhood memories
of playing board games like Monopoly.
Van Allsburg loved how this sparked his imagination
but he was always disappointed by the fact that
even when you won, all you've got to show for it
are some plastic hotels and fake money.
He envisioned a mysterious, magical board game
that delivered on its promises
and brought the terrors of the jungle to life
with each roll of the dice.
- It's not real, Peter.
(lion roaring)
- The book itself is pretty sparse.
Like, there are more words in the script to this video
than that book.
And the story is basically bored kids find game in park,
kids play game and bad things happen to them,
kids win game and dump it back outside for the
next group of helpless saps.
But when 'Jumanji' was published in 1981,
it quickly became a sensation thanks to its
intriguing concept
and intricate art that tells a ton of story
within a single still image.
Look at those monkeys.
Look how much fun those monkeys are having.
'Jumanji' earned Van Allsburg his first Caldecott Medal.
And he'd go on to win another for 'The Polar Express'
which would also go on to become a beloved movie
with weird and sometimes unsettling CGI.
- Hey you, yeah, you.
Do you know what kind of train this is?
- But the author would get his first taste of Hollywood
years before when he was enlisted to help save
the troubled production of 'Jumanji' the movie.
When Van Allsburg learned that the film rights to 'Jumanji'
had been sold to Sony,
with megastar Robin Williams attached as the lead actor,
the author was probably a little confused,
because aside from the hunter,
there are no adult characters in his book.
Multiple screenwriters had tried
and failed to flesh out a book you can read in nine minutes,
into a feature-length film,
and even though they had a director onboard,
in 'The Rocketeer' and 'Captain America's' Joe Johnston,
Sony was about to abandon the project entirely.
But first, they asked Van Allburg himself to try his hand
on the script.
The author's draft has never surfaced
but it was apparently far more surreal
and mysterious than the somewhat formulaic blockbuster
it turned into.
Still, the film finally had a foundation
and after even more rewrites,
the cast quickly fell into place.
Besides Williams and co-star Bonnie Hunt,
Bradley Pierce, best known as the voice of Chip
in 'Beauty and the Beast'
and Tails in the '90s 'Sonic' cartoon,
had to endure a grueling three hour makeup procedure
every day for seventy days,
to turn him into a mutated monkey boy.
11 year old Scarlett Johannson actually auditioned
for the role of his sister,
but she lost out to 13 year old Kirsten Dunst,
who was already becoming a star thanks to
'Interview With a Vampire' and 'Little Women.'
Black Widow lost out to Mary Jane.
Wow.
'Jumanji' was an early experiment in CGI special effects,
and while some of these animals look extremely
rough around the edges today,
it's still an impressive effort for 1995.
In any effects-heavy film,
it's fairly important to stick to the script,
which is why Johnston was worried about
Robin Williams' infamous improv.
- I've got an incredible problem with dickslexia.
That's a different thing, we can't talk about that
on the radio.
- He filmed most scenes as two takes,
one that stuck to the screenplay,
and one where Williams could ramble and riff away.
The final product was a sweet,
yet surprisingly intense film.
(animal grumbling) (child screaming)
Parents and critics alike roasted it for being
way too scary but, as always, the kids themselves loved it.
'Jumanji' was a smashing success,
earning over $260 million worldwide,
and inspiring both a real board game and animated series,
complete with bizarre character designs from
'Duckman' creator Everett Peck.
Sony had a franchise on their hands,
but they spun their wheels so long on a sequel
that we'd have to wait almost 22 years for the reboot.
By 1999, 'Jumanji 2' was well into development
under director Ken Ralston,
best known for his FX work on 'Star Wars'
and early leaks painted an extremely strange picture.
Since Robin Williams wouldn't be returning,
the setting shifted to the White House,
where the President of the United States
finds the game to play with his kids in the West Wing.
After he gets sucked into the game,
his evil Vice President played by Steve Buscemi takes over,
until POTUS returns from the jungles of Jumanji
with an army of extremely toyetic hybrid animals
to take back control of the country
and, of course, bond with his son.
♪ You are my son. ♪
♪ You're better than anyone. ♪
- Excuse me.
- After this weird concept died on the vine,
Van Allsburg wrote his own followup in 2002.
'Zathura' is pretty much the exact same story
just in a sci-fi setting.
The kids from the end of 'Jumanji' open the box
and find a different game underneath.
They get sucked into space,
learn lessons about the importance of family,
and yadda yadda yadda.
'Zathura' was adapted into a live-action movie in 2005,
but it avoided all mentions of 'Jumanji'
and served as a standalone film instead.
It was a big time box office bomb
and nearly derailed the career of director Jon Favreau
until he bounced back with a little picture
called 'Iron Man' three years later.
Ever heard of it?
Ironically, Favreau helped usher in our current age
of big-budget CGI blockbusters,
creating the perfect environment for 'Jumanji'
to make a triumphant return.
Sony made their plans for a 'Jumanji' reboot
public in August of 2015.
Sadly, the announcement was tainted by tragedy,
because it came on the one year anniversary
of Robin Williams' untimely passing.
Yikes.
Announcing a remake so close to the death
of the beloved star of the original
understandably upset fans
and they were still skeptical even when
the most electrifying man in entertainment got onboard.
Dwayne Johnson was the first to reveal
that his new 'Jumanji' would indeed be a
Jurassic World-style sequel,
and would pay homage to the original film.
- I mean, this is Alan Parrish's house.
I'm just living in it.
- While updating the concept to reflect
the rise of video games in the decades
since the original story was written.
A superstar cast, including Kevin Hart
and Jack Black, quickly solidified,
although scheduling conflicts meant that Tom Holland
and Shailene Woodley would be replaced by Nick Jonas
and Karen Gillian, respectively.
Anticipation grew slowly but surely,
and when 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' released
on December 20, 2017, it was a smash success.
On opening weekend, it placed second behind 'The Last Jedi'
which came out the week before,
but in its second week, 'Jumanji' actually rose to top spot.
Thanks to extremely strong word-of-mouth.
It's a perfect punchy popcorn movie,
with a surprising amount of heart,
and a refreshing spin on merging movies with video games.
- Wow.
- Hey, can I, quick question.
How is strength my weakness?
- We did a whole video on that particular aspect.
And I encourage you to go watch it
but remember that I botched the pronunciation
of 'Jumanji' in that video.
And I will never, ever live it down.
I never expected 'Jumanji.'
- Any last words?
- 'Jumanji,' 'Jumanji,' 'Jumanji.'
- It's 'Jumanji.'
- Thanks to star power, a simple concept,
and a solid execution, 'Jumanji'
grossed just under a billion dollars,
making the sequel, 'The Next Level' an inevitability.
And we wouldn't have to wait 22 years for it either.
- I have one important question.
Who is Jumanji?
Is that Barbara's boy?
- We're gonna die.
- I'm excited to see what Danny Devito,
Aquafina, and Danny Glover will bring to the franchise.
And it might just give 'Skywalker'
a run for its money but no matter what happens,
it's extremely impressive to me
that a frustrated sculptor took his board game
fantasies and transformed them into a beloved
blockbuster franchise.
- I missed you so much, oh my God,
you guys, hi!
- Bethany.
- You guys! We're back in Jumanji!