Most of us look back on the original Jumanji film with nostalgic joy. It’s just a fun movie starring one of the best actors of all time, Robin Williams, along with a stellar supporting cast. We also can’t help but notice that aside from the jokes that are meant to be funny, the movie is also riddled with plot holes that are unintentionally hilarious. These plot holes only become more gaping when viewed next to the film’s sequel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
Let’s look back and snort over the many different plot holes that these fun films have while enjoy the latest installment of the series, Jumanji: The Next Level.
The Board Game Washed Up On A Beach
At the end of Jumanji, the game washes up on a beach, indicating that the next adventure will take the participants back into the board game. Instead, Welcome to the Jungle was based on a video game.
As a reboot this works fine, but Alan Parrish’s name was used in it. While this was more of an homage to Robin Williams, it does establish a timeline that might not work out well.
If the board game predates the video game, it makes sense for Parrish to have spent time there before, but it seems as if the new movie should have continued with the cliffhanger on which the original ended.
Time Passes Differently
When Alan Parrish emerges from the game, he’s definitely had a couple of decades to get super hairy and much older. While Alan obviously aged chronologically in the first Jumanji film, Alex had no idea how much time had passed while he was trapped in the game in the second movie. He’s completely clueless regarding how much time has passed and shocked when his new friends tell him.
Given the rules established within the first game, Alex should have been a much older man when the teens trapped in the game met up with him, but then that would’ve made Bethany’s crush all the weirder.
Alan And Sarah Just Dump The Game
After everything they’ve been through, Alan and Sarah might think about actually destroying the game, burying it in a deep well or otherwise trying to save someone else from the pain and suffering they’ve endured. Why send it off to cause pain and suffering for some other unsuspecting kids when they could definitely prevent it from washing up on someone’s shore? Alan could even do what he accidentally did to Carl Bentley’s shoe design.
What do they do instead? They dump it into a river. It’s someone else’s problem now. How ironic would it have been if Peter and Judy had stumbled upon it?
Alex Recognizes Teens He’s Never Seen
Spencer looks nothing like Bravestone (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), yet when an adult Alex, freed from the game, comes upon the four teens who saved his life and helped him win the game, he instantly recognizes them. How is this even possible?
Maybe it would make sense if they agreed to meet up on a certain day and time, but they never do that we know about. Since when does a random group of teenagers walking down the street together automatically make them the four kids who saved your life in a video game years ago? Has Alex called out to other quartets before only to be rewarded with weird looks?
Alex’s House Isn’t Abandoned
Since Alex didn’t disappear into the game, the timeline changed and his family remains in town–right where the teens would frequently walk by his home. Has Alex known who they are this entire time as he’s grown up? He would have likely seen some of them as little kids growing up, so how are they just now meeting?
If he does know the teens from watching them grow up, it doesn’t show when he meets them again on the street. Recognition dawns on his face, so it’s not like he already knows the identity of each of the teens.
Alan Isn’t Wild Enough
Spending 26 years in the jungle with no other human companions, save for one who wants to hunt you down, is bound to have some effects on a person. While Alan Parrish is definitely a bit on the wild side, he’s way too civilized for someone who hasn’t even gone through puberty in modern society.
If Alan worked with other players in the game like the teens in Welcome to the Jungle did, this might make more sense, but if he were truly alone in the game, he really should be much more gruff and wild, especially when he speaks and interacts with people.
Jaguar Gem Powers
In Welcome to the Jungle, the Jaguar’s Eye bestows evil powers upon the person who wields it. It also helps them telepathically control animals. Neat! So how come only Professor Russell Van Pelt gets these cool powers when he touches the stone? It’s passed back and forth among the players during the pivotal final battle scene, so why don’t any of them suddenly harness the same ability?
Plenty of theoretical explanations exist for this, from the time spent bonding with the gem to research on its use to the intent of its bearer, but it’s never explained and leaves a plot hole.
Judy And Peter Remembered Nothing
One of the most common plot holes that fans laugh about is the inconsistency between the movies when it comes to memory. Why do the teens of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle remember all that happened while Peter and Judy of the original Jumanji had no idea about the adventures they’d experienced with Alan and Sarah?
While it’s nice that the teens can recall everything they’ve been through and share the experience together, changing their lives forever, it’s bittersweet that Peter and Judy don’t get the same experience. They do get their parents’ safety out of the deal, which is exponentially better, but why not both?
They Play The Game In The House
Why are Alan, Sarah, Judy and Peter so intent upon destroying the latter two’s home with the game? There’s no rule in Jumanji that states it must be played indoors, yet they continue to keep going back home to try and play the game.
It would make much more sense to not only play the game outside, especially if you need to run away from bats or lions, but to just quickly pass the dice to the next person and keep running while you play the game to get it over with as quickly as possible. Some fans theorize it could be over within five minutes if this strategy were used.
Van Pelt’s Bullet Is Sucked Back Into The Game
In the climactic moment near the end of the first film when Van Pelt takes a shot that’s sure to send one of our heroes to the grave, we all released a collective sigh of relief when his bullet, along with Van Pelt and the gun he stole from our world, were all yanked right back into the game, maintaining the safety of Alan, Sarah and the kids.
The thing is, there’s no reason for Van Pelt’s final shot to miss given that the bullet wasn’t from Jumanji and shouldn’t have been pulled back into the game. It should have either met its mark or dropped on the floor, the former unfortunately making more sense.
