Release Date:  November 11, 2005
Rating:  PG (fantasy action and peril, language)
Run Time:  1 hr. 35 min.
Genre:  Fantasy/Family
Director:  Jon Favreau
Actors:  Tim Robbins, Kristen Stewart, Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard

It must be truly difficult to make an excellent family movie. Not only do the filmmakers need to appeal to the fickle tastes of children, but they must include something that holds adults' attention as well. In this way “Zathura” falls short of the ideal family film; Ten-year-old boys will likely love it, whereas their parents will be checking their watches. They will wonder what in the world is tying all the random sequences of destruction together, besides a magic board game with an unpronounceable name.

Divorced Dad (Tim Robbins) seems to have the universal “divorced dad in a movie” problems: how to balance work responsibilities with caring for his kids. After playing catch with his bickering sons, six-year-old Danny (Jonah Bobo) and 10-year-old Walter (Josh Hutcherson), he settles down to work at in his home office. When his feuding sons’ argument spills (literally) into his office, and damages some of his work, he must leave them in the care of their self-absorbed teenage sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart).

After more fighting Danny locks Jonah in the creepy basement of their father’s old house and settles down to watch TV. While trying to find an alternate route back upstairs, Danny finds a retro looking board game, Zathura: A Space Adventure, brings it upstairs, and begs his older brother to play. Of course Walter refuses and Danny begins to play the game on his own. Soon meteors begin to rip through the house and the boys discover that their house, with them inside, is floating through space. The boys quickly realize the game is controlling their fate and their best option for getting themselves and their house back to earth is to continue playing. Lot’s more arguing and screaming at one another ensues.

Sound familiar? “Zathura” is based on a book by Chris Van Allsburg, who also penned "Jumanji," which was made into a movie ten years ago. In “Jumanji” two children also find themselves playing a jungle themed game that comes to life around them. But where "Zathura" could have expanded on the “kids-lost-in-a-game” formula, it only feels like “Jumanji” in space rather than its own movie. Where “Jumanji” had the semblance of a plot that tied together the story and the rampaging jungle beasts tearing up a small New Hampshire town, the plot in “Zathura” does not really kick in until the movie is two-thirds over. And while “Jumanji” boasts the impressive acting talents of Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Bebe Neuwirth, and Kirsten Dunst, to name a few, “Zathura” has only one recognizable acting heavyweight, and he is only on-screen for a few minutes of the movie.