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Can you do a G.I. Joe Month? You can talk about the cartoons (I think they only one good show after Real American Hero), the live action movies, and then reward yourself with Resolute.
The astronaut did mention he squeezed through a wormhole earlier in the scene you showed. He had the exact same card, he knew the layout of the house. The signs were all there.
@@Alejandroigarabide Not only that he referred to it as a "time sphincter" then added on it was a very small wormhole. So it's mentioned as both a time-travel based portal and that it was a worm hole, both of which Critic claimed were never mentioned. I know he tends to occasionally miss stuff in his reviews, but its odd he missed such a crucial bit of information then drew attention to it.
Doug still thinks Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" takes place in a city called Notre Dame instead of Paris. Even if it's not only a real place, but also his favorite villain song of all time includes the phrase "If I have to burn down all of Paris". He doesn't pay that much attention to the films he reviews.
What's confusing about that plot twist? He soft-locked himself and got trapped inside the game forever, so for the game to actually finish it sends him back in time (he mentioned that wormhole, remember?) to provide extra help to change the timeline and avoid the bad wish.
“No mention of time travel or worm holes.” The astronaut literally had a line that was like “I time traveled through a worm hole to get here”😂 I haven’t been this annoyed since he thought Anna’s song mourning Elsa in Frozen 2 was about Olaf.
@@durff1232 I don’t think that happens, but he does say it’s been 15 years since he was trapped in the game. I’m honestly curious as to what he was doing to survive all that time, lol. I get that it’s like Alan Parrish being trapped in a jungle since childhood in Jumanji, but I would imagine it would be a lot easier to survive there than literally being adrift in space.
@@freakyfriesdayWell, considering he’s a full-blown astronaut with what looks like…dogs tags?…I take it he ended up with whatever fictional space federation occupies Zathura’s…world? Dimension? Universe? You get what I mean.
When the Astronaut is scared that the older brother is going to wish the younger brother away, it legitimately had me on the edge of my seat. Dax Shepard does sell the concern he has as if from personal experience and it is jarring when he reveals he made the same mistake with his brother. Kids are known to act on their emotions, so it's not a stretch that the older brother might have just been thinking that while angry, especially after a argument with his brother. It honestly struck a chord with me when I was young, as a lesson about how bad decisions only seem like good decisions when you're upset, so it's best to think before you act.
One could argue the wish went different entirely because they had the Astronaut-Walter there this time as opposed to AW's experience with the game where it was just the two of them. I think had there been no Zorgon rescue or Astronaut there to try to play mediator, Walter and Danny would have continued going at each other's throats until past events repeated themselves.
Going back and seeing Kristen Stewart have the most expression, and honestly, the most appropriate reactions to the literal chaos are so ironic and funny to me.
Ahh yes... 2005: Is the Year when Bella Swan is in a Cryonic Sleep Chamber(frozen in space), 🚀🥶🌌🪐 while Edward Cullen is a participant in the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts, 🏰🧙♂️🪄🏆☠️ and before Jacob Black was a Wolf he was Sharkboy. 🌊🦈 A few years before they're in a Fated Lover's Triangle. 🧛♂️✨️💞🐺🌕 LOL! 🤣😂
I remember seeing Zathura show up pretty often on Cartoon Network. I liked the movie but I was straight up traumatized as a kid by the scene of the alien goat with the four eyes.
I remember watching this all the time on TV growing up. I especially remember when one kid brought a Zathura board game to school once and it was electronic so everything moved on its own. It absolutely blew my 9 year old mind.
I really liked both this movie and Jumanji. They were creative and had some neat ideas. Did you know that they built the house that floated in space? They had a whole house built and put it on a crane/machine to make it tilt and move as it had issues, and with each destructive thing that happened, they couldn't redo the damage as it was physically damaged. Like when they drifted too close to the sun, they tilted the house. And they were happy they did it that way, because they had forgotten about the books and other knickknacks that flew off at the tilting. And the robot was a dude with boxes on his feat and some pieces on him to show roughly where the CGI should be, and the boxes had no traction, so it was actually a dude running into things during those scenes. Really neat ideas they used to make it more realistic
@@josephreak_godzigelion They built a whole house inside a warehouse. I think it was on their behind the scenes features on the dvd of the film. It was very cool to see. Edit: th-cam.com/video/kEVWUr73Tjo/w-d-xo.html I found the special effects featurette they had on the movie! Looks like it was a type of scaled model type, or something.
The spaceman being one of the brothers actually makes a lot of sense when you think back on two earlier scenes. The first being when the game accuses one of them of cheating which means the game thought two versions of the same person playing at once counted as cheating. The second is when the spaceman thought one brother had wished away the other, because he thought that was the point where he had done so leading to him becoming the spaceman. That spit going through the phone was great.
Also the fact that both the Astronaut and Walter had the same card, and the Astronaut knew the layout of the house, even areas he's never even been to in tbe movie.
The game thinks the older brother is cheating because the younger brother actually does cheat and the older brother fixes it. The game just assumed that only the older brother was cheating.
@@ShadyDoorags Except that is is false, the "fix" was forcefully moving a piece back that game itself moved forward offscreen, the younger brother had no chance to do that as as I remember it between that point and point previous they were in a serious situation with no chance for the younger brother to touch the board. The older brother cheated by doing what he thought was the younger brother cheating, which we know from earlier in the movie he thinks that he will do that, I always assumed and figured the movement was a hidden effect of the card that was pulled at that moment and not the younger brother cheating, as the game is clearly smart enough to know who actually cheated.
Fun Fact: Stan Winston's crew designed and built the Zorgons as three suits. To accommodate the lizard-like proportions of the creature, the performer's head and neck, in a blue hood, protruded from between the Zorgon's shoulder blades, and was later painted out by digital artists. A mechanical Zorgon head extended out from the performer's chest, and was externally puppeteered through electronic controllers to create snarling and blinking actions. "It gave the actors a real character to interact with, and it gave Favreau something real to direct; but the final character wouldn't look like a guy in a suit," said Mahan.
