Zathura: A Space Adventure, Digi Mart USA News: While she is best known for a certain fantasy romance franchise and has since done much of her best work in small indie dramas, Kristen Stewart is no stranger to genre filmmaking. She has built a solid résumé in science fiction, appearing in movies such as “Jumper,” “Crimes of the Future” and “Undersea.”
Unfortunately, Stewart has not had much luck with sci-fi at the box office. That does not mean her science fiction projects should be overlooked.
Her family-friendly 2005 bomb “Zathura: A Space Adventure” features a strong cast of performers who later became franchise stars. It also marked an early directorial effort from Jon Favreau, who would later bring Grogu and Martin Scorsese together on the big screen, and it boasts effective practical effects.
“Zathura” was Favreau’s third outing as a director. The script was credited to David Koepp and John Kramps and adapted from Chris Van Allsburg’s book of the same name.
The film is technically part of the “Jumanji” franchise, as Van Allsburg’s original work takes place in the same universe as his classic fantasy adventure.
In “Zathura,” Josh Hutcherson and Jonah Bobo play two brothers who constantly fight and are struggling with their parents’ recent divorce. Dealing with a workaholic dad and an older sister, played by Stewart, who couldn’t care less what her siblings do, the pair find a magical board game that transports their house into outer space.
From there, they must survive various alien dangers and finish the game if they hope to return safely home.
The film features two future young-adult stars: Stewart became the face of the “Twilight” films, and Hutcherson later co-led the “Hunger Games” movies. The cast also includes Dax Shepard, Frank Oz as the voice of a defective robot, and Tim Robbins.
The movie does not hide that it is essentially “Jumanji” in outer space, with a mysterious adult man chasing the protagonists, large special effects, and animalistic threats preying on the house where the story takes place. Still, it mostly works, in no small part because of Stan Winston’s contributions to the visual effects.
Some of its CGI looks dated today, but the practical effects from Stan Winston Studios remain convincing and enhance the film’s sense of wonder. Its assorted fantastical creatures also helped kickstart Favreau’s fascination with technology and effects, for better and for worse.
Stewart does not have much to do in “Zathura,” as her character spends most of the runtime cryogenically frozen, with Stan Winston Studios having built a life-size model of a frozen Stewart for the occasion. When she is not frozen, however, Stewart gives her character more than an annoyed big sister who panics about her predicament.
Her character shares emotional moments with her brothers and fun banter with Dax Shepard’s Astronaut, who gets the film’s best scene, in which his true identity and tragic backstory are revealed.
“Zathura” holds a 77% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the vast majority of reviews positive. Roger Ebert praised the movie, writing that it works “gloriously as space opera” and commending Favreau for bringing “a muscular solidity to his special effects” that infuses them with imperfections and personality, making them feel more grounded and real.
Despite the critical praise, the film was not a hit. It was overshadowed at the box office by Disney’s “Chicken Little,” the studio’s first fully computer-animated movie.
It was then largely forgotten a week later when “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” opened in theaters. In the end, the film barely matched its $65 million budget at the global box office.
It was nominated for several Saturn Awards, including Best Fantasy Film.
About 14 years after its theatrical release, “Zathura” returned to public attention when Jack Black, promoting “Jumanji: The Next Level” at the time, reminded audiences that it is part of the same franchise, according to Variety. Today it remains a pleasant, family-friendly sci-fi film worth your time if you are in the mood for cosmic hijinks.
