Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)

Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is hurled through the depths of space by the magical board game they are playing.

Director:

Jon Favreau

Writers:

Chris Van Allsburg (book), David Koepp (screenplay)

Stars:

Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jonah Bobo	...	Danny
Josh Hutcherson	...	Walter
Dax Shepard	...	Astronaut
Kristen Stewart	...	Lisa
Tim Robbins	...	Dad
Frank Oz	...	Robot (voice)
John Alexander	...	Robot
Derek Mears	...	Lead Zorgon
Douglas Tait	...	Zorgon
Joe Bucaro III	...	Zorgon (as Joe Bucaro)
Jeff Wolfe	...	Zorgon

Storyline

Danny and Walter are two brothers who barely get along even while driving their parents to distraction as their older sister tries to ignore them. Despite their squabbling, the brothers manage cooperate enough to play an old mechanical board game named Zathura. However, after their first move, they find that the game has apparently flung them, their sister and their entire house into outer space. Furthermore, the brothers surmise the only way to return home is to finish the game. However with almost every move, new dangers arise as the siblings find themselves learning to cooperate in ways they never expected as they realize what they mean to each other.

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Plot Keywords:

meeting future self | 2000s | reference to spongebob squarepants | coke | sony | 

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Taglines:

A new adventure from the world of Jumanji

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for fantasy action and peril, and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jumanji 2

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$13,427,872 (USA) (11 November 2005)

Gross:

$28,045,540 (USA) (9 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Radar Pictures, Teitler Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In every Chris Van Allsburg book, there is a bull terrier named Fritz. Jon Favreau put Fritz in the movie - look for a Beanie Baby bull terrier behind Walter near the end of the movie.

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Goofs

When the house passes too close to Tsouris-3 and enters its gravity field, objects in the house and attached to the house begin to fall toward Tsouris-3 and away from the house, but all objects, including the house itself, would be subject to the same gravitational force and would fall toward Tsouris-3 together, as demonstrated by Galileo at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dad: [playing catch] Oh, man. That's it. Nice grab. Oh, yeah.
Dad: All right, Danny, your turn.
Walter: What? l didn't get my full turn!
Dad: Yeah you did. I counted. That was 25. That's what we said.
Walter: That's not fair!
Dad: lt's exactly fair. Come on, Danny. Time for your turn, then l gotta work for an hour.
Danny: [getting into place] You know, you're not the only one who gets a turn.
Walter: [miming] "The only one who gets a turn."

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Connections

Referenced in This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

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Soundtracks

Tidal
(uncredited)
Written by Tomas Costanza
Performed by Diffuser

User Reviews

Well worth the watch

It's not often a "kids movie" will keep me entertained right through by Zathura did just that. The actors are excellent, there are plot twists, and it's just good old fashioned fun as well. I was pleasantly surprised when watching this movie and at the end I wished it had been longer. Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson work extremely well together as the two lead characters and with special effects that are realistic (as realistic as a fantasy film can get anyway) the end result is an excellent movie for all ages. Jumanji was good but Zathura is great and I can highly recommend it to everybody. Take your kids to see it, take your parents to see it - take everyone to see it.