They also built a life-size model of the house in moving cranes and platforms to actualy swing and shake it so the actors can actualy act as if the house was moving in space! I even saw the rig and it looked MASSIVE!
I believe that a mixture of practical effects and CGI is the best in terms of realism. A computer is just a tool and using a computer for every special effect is like using a screwdriver for hammering a nail. Sure it might work but it won't be very effective.
Loved the amount of practical effects they put into this, they even built the set on a gimbal to have it move around. I think it showed Favreau's creativity and talent as a director, and definitely helped him get the attention he needed to be considered to direct Iron Man.
While I did grow up with Jumanji like many others did, I spent countless hours watching Zathura when it played on Cartoon Network. Rewatching it recently for a video alongside Jumanji for the first time really made me realize I made the right choice. While, yes Robin Williams is a fun actor, I just find the rules and storytelling better done in Zathura. Where Zathura keeps the players isolated, Jumanji is able to affect anyone. Where Zathura tries to help the player and act like a game, Jumanji keeps trying to kill the players with every turn. I go slightly more in depth with it in my video, but there’s just so much I personally feel Zathura does better than Jumanji. I’m not certain if that nostalgia keeping my rose tinted glasses glued to my face, but I can’t help always looking to the stars.
I honestly wish Dax Shepard got more love for how amazing of a actor he is because no matter what scene or role he's playing he's still entertains me so much
One movie of his that stands out is Without A Paddle, the one he made with Seth Green and Matthew Lillard, about 3 guys who go on a camping adventure to search for the lost loot of D.B. Cooper.
There's an NC f-up here: he said that they never explain how Walter time traveled, but in the sandwich scene, he said that he passed through a "time sphincter," a wormhole about yay big.
Yeah, Doug's got a big problem with either misremembering or straight-up lying when he needs to make a point. Simple mistakes I can forgive, but I remember he had a video once where he explains his process and apparently, he just watches the film once and takes notes along the way, meaning he doesn't go back to clarify things or verify. I mean, I get that he has to crank these out once a week, but it hits home especially in things he admits he has no personal connection with or doesn't WANT a personal connection with. Facts are inconvenient when you have a bone to pick. Also, for the amount of times he claims a film has 'tricked' him, it seems like the problem is more than he's attempting to judge a film he wants, not the film he has and blaming the film for not being his fan fiction.
My grandmother showed me this movie years ago back when I really hated my younger brother. So now I remember this film fondly because its message was good for me to hear at that time
What Could Have Been: Dax Shepard (who plays the Astronaut) said once that when he signed on to the film, the script was meant to be more of a sci-fi action epic, with the two young brothers fighting and trying to get along being more of a subplot. Executives later decided the boys learning to get along should be the core of the film, and a lot of the space fight sequences were eliminated.
@@KeybladeMasterAndy Yeah but the idea of of the Astronaut being the older version of the main character, just to get across a moral is pretty confusing. Especially since the time travel is not explained.
@@orangeslash1667 It is explained. He traveled the universe for 15 years then went back in time through a wormhole (or Time Sphincter, as he calls it). Part of the scenes explaining this are actually played in this review.
@@1993Southparkfan Yeah even though she's the parental stand-in it's weird that the movie was so committed to only giving her like 10 minutes of screentime lol.
This is an 'unlocked childhood memory' if ever there was one. Most films creep their way out of my subconscious at some point in time but I legitimately must not have thought of this once since I saw it
Growing up watching this I always enjoy the retro sci-fi it uses, the robot, aliens and the alien ship looks like something from a 60s sci-fi space poster
I think the line about the parents getting divorced makes sense at least somewhat contextually as the whole movie is about the tension between these two brothers living with their divorced dad.
Yeah, I think it's completely believable that 13ish year old boy would want to say the most hurtful thing he can during a petty argument. I don't see the Ghost Busters comparison when one's two kid brothers and the other is 2 grown co workers that use to be college professors.
Why does there always have to be tension with the divorced dad? Can't there be one film where there isn't. They rarely do this with the divorced mother who is usually the reason for the divorce. Obviously in real life, in films it is always the man's fault. Sort if how it is in real life to the ex wife.
When my brother and I where about this age I thought of it a number of times. Never said it, but siblings would definitely think of this or do this at some point. Edit: My parents divorce was more okay then most I've seen, so there wasn't any huge tension to pull this card.
I actually saw this for the first time since I was a kid last night. I loved this film growing up and can still enjoy it as an adult. The only things I didn't care for was the astronaut twist at the end and I wish we got a bigger fight against the robot and the zorgons. It really sucks that this film was a box office flop because it had a lot of great talented people working on it.
‘But how?’ Perfect example of sibling… love? Growing up with 4 siblings, yeah. It’s accurate. And love the way it was done. Probably one of my favorite little quick jokes in ages. Simply and amazingly executed.
Another Fun Fact about this interesting film is: The aliens, called Zorgons, would actually be a hybrid of live and digital effects, an approach the studio was just beginning to explore in a serious way. "We wound up doing some interesting combinations of live-action and computer generated imagery [CGI] for this show," said Mahan. "In the past, we've always tried to find ways to make a guy in a suit not look like a guy in a suit -- a little person on top of a big guy, or whatever. We've tried a lot of crazy ideas. The great thing about digital is that we can do that seamlessly now. We can design something that gives us all the convenience and interaction of actually having a character on the set; but we can alter it with CGI so that it doesn't look like a man in a suit. We can remove things such as human legs and heads, and add other non-human things that are digital.
For me, the most interesting thing about the cast is the fact that Jonah Bobo, who plays Danny, was the voice of Austin in the Backyardigans throughout the entirety of its run.
3:06 She was their sister? I thought she was their babysitter as a kid. Now that I think about it it wouldn't make sense that she was sleeping on their house.
My favorite part is when they get the Reprogram card but don't know what it means, so Walter just points card at the Zorgon ship and shouts "Reprogram!"
On the flip side, I preferred the space adventure over the family story, mostly because the later was PAINFULLY relatable as a kid. Except for the *Jak and Daxter 3* poster at 12:14. That was always a treat to see.
My favourite moment in the whole film was when the robot got rebooted to protect the kids. Just seeing the lizard aliens whimper in fear as it chased them back on board their ship was so cool as a kid.
