Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (DVD) : Review

Film

Four high school kids discover an old video game console, while in detention on afternoon, and upon trying a game cartridge, they are literally drawn into the game’s jungle setting becoming the adult avatars they chose, as Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson – The Fate of the FuriousMoana), Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan – The CircleGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black), and Moose Finbar (Kevin Hart – The Secret Life of PetsRide Along).

The third instalment, yet second film to hold the Jumanji title, is fun, hilarious, and a great adventure. There is a great deal of rewatch value, as the humour comes thick and fast.

The pop-culture references are fun to spot, interspersed throughout a rather engrossing story. An enjoyable film indeed.

Read the full SAMDB review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Disc

Overall, the disc is of a good technical quality, with a fun, enjoyable movie as the main feature.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.

Video

Video is encoded at a high average bitrate, with no visible artefacts on-screen. There is no visible colour bleed, and colours in most scenes, as needed, are vibrant. Detail in darker scenes is good too.

Video for the bonus features is also encoded at a high average bitrate, a change from most discs where these would be encoded at a lower bitrate to save space for the main feature.

Audio

Audio on the disc is encoded in a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, and encoded at a high average bitrate. Dialogue is clear via the centre speaker. There is a great amount of use of the surround channels, serving to further draw the viewer into the on-screen action, and expand the cinematic world.

Audio for the previews is also presented in a 5.1 mix, with the bonus material having only a 2.0 mix.

Navigation

Navigation is simple, and easy to follow. The main menu is static, with accompanying music. The menu items are text links, with options to play the main feature, languages, scene selections, and special features.

The languages sub-menu has a text list of audio languages to choose from, with three additional sub-menus from there from which to pick the desired subtitle language.

The scene selection sub-menus each have four large, static, colour thumbnails, for a total of sixteen chapters. There is no way to jump directly to any particular page, with the disc only allowing the viewer to page forward or backwards between the scene selection sub-menus. A small inconvenience, which could have been laid out in the menu system a little better.

The special features sub-menu has a text list of the various bonus materials.

Bonus Features

Gag Reel – A two minutes video showing a few of the slip-ups on set, and the cast goofing about in some takes. Worth a look and a laugh.

Journey Through The Jungle: The Making Of Jumanji – A fourteen minute featurette lead by the character Nigel, showing behind the scenes footage, the input from cast and crew on the making of this comedic adventure.

The video provides much insight, and interesting facts, which would not only prove useful to budding filmmakers, but be of interesting to the average viewer alike. A great addition to a great disc.

Meet The Players: A heroic Cast – Just over five minutes, this featurette shows the viewer some opinions on the cast and movie, by the cast.

They cast share insight into their characters, with some more behind the scenes footage. Another fun addition to the disc.

Attack Of The Rhinos! – A very short clip on the making of one of those more intense action sequences in the film, and how the cinematic visuals were created. An interesting addition, for viewers and filmmakers.

Jumanji, Jumanji Music Video –  Jack Black and Nick Jonas surprise the cast with a new theme song, and accompanying music video. But it’s rather cringeworthy, and must be seen to be believed. A good laugh.

Previews – Access to the original trailers that autoplay at the beginning of the disc. A link such as this is so easy to implement, yet is so seldom part of a disc menu.

The trailers are for Peter Rabbit, The Emoji Movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming. These autoplay at the beginning of the disc, and can be individually fast-forward, or skipped. These can also be accessed again via the disc navigation menu.

Packaging

Packaging for the disc is standard, with a title, poster and main cast names listed on the front. The back has a short synopsis, a few stills from the main feature, and a listing of the bonus features. There are also the usual technical details and logos.

 

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb