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

An old and forgotten game develops magical powers in this fantasy for the whole family. Twelve-year-old Walter Budwing (Josh Hutcherson) and his younger brother, Danny (Jonah Bobo), figure they're going to be in for a boring time when their father (Tim Robbins), who was supposed to spend the day with them, is suddenly called away on business, and gives them strict orders not to leave the house. Walter, who doesn't have much use for Danny, is motivated by boredom more than anything else when he agrees to play a board game Danny has found in the basement during a round of hide-and-seek. However, the boys quickly discover the space-themed game Zathura has some unusual qualities -- a roll of the dice unexpectedly launches the Budwing home into outer space, and Walter and Danny are suddenly fending off menacing robots, angry aliens, and showers of interstellar debris outside the Earth's atmosphere. As the boys try to figure out a way back home, they get some unexpected help from an ...

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Plot Keywords:

playing a board game | sibling rivalry | board game | two brothers | outer space | 

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Taglines:

Adventure Is Waiting

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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 USA:

$13,427,872, 13 November 2005

Gross USA:

$29,258,869

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$64,321,501

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, 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

When Walter opens the living hall of the house after the game was finished, at the bottom of the left can be seen the iconic Steve McQueen poster from Bullitt (1968).

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Goofs

The Games has total 51 spaces (Danny wins the game with the following spins - 5,4,7,6,6,8-2,9-1,1+9). Walter after spinning 6 times is at space 54 (9+2,8,6+4,8,8,9), which means he should have already won the game. But he continues to play and gets a 3, moves back 3 spaces to get an additional card.

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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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Alternate Versions

In the UK, two sequences where an aerosol is used as a blowtorch and where fire is set to a sofa with the use of an accelerant (around 1 min 17 secs) were cut by the distributor. This is because the BBFC have a very strict policy on imitable techniques (headbutts etc.) and decided that the scene was unsuitable for anything lower than a 15 certificate. Since this would have excluded the entire target audience, Sony asked for the scene to be cut in order to obtain a PG certificate.

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Connections

References Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks (2003)

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Soundtracks

Entrance of the Gladiators
(uncredited)
Written by Julius Fucík
Arranged by John Debney

User Reviews

Surprisingly nice. If I was a kid I'd have loved it........

There are quite a few nice things about this film. In particular, Zathura is an aesthetically intelligent film. The makers did a great job of not relying too heavily on CGI; very thoughtful design and effects. The convincing use of miniatures, real sets and chaos/destruction really brought the story to life. True, its a kids movie. But not so much that it annoys, there's a timeless and attractive notion of adventure. Really hearkens back to the glory of 80's kids adventure movies. The film's gadgets and knick-knacks were great. The house and Zathura game-board were both characters in and of themselves, every bit as important as the actors (who did a fine job).

Throughout I felt like I was watching a little of "Time Bandits" mixed with some "Goonies" and maybe some "Hitchikers Guide..." or "House".

Some folks seem ambivalent to the film. That's unfortunate. Up against a lot of the uninspired sh*t that is released these days, Zathura is very successful in creating a fun and visually convincing escape. Half way through the movie I realized that I was waiting/anticipating the film's failure, that it was going to let me down. Never did.

I appreciated the film.