Although Kristen Stewart is known for her expressionless acting as Bella Swan, she's really great at playing the highly emotional Lisa. Plus, now she's an Oscar Nominee, further proof of her talent.
It’s because Stephanie Myer wrote Bella to be as bland as possible so middle aged women and tweens could insert themselves into her shoes easier. They apparently made sure to do this with the movies as well
I think one of the more weirder things that came out of this film was that several men reportedly offered to buy Kristen Stewart life-size replica for the scenes where Lisa is frozen.
This was one of my all time favorites as a kid, and even today, I still put it above jumanji. I would love to see a modern retelling or sequel to this absolute wonder of a film
I remember watching this in school in 2006, after that we were divided on groups and tasked on building small dioramas based on the movie. We made one of the alien ships using a dish soap bottle and brown paint.
Grew up with this movie AND Jumanji. At one point I, in my love of sci-fi, declared it to be my #1 favourite movie. The slow, gradual, torturously slow reveal of the zorgon was probably my first ever experience of horror.
16:49 - Astronaut dude said earlier in the film "I crawled through a time sphincter to get here", which was the tiny wormhole. So yeah, he actually does give some exposition to explain this scene.
Fun Fact about the behind the scenes of this film: The studio built the full-size robot in several configurations. One was a non-articulated metal prop used in shots of its smashing through doors and walls. One was a full-body puppet, and the third -- featured most prominently -- was the performance robot suit worn by an actor. "The performance robot was not a full robot," said Heimlich, "just pieces that a performer in a black leotard wore. He performed the actions on the set, wearing the robot pieces; and then, they shot clean plates with motion control, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, the digital company, painted out all the leotard parts and put in digital imagery, connecting the practical pieces to create the full-body robot."
Holy. I never thought I'd see the day that Zathura ended up on NC's hitlist. I loved this movie as a kid and was actually the very first movie I remembered by heart. I used to "watch" it any time I had trouble sleeping. I usually got to the smash bros, knocking over drink part most nights, but I could remember pretty much every second.
I only watched this a couple times as a kid but some of the imagery from it stayed in my mind pretty much to this day. The image of the house in space, and the look of the board game specifically. Great to see a NC video on a unique movie that actually makes me nostalgic!
This is honestly one of my favorite movies of all time. Like unironically I watch it at least once a month. Always love seeing it get the recognition it deserves!
I liked it as a kid but as an adult It was on tv at work, and i was listening to it in the background and I had to turn the channel because the screaming and fighting was so fucking annoying I had to turn it off and thought why in the hell did I even like this annoying ass movie lol 😂
To quote the late great Norm Macdonald and something i'm sure Frank Oz might be thinking about is "Envy, like a false mirror, distorts the symmetry of the sweetest form."
This movie's still fun, but is definitely geared towards younger audiences than the original Jumanji. Not nearly as suspenseful or dramatic. Walter & Danny can just run around the room w/o getting hit by the meteor shower while Judy straight up got poisoned by a killer plant and Peter was almost crushed inside a car by a stampede.
I remember seeing Zathura on Cartoon Network years ago (yeah it aired on the channel) was my first time seeing it and I thought it was pretty cool and very much more grandiose than that of Jumanji. The Meteor Shower scene is one scene I remember the most. “TAKE EVASIVE ACTION”
Saw it a couple of times on Cartoon Network growing up. Wouldn't say it was ever my favorite movie but I liked it fair enough. I always thought the astronaut being the older brother was a neat spin and added weight to the story. It wasn't just some guy created by the game.
I remember growing up with this film and being at awe the hole way threw. I loved it, my family loved it…or thought it was decent at least, and whenever rewatching it, it bring back a lot of nostalgia, like the feel itself reminds me a lot about jimmy neutron in a way.
I do remember watching this when I was a kid and honestly my vivid memory of it speaks for how much of an impact it made. I only remember the visuals and the concepts but that’s not to say it was necessarily bad but it had ideas that didn’t amount to anything memorable.
I really love this movie even after all these years. My favorite parts are with the robot I always thought it was badass how it just rams through stuff and destroy it.
My favorite part is when they get the Reprogram card to fix the robot but don't know what it means yet, so Walter just points card at the Zorgon ship and shouts "Reprogram!"
@@welcometothemetaverse2523 yeah. I also love when they use it on the robot and we see this little robot in it's chest go and rewire it just a silly little part of this big robot.
Never saw this movie before but I really liked the original Jumanji as a kid! I might check this one out! Also I love the callback to "I WAS FROZEN TODAY!!" during the review!
16:57 "You do know science fiction needs a little science, right?" Science fiction? You thought that just because this movie has a space theme that it's automatically science fiction? No, buddy. This is fantasy. Also, he *did* mention a wormhole. "...about yay big."
Honestly one of my favorite movies. Beyond the screaming kids scenes. And I don’t find many space horrors to actually feel unnerving, but this one does. And the early 2000’s retro space aesthetic is at its peak here. So good!
Man this movie takes me back. Loved this movie as a kid. Might have to watch it again after this video. Thanks Critic for reviewing this movie. I also agree with your conclusion. Objectively not the best or worst movie, just middle of the road. But I still love this movie. Used to have the board game too and I wish I still did.
I thought this movie was pretty decent overall not perfect but thanks for doing a review on this as a late Valentine's Day present to all of your fans ❤️👍
When I saw this movie when I was a kid some time after I saw Jumanji, it honestly kinda shocked me, the scale felt epic, characters are absolutely trapped, and all that dangerous space shit going on, to the point that I felt a bit scared even. Jumanji was creepy too, actually, but for different reasons. Zathura felt… insane for my little brain. So this was definitely a memorable film
Me and my brother grew up watching this movie and we absolutely loved it! Looking back on it, yeah, it's aged a bit. But I can still sit through it and enjoy it. For me, the pros over ways the cons! It's still a fun movie for me and I say give it a try if you haven't seen it.
@@Zireael83 it didn't need to capture the make. Jumanji 2&3 was successful enough in their own right in large part of them literally being in the game rather than characters from the game in the real world. If Zarthura did that instead of having the real world become the game it would most likely be a success as well so long as it's executed properly.
Its funny to me how the Critic says they dont explain the whole astronaut is the brother from the future thing when he put the clip explaining it before (he was sucked by a special wormhole, from another timeline, and that is what made him hungry), it wasnt very in dept, but it was there. I grow with it and i believe is a 7 out of 10, not amazing but a good adventure
I personally liked Zathura! even had the physical game myself! played it a ton (and I also had jumanji) and the little interactive elements you do with the pieces as the game progresses is fun! now if i had to make a recommendation for a movie you should review... Speed racer from 2008!!! extremely underrated and DEFINITELY worth the watch! just take note there will be times the graphics WILL look cheap like OBVIOUS green screen in some shots, but the point behind that is that it was a stylistic choice because it emulated the feel of the 60's cartoon, cheap yet vibrant and colorful. definitely needs some attention because it really was ahead of it's time!
I still think this is perfect sequel to Nicolas Cage getting stuck in the Bear Costume in the Wicker Man and trying to figure out he should do with the rest of his life
Sad they didn't connect the two in the movie like in the novel, since the Zathura novel is a sequel to the Jumanji novel, and I'm pretty sure both games are opposite sides of the same board, or that's how it sounds to me, in them as well Also this movie was such fun to watch
What did everyone think of Space Jumanji?
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Really enjoyed it!
Can you do a G.I. Joe Month? You can talk about the cartoons (I think they only one good show after Real American Hero), the live action movies, and then reward yourself with Resolute.
Review "Clue" please
This is just like jumanji in space rip-off enough right critic
What if... Scarecrow and Poison Ivy were in Batman Unchained?
The astronaut did mention he squeezed through a wormhole earlier in the scene you showed. He had the exact same card, he knew the layout of the house. The signs were all there.
In fact, the mention of the wormhole is even included on this review. How come he didn't notice that?
@@Alejandroigarabide Not only that he referred to it as a "time sphincter" then added on it was a very small wormhole. So it's mentioned as both a time-travel based portal and that it was a worm hole, both of which Critic claimed were never mentioned. I know he tends to occasionally miss stuff in his reviews, but its odd he missed such a crucial bit of information then drew attention to it.
was about to post a very similar comment about that... like i think someone forgot this part when writing the script
Doug still thinks Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" takes place in a city called Notre Dame instead of Paris. Even if it's not only a real place, but also his favorite villain song of all time includes the phrase "If I have to burn down all of Paris".
He doesn't pay that much attention to the films he reviews.
We NEED another Top 11 Fuck-Ups
What's confusing about that plot twist? He soft-locked himself and got trapped inside the game forever, so for the game to actually finish it sends him back in time (he mentioned that wormhole, remember?) to provide extra help to change the timeline and avoid the bad wish.
“No mention of time travel or worm holes.”
The astronaut literally had a line that was like “I time traveled through a worm hole to get here”😂
I haven’t been this annoyed since he thought Anna’s song mourning Elsa in Frozen 2 was about Olaf.
@@freakyfriesday Yeah! If I'm remembering right, he also mentions that it took him years to get through that wormhole, thus explaining his age.
@@durff1232 I don’t think that happens, but he does say it’s been 15 years since he was trapped in the game. I’m honestly curious as to what he was doing to survive all that time, lol. I get that it’s like Alan Parrish being trapped in a jungle since childhood in Jumanji, but I would imagine it would be a lot easier to survive there than literally being adrift in space.
@@freakyfriesday They even called the wormhole a "time sphincter."
@@freakyfriesdayWell, considering he’s a full-blown astronaut with what looks like…dogs tags?…I take it he ended up with whatever fictional space federation occupies Zathura’s…world? Dimension? Universe? You get what I mean.
“LISA…is upstairs!” Honestly my favorite part. Kristen Stewart is legitimately hilarious in this movie.
Yes she is
She gave her entire lifeforce in this movie. No wonder after it she ended up a lifeless husk xD
@@TheAdorelis Robert Pattinson admitted that the Twilight films are dumb, so maybe It's bad direction??
100% agree
Oh yeah. It was even better because my name is Lisa and I have two younger brothers
When the Astronaut is scared that the older brother is going to wish the younger brother away, it legitimately had me on the edge of my seat.
Dax Shepard does sell the concern he has as if from personal experience and it is jarring when he reveals he made the same mistake with his brother. Kids are known to act on their emotions, so it's not a stretch that the older brother might have just been thinking that while angry, especially after a argument with his brother. It honestly struck a chord with me when I was young, as a lesson about how bad decisions only seem like good decisions when you're upset, so it's best to think before you act.
One could argue the wish went different entirely because they had the Astronaut-Walter there this time as opposed to AW's experience with the game where it was just the two of them. I think had there been no Zorgon rescue or Astronaut there to try to play mediator, Walter and Danny would have continued going at each other's throats until past events repeated themselves.
He even says that. "Listen, no matter how good an idea seems like when you're angry, it never is. You gotta trust me on this one, Walter."
Going back and seeing Kristen Stewart have the most expression, and honestly, the most appropriate reactions to the literal chaos are so ironic and funny to me.
Yeah kristen Stewart is great in this.
Going back and seeing Kristen Stewart express emotion...
Yeah, this was before Kristen lost her soul. Tragic.
Ahh yes... 2005: Is the Year when Bella Swan is in a Cryonic Sleep Chamber(frozen in space), 🚀🥶🌌🪐
while Edward Cullen is a participant in the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts, 🏰🧙♂️🪄🏆☠️
and before Jacob Black was a Wolf he was Sharkboy. 🌊🦈
A few years before they're in a Fated Lover's Triangle. 🧛♂️✨️💞🐺🌕 LOL! 🤣😂
@@Yogizilla Only to get it back in 2012 after the Twilight series ended and she got good again.
This was basically the Jumanji of my childhood. It may not have had Robin Williams but it did have aliens, a robot and a real world board game!
I think I liked it but it's been so long
I grew up with the original robin williams Jumanji but I'm curious about this one!
The Jumanji and Zathura books were written by the same guy
Jumanji does have a board game.
@@kingmagnus4009well then! 🤣
I remember seeing Zathura show up pretty often on Cartoon Network. I liked the movie but I was straight up traumatized as a kid by the scene of the alien goat with the four eyes.
I remember watching it a bunch on Cartoon Network as well
I remember watching it on Cartoon Network as well. Good times.
Same. Though the Goat didn't do anything for me. It was when he was sneaking around Gorgons that I got anxious....
Oh yeah I remember that I remember it was in a marathon with other films like jurassic park 3
I bet you met Shub'Niggurath of your youth man.
Always fun when the Nostalgia Critic reviews something that's nostalgic for me
yeah, its in the name
@@SvPVids yeah, but im only 25. Nostalgic for him is ancient for me
Same for me... Even when he shits on my childhood it's funny.
I honestly forgot about this movie until today. Like, 2005? I was in college back then! That doesn't sound that old!
@@jamescallanan2443 It's recent for me.
I remember watching this all the time on TV growing up. I especially remember when one kid brought a Zathura board game to school once and it was electronic so everything moved on its own. It absolutely blew my 9 year old mind.
Mine wasn't electric
Woooah… that’s awesome!
I really liked both this movie and Jumanji. They were creative and had some neat ideas.
Did you know that they built the house that floated in space? They had a whole house built and put it on a crane/machine to make it tilt and move as it had issues, and with each destructive thing that happened, they couldn't redo the damage as it was physically damaged. Like when they drifted too close to the sun, they tilted the house. And they were happy they did it that way, because they had forgotten about the books and other knickknacks that flew off at the tilting. And the robot was a dude with boxes on his feat and some pieces on him to show roughly where the CGI should be, and the boxes had no traction, so it was actually a dude running into things during those scenes. Really neat ideas they used to make it more realistic
Awesome cinematic trivia, thank you! You mean they built a proper house or a scaled model?
@@josephreak_godzigelion They built a whole house inside a warehouse. I think it was on their behind the scenes features on the dvd of the film. It was very cool to see.
Edit:
th-cam.com/video/kEVWUr73Tjo/w-d-xo.html I found the special effects featurette they had on the movie! Looks like it was a type of scaled model type, or something.
Jumanji was a movie made for kids with adult humor and themes. Zathura was a movie made for kids that only kids would enjoy. That's the difference.
If it wasn't for Jumanji having a hugely noticeable lead actor, both of the films are basically on the same level.
The spaceman being one of the brothers actually makes a lot of sense when you think back on two earlier scenes. The first being when the game accuses one of them of cheating which means the game thought two versions of the same person playing at once counted as cheating. The second is when the spaceman thought one brother had wished away the other, because he thought that was the point where he had done so leading to him becoming the spaceman. That spit going through the phone was great.
Also the fact that both the Astronaut and Walter had the same card, and the Astronaut knew the layout of the house, even areas he's never even been to in tbe movie.
And the Astronaut mentions having gone into a wormhole.
The game thinks the older brother is cheating because the younger brother actually does cheat and the older brother fixes it. The game just assumed that only the older brother was cheating.
@@ShadyDoorags Except that is is false, the "fix" was forcefully moving a piece back that game itself moved forward offscreen, the younger brother had no chance to do that as as I remember it between that point and point previous they were in a serious situation with no chance for the younger brother to touch the board.
The older brother cheated by doing what he thought was the younger brother cheating, which we know from earlier in the movie he thinks that he will do that, I always assumed and figured the movement was a hidden effect of the card that was pulled at that moment and not the younger brother cheating, as the game is clearly smart enough to know who actually cheated.
Also the fact that he knew the entire layout of the house, he never once asked where anything was
It took me well over a decade to find out the Robot is voiced by Yoda. He even speaks like him.
You mean Frank Oz?
"Alien lifeform, must destroy."
Oh, wow.
And the Will reader from Knives Out
And the director of Little Shop Of Horrors
Alright, we don’t have to go naming everything in Frank Oz’s catalogue in this thread now
Fun Fact: Stan Winston's crew designed and built the Zorgons as three suits. To accommodate the lizard-like proportions of the creature, the performer's head and neck, in a blue hood, protruded from between the Zorgon's shoulder blades, and was later painted out by digital artists. A mechanical Zorgon head extended out from the performer's chest, and was externally puppeteered through electronic controllers to create snarling and blinking actions. "It gave the actors a real character to interact with, and it gave Favreau something real to direct; but the final character wouldn't look like a guy in a suit," said Mahan.
They also built a life-size model of the house in moving cranes and platforms to actualy swing and shake it so the actors can actualy act as if the house was moving in space! I even saw the rig and it looked MASSIVE!
I believe that a mixture of practical effects and CGI is the best in terms of realism.
A computer is just a tool and using a computer for every special effect is like using a screwdriver for hammering a nail. Sure it might work but it won't be very effective.
Loved the amount of practical effects they put into this, they even built the set on a gimbal to have it move around. I think it showed Favreau's creativity and talent as a director, and definitely helped him get the attention he needed to be considered to direct Iron Man.
I miss practical effects. When they have to CGI away actors mustaches rather than shave them it really vinegars up my milk
While I did grow up with Jumanji like many others did, I spent countless hours watching Zathura when it played on Cartoon Network. Rewatching it recently for a video alongside Jumanji for the first time really made me realize I made the right choice.
While, yes Robin Williams is a fun actor, I just find the rules and storytelling better done in Zathura. Where Zathura keeps the players isolated, Jumanji is able to affect anyone. Where Zathura tries to help the player and act like a game, Jumanji keeps trying to kill the players with every turn.
I go slightly more in depth with it in my video, but there’s just so much I personally feel Zathura does better than Jumanji. I’m not certain if that nostalgia keeping my rose tinted glasses glued to my face, but I can’t help always looking to the stars.
There are reasons why Jumanji opens up with game being buried like some horror, while Zathura just lays in the basement, like any other tabletop game.
I honestly wish Dax Shepard got more love for how amazing of a actor he is because no matter what scene or role he's playing he's still entertains me so much
I have a pipe dream that he would one day star in a Nickelback Biopic where he plays Chad Kroger
One movie of his that stands out is Without A Paddle, the one he made with Seth Green and Matthew Lillard, about 3 guys who go on a camping adventure to search for the lost loot of D.B. Cooper.
@@louisduarte8763 What about Employee of the Month where he his character does Anal
@@thebandit0256 I totally forgot that one.
@@louisduarte8763 I love Without A Paddle
It's always good to use a clip of Tim Curry yelling "space!"
Tim Curry is awesome
It's always good to use a clip of Tim Curry
Was a massive fan of this movie growing up so no matter what flaws it has I'll always have a place for it in my heart.
I agree I also grew up with this movie as well and I still enjoy it to this day.
Agreed
Saw it twice in the theater, and still have the board game.
Still have the Jumanji board game too.
There's an NC f-up here: he said that they never explain how Walter time traveled, but in the sandwich scene, he said that he passed through a "time sphincter," a wormhole about yay big.
That's nothing. He thought Greg in Diary of a Wimpy Kid was supposed to be sympathetic
Yeah, Doug's got a big problem with either misremembering or straight-up lying when he needs to make a point. Simple mistakes I can forgive, but I remember he had a video once where he explains his process and apparently, he just watches the film once and takes notes along the way, meaning he doesn't go back to clarify things or verify. I mean, I get that he has to crank these out once a week, but it hits home especially in things he admits he has no personal connection with or doesn't WANT a personal connection with. Facts are inconvenient when you have a bone to pick.
Also, for the amount of times he claims a film has 'tricked' him, it seems like the problem is more than he's attempting to judge a film he wants, not the film he has and blaming the film for not being his fan fiction.
My grandmother showed me this movie years ago back when I really hated my younger brother. So now I remember this film fondly because its message was good for me to hear at that time
What Could Have Been: Dax Shepard (who plays the Astronaut) said once that when he signed on to the film, the script was meant to be more of a sci-fi action epic, with the two young brothers fighting and trying to get along being more of a subplot. Executives later decided the boys learning to get along should be the core of the film, and a lot of the space fight sequences were eliminated.
So long as the end product is good, that's fine.
That sounds lame as hell, Dax Shepard is a known hollywood hack. the executives were right on this one.
too bad the original version sounded cool
@@KeybladeMasterAndy Yeah but the idea of of the Astronaut being the older version of the main character, just to get across a moral is pretty confusing. Especially since the time travel is not explained.
@@orangeslash1667 It is explained. He traveled the universe for 15 years then went back in time through a wormhole (or Time Sphincter, as he calls it). Part of the scenes explaining this are actually played in this review.
The bit where Lisa realized she wanted to bang her older version of her brother Walter had me in stitches.
Omg I thought she was just their babysitter
I got to admit. I completely forgot Lisa was even there when the astronaut was revealed to be her brother.
@@1993Southparkfaneveryone including me forgot about her after she gets Cryofrozen.
@@1993Southparkfan Yeah even though she's the parental stand-in it's weird that the movie was so committed to only giving her like 10 minutes of screentime lol.
@@KingExalted Honestly, some of her best work happened while she was frozen.
This is an 'unlocked childhood memory' if ever there was one. Most films creep their way out of my subconscious at some point in time but I legitimately must not have thought of this once since I saw it
I love the 50’s sci-fi style of the board game
Growing up watching this I always enjoy the retro sci-fi it uses, the robot, aliens and the alien ship looks like something from a 60s sci-fi space poster
I love the retro style of the movie and the Rocketeer too. You have good taste.
@@elder-woodsilverstein7716that aesthetic is called "raygun gothic" or "retro futurism" and i love them
@@arthas640 Really? I always felt like it was dieselpunk ot radiumpunk.
The original Jumanji wasn't just "fine", it's such a great, epic movie
Honestly the entire franchise is kinda underrated in my opinion
The T.V. show too
Also not bad as kids horror.
agreed, they are both fun.
I found it kinda boring.
I love how Dax Shepard character's name in this film is just called Astronaut
Don’t want to spoil the twist 👀
J Jonah Jameson’s son 😂
I wonder if he knows J Jonah Jameson’s son
I think the line about the parents getting divorced makes sense at least somewhat contextually as the whole movie is about the tension between these two brothers living with their divorced dad.
Yeah, I think it's completely believable that 13ish year old boy would want to say the most hurtful thing he can during a petty argument. I don't see the Ghost Busters comparison when one's two kid brothers and the other is 2 grown co workers that use to be college professors.
@@zanpakutoman4225 totally
Why does there always have to be tension with the divorced dad?
Can't there be one film where there isn't.
They rarely do this with the divorced mother who is usually the reason for the divorce.
Obviously in real life, in films it is always the man's fault.
Sort if how it is in real life to the ex wife.
When my brother and I where about this age I thought of it a number of times. Never said it, but siblings would definitely think of this or do this at some point.
Edit: My parents divorce was more okay then most I've seen, so there wasn't any huge tension to pull this card.
I actually saw this for the first time since I was a kid last night. I loved this film growing up and can still enjoy it as an adult. The only things I didn't care for was the astronaut twist at the end and I wish we got a bigger fight against the robot and the zorgons. It really sucks that this film was a box office flop because it had a lot of great talented people working on it.
‘But how?’ Perfect example of sibling… love? Growing up with 4 siblings, yeah. It’s accurate. And love the way it was done. Probably one of my favorite little quick jokes in ages. Simply and amazingly executed.
All right, the Tim Curry insert was pretty friggin awesome. It cracks me up every single time how hard he's trying to keep a straight face
ever see the other languages? they all mimick his stifled laughter
Wasn’t a big fan of this movie but the scene where the sister finds out who the astronaut is ALWAYS makes me laugh
Incest is best, put your sister to the test
Another Fun Fact about this interesting film is: The aliens, called Zorgons, would actually be a hybrid of live and digital effects, an approach the studio was just beginning to explore in a serious way. "We wound up doing some interesting combinations of live-action and computer generated imagery [CGI] for this show," said Mahan. "In the past, we've always tried to find ways to make a guy in a suit not look like a guy in a suit -- a little person on top of a big guy, or whatever. We've tried a lot of crazy ideas. The great thing about digital is that we can do that seamlessly now. We can design something that gives us all the convenience and interaction of actually having a character on the set; but we can alter it with CGI so that it doesn't look like a man in a suit. We can remove things such as human legs and heads, and add other non-human things that are digital.
Used to watch this movie all the time when Cartoon Network aired it, really unfortunate that a lot of it doesn't hold up or it's just been forgotten.
Zathura is same universe similar plot with Elf
For me, the most interesting thing about the cast is the fact that Jonah Bobo, who plays Danny, was the voice of Austin in the Backyardigans throughout the entirety of its run.
Was such a trippy movie, when they walk out see the house floating in space was such a dope scene!
The" take evasive action " line is iconic IMO
Don't you mean "take ERASIVE action"?
It’s about time! Loved this movie as a kid.
The four-eyed sheep traumatized me!
3:06 She was their sister? I thought she was their babysitter as a kid. Now that I think about it it wouldn't make sense that she was sleeping on their house.
15:14 "These look like the henchmen from Donkey Kong Country." Now I really want to see what a live action Kremling would look like!
I loved watching this movie as a kid. The ending always made me cry because of how great the twist was.
I remember reading Zathura the book in grade school, I laughed my ass off whenever it got to the slow-motion part.
My favorite part is when they get the Reprogram card but don't know what it means, so Walter just points card at the Zorgon ship and shouts "Reprogram!"
On the flip side, I preferred the space adventure over the family story, mostly because the later was PAINFULLY relatable as a kid.
Except for the *Jak and Daxter 3* poster at 12:14. That was always a treat to see.
Yeowch
My favourite moment in the whole film was when the robot got rebooted to protect the kids. Just seeing the lizard aliens whimper in fear as it chased them back on board their ship was so cool as a kid.
Although Kristen Stewart is known for her expressionless acting as Bella Swan, she's really great at playing the highly emotional Lisa. Plus, now she's an Oscar Nominee, further proof of her talent.
I think she’s always been a good actress, it’s just the Twilight movies gave her a bad reputation to people, similar to Robert Pattinson
It’s because Stephanie Myer wrote Bella to be as bland as possible so middle aged women and tweens could insert themselves into her shoes easier. They apparently made sure to do this with the movies as well
@@Omar-wq9dz Shitty writing/directing is the main cause for actors not being able to play the role naturally.
I think one of the more weirder things that came out of this film was that several men reportedly offered to buy Kristen Stewart life-size replica for the scenes where Lisa is frozen.
things I could've gone without knowing
Wow
Can I buy it
Thanks Cokehead for the creepy fact.
Was it sold or is it in storage/destroyed?
This was one of my all time favorites as a kid, and even today, I still put it above jumanji. I would love to see a modern retelling or sequel to this absolute wonder of a film
I remember watching this in school in 2006, after that we were divided on groups and tasked on building small dioramas based on the movie. We made one of the alien ships using a dish soap bottle and brown paint.
13:23 How could you miss the best homage joke to J Jonah Jameson's "my son the astronaut!"? That was literally there!
Ah yes, Space Jumaji, a 2000's kid's nostalgia trip.
I grew up with a lot of 2000's stuffs.
Honestly, I’m impressed you keep coming up with so many unique promos after all these years.
I don't know what people in 2005 were thinking but i had a ton of fun watching this film again
Grew up with this movie AND Jumanji.
At one point I, in my love of sci-fi, declared it to be my #1 favourite movie.
The slow, gradual, torturously slow reveal of the zorgon was probably my first ever experience of horror.
16:49 - Astronaut dude said earlier in the film "I crawled through a time sphincter to get here", which was the tiny wormhole. So yeah, he actually does give some exposition to explain this scene.
Honestly Stan Winston is so awesome at what he does.
Jumanji may have been most people's childhoods, but this was mine. One of my favorite films growing up.
I wanted this to get a sequel so bad. Lmao
Honestly I preferred this one over Jumanji
Based comments
Fun Fact about the behind the scenes of this film: The studio built the full-size robot in several configurations. One was a non-articulated metal prop used in shots of its smashing through doors and walls. One was a full-body puppet, and the third -- featured most prominently -- was the performance robot suit worn by an actor. "The performance robot was not a full robot," said Heimlich, "just pieces that a performer in a black leotard wore. He performed the actions on the set, wearing the robot pieces; and then, they shot clean plates with motion control, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, the digital company, painted out all the leotard parts and put in digital imagery, connecting the practical pieces to create the full-body robot."
Holy. I never thought I'd see the day that Zathura ended up on NC's hitlist. I loved this movie as a kid and was actually the very first movie I remembered by heart. I used to "watch" it any time I had trouble sleeping. I usually got to the smash bros, knocking over drink part most nights, but I could remember pretty much every second.
"You're a very special kid." "That's what people say when they can't think of a compliment." "Okay, you're a dumb kid. Feel better?" I died😆
I only watched this a couple times as a kid but some of the imagery from it stayed in my mind pretty much to this day. The image of the house in space, and the look of the board game specifically. Great to see a NC video on a unique movie that actually makes me nostalgic!
The other Jumanji sequel.
Also known The underrated gen z Jumanji before the 2017 sequel
Jumanji IN SPACE! 😁
I wonder who is their Zordon?
I completely forgot this movie existed, now I feel like I unlocked a part of my childhood
This is honestly one of my favorite movies of all time. Like unironically I watch it at least once a month. Always love seeing it get the recognition it deserves!
I liked it as a kid but as an adult It was on tv at work, and i was listening to it in the background and I had to turn the channel because the screaming and fighting was so fucking annoying I had to turn it off and thought why in the hell did I even like this annoying ass movie lol 😂
Proud to say I grew up with both this and Jumanji.
To quote the late great Norm Macdonald and something i'm sure Frank Oz might be thinking about is "Envy, like a false mirror, distorts the symmetry of the sweetest form."
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I waited so long to see an NC Review
Same
This movie's still fun, but is definitely geared towards younger audiences than the original Jumanji. Not nearly as suspenseful or dramatic. Walter & Danny can just run around the room w/o getting hit by the meteor shower while Judy straight up got poisoned by a killer plant and Peter was almost crushed inside a car by a stampede.
I remember seeing Zathura on Cartoon Network years ago (yeah it aired on the channel) was my first time seeing it and I thought it was pretty cool and very much more grandiose than that of Jumanji. The Meteor Shower scene is one scene I remember the most.
“TAKE EVASIVE ACTION”
Saw it a couple of times on Cartoon Network growing up. Wouldn't say it was ever my favorite movie but I liked it fair enough. I always thought the astronaut being the older brother was a neat spin and added weight to the story. It wasn't just some guy created by the game.
Wow…this movie had been buried in my subconscious. Strange when something you had forgotten suddenly comes back to you.
"Bring me a juice box, beyotch!" There's a sentence that I never thought I'd ever hear Baby Josh Hutcherson say! 😂
They censored it on Cartoon Network airings
Should've been the headline for the movie.
I remember growing up with this film and being at awe the hole way threw. I loved it, my family loved it…or thought it was decent at least, and whenever rewatching it, it bring back a lot of nostalgia, like the feel itself reminds me a lot about jimmy neutron in a way.
I do remember watching this when I was a kid and honestly my vivid memory of it speaks for how much of an impact it made. I only remember the visuals and the concepts but that’s not to say it was necessarily bad but it had ideas that didn’t amount to anything memorable.
I really love this movie even after all these years. My favorite parts are with the robot I always thought it was badass how it just rams through stuff and destroy it.
My favorite part is when they get the Reprogram card to fix the robot but don't know what it means yet, so Walter just points card at the Zorgon ship and shouts "Reprogram!"
@@welcometothemetaverse2523 yeah. I also love when they use it on the robot and we see this little robot in it's chest go and rewire it just a silly little part of this big robot.
Never saw this movie before but I really liked the original Jumanji as a kid! I might check this one out! Also I love the callback to "I WAS FROZEN TODAY!!" during the review!
This movie is awesome. It is such a nice addition to the jumanji franchise!!!
I wish they would’ve referenced it in the new Jumanji movies
@Clay Mathews Elevator that would have been nice. Ooo maybe jumanji 4 will have a reference
16:57 "You do know science fiction needs a little science, right?"
Science fiction? You thought that just because this movie has a space theme that it's automatically science fiction? No, buddy. This is fantasy. Also, he *did* mention a wormhole. "...about yay big."
Honestly one of my favorite movies. Beyond the screaming kids scenes. And I don’t find many space horrors to actually feel unnerving, but this one does. And the early 2000’s retro space aesthetic is at its peak here. So good!
4:16 I'm soo happy this quote is getting around.
SPACE!!
One of my favorite childhood movies!
One of my childhood favorites
since ‘Jumanji’
🚀💫
Man this movie takes me back. Loved this movie as a kid. Might have to watch it again after this video. Thanks Critic for reviewing this movie. I also agree with your conclusion. Objectively not the best or worst movie, just middle of the road. But I still love this movie. Used to have the board game too and I wish I still did.
This movie actually helped me bond with my brother a bit.
Same here
I thought this movie was pretty decent overall not perfect but thanks for doing a review on this as a late Valentine's Day present to all of your fans ❤️👍
Good to see Rob, need more of him on this channel!
When I saw this movie when I was a kid some time after I saw Jumanji, it honestly kinda shocked me, the scale felt epic, characters are absolutely trapped, and all that dangerous space shit going on, to the point that I felt a bit scared even. Jumanji was creepy too, actually, but for different reasons. Zathura felt… insane for my little brain. So this was definitely a memorable film
Me and my brother grew up watching this movie and we absolutely loved it! Looking back on it, yeah, it's aged a bit. But I can still sit through it and enjoy it. For me, the pros over ways the cons! It's still a fun movie for me and I say give it a try if you haven't seen it.
I love Zarthura and hope one day we get a sequel or remake.
yeah, but as we saw with jumanji...the sequels never could capture the magic the original had. probably would been the same with zathura, sadly
@@Zireael83 it didn't need to capture the make. Jumanji 2&3 was successful enough in their own right in large part of them literally being in the game rather than characters from the game in the real world. If Zarthura did that instead of having the real world become the game it would most likely be a success as well so long as it's executed properly.
I loved this movie as a kid! I wanted to get the board game so bad, but never did.
I remember this being shown on Cartoon Network back in the day, I never finished it because I found it scary haha
Honestly i legit forgot this was a movie that came out
Its funny to me how the Critic says they dont explain the whole astronaut is the brother from the future thing when he put the clip explaining it before (he was sucked by a special wormhole, from another timeline, and that is what made him hungry), it wasnt very in dept, but it was there.
I grow with it and i believe is a 7 out of 10, not amazing but a good adventure
I personally liked Zathura! even had the physical game myself! played it a ton (and I also had jumanji) and the little interactive elements you do with the pieces as the game progresses is fun!
now if i had to make a recommendation for a movie you should review... Speed racer from 2008!!! extremely underrated and DEFINITELY worth the watch! just take note there will be times the graphics WILL look cheap like OBVIOUS green screen in some shots, but the point behind that is that it was a stylistic choice because it emulated the feel of the 60's cartoon, cheap yet vibrant and colorful. definitely needs some attention because it really was ahead of it's time!
Yes
I still think this is perfect sequel to Nicolas Cage getting stuck in the Bear Costume in the Wicker Man and trying to figure out he should do with the rest of his life
Sad they didn't connect the two in the movie like in the novel, since the Zathura novel is a sequel to the Jumanji novel, and I'm pretty sure both games are opposite sides of the same board, or that's how it sounds to me, in them as well
Also this movie was such fun to watch
I remember the black hole scene absolutely TERRIFIED me when I first saw it in theaters
I remember laughing for like, ten minutes at the "You wished for two of me?" line. Still makes me giggle when I think about it.
Hey Nostalgia Critic! I remember watching Zathura: A Space Adventure several times as a kid and it was great!