15 Best Movies Like Jumanji

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"Jumanji" remains a perennial favorite among millennials. It's the kind of zany adventure flick that was prominent in the 1990s, and it also has one of the best performances from the late, great Robin Williams. He plays the emotionally stunted Alan Parrish, who gets trapped in the board game Jumanji only to be unleashed 26 years later when two kids, Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce), play the game themselves. A bunch of animals from the game wreak havoc on their town, so Alan teams up with the children to put everything back in its proper place. 

There are plenty of funny gags throughout "Jumanji," but it was also a deeply personal film for Williams. It's highly rewatchable, but you may find yourself wanting to branch out and check out other family friendly adventure movies like "Jumanji." The 1995 film captured lightning in a bottle with a fun premise and a memorable performance where Williams is equal parts hilarious and tragic, but don't ignore the rest of these gems. 

"Zathura" may not technically be a sequel to "Jumanji," but it shares a lot of the same DNA. It's based on a 2002 book from Chris Van Allsburg, who also wrote the 1981 "Jumanji" book. It doesn't follow up with Alan Parrish or anything, but does seemingly take place in the same universe run amok by board games that impact reality, meaning you can put it in the watch order for your "Jumanji" marathon without missing a beat. This time around, two brothers named Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and Danny (Jonah Bobo), who can never get along, play a game called Zathura and wind up inadvertently becoming part of an intergalactic journey where they must survive against robots and aliens. 

The film boasts two future YA stars, as Hutcherson would later break out even further into the mainstream with "The Hunger Games" while Kristen Stewart (of "Twilight" fame) plays the boys' older sister, who gets frozen upon entering the void of space. "Zathura" makes no qualms over being a sci-fi riff on "Jumanji," but if you're into that, it's a fun, harmless time.

If you're in the mood for yet another movie where a normal person interacts with Robin Williams after some magical chaos runs loose, then "Night at the Museum" is up your alley. The 2006 film sees night security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) realizing that the exhibits in New York City's American Museum of Natural History come to life at night, so he needs to prevent them from causing too much damage to the museum and to each other. 

There are all sorts of wacky characters, like a cowboy played by Owen Wilson. But easily the standout of the film is Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt. Williams may be known for playing eccentric characters, but Roosevelt is a mature departure for him. Of course, he gets some great zingers in there, but he serves as the moral compass of the museum, helping Larry along his character arc. "Night at the Museum" spawned two theatrical sequels and a Disney+ show, with more historical figures and ideas getting added each time. The franchise isn't just entertaining, it's also educational ... to a degree. 

"Jumanji" is directed by Joe Johnston, who played a seminal role in many people's childhoods by also directing "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." He eventually directed "Captain America: The First Avenger," but prior to that, he had some experience with crafting a compelling narrative around a superhero with 1991's excellent "The Rocketeer." Like "Captain America," it's a World War II-era throwback film. In this one, stunt pilot Cliff Secord (Billy Campbell) starts performing amazing feats with a jetpack, which the Nazis want to get ahold of for their own evil purposes. 

"The Rocketeer" is an underrated superhero masterpiece. It came out in the early '90s when superhero films were few and far between and more or less ignored unless Batman or Superman were in them. "The Rocketeer" feels more akin to something like "Indiana Jones" as opposed to anything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's humor, but also some welcome sincerity that you just don't get with many superhero flicks these days. 

Yes, "Hook" is a good movie to watch if you like "Jumanji" because they're both seminal favorites of '90s kids that happen to each star Robin Williams. However, the similarities between the two movies run deeper than that. "Hook" is a reimagining of the "Peter Pan" mythos where Williams plays Peter Banning, the grown-up version of Peter Pan who left Neverland but needs to return when Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) kidnaps his children. 

Both films deal with the idea of getting older. When Alan gets out of the Jumanji game, he's basically still a child in a man's body. He never had to mature and figure out how to fit into society because he was solely focused on surviving the jungle. In "Hook," Peter has completely forgotten his childhood in Neverland and is a workaholic who rarely has time for his wife and kids. When watched together, the two films emphasize the need for a balance when growing up. It's important to maintain a little childlike wonder, but you can't be in your 30s acting like it's your first day on Earth. Williams threads that needle in "Hook," playing both fun-loving Peter Pan and stuffy Peter Banning, which is probably why the film took such a toll on the actor. 

1999's "Tarzan" is one of the most underrated yet best Disney animated movies ever. You might mostly remember it for the awesome soundtrack courtesy of Phil Collins, but it's the classic story of a man, Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn), raised by apes in a remote jungle when an expedition group makes contact. You can probably guess why it's on a list of movies like "Jumanji." 

Both films share the idea of a "wild man" encountering society. While Jane (Minnie Driver) proves to be a positive force in Tarzan's life, teaching him some basic manners and how to speak English, not everyone has his best interests at heart. Clayton (Brian Blessed), a hunter, has no qualms over shooting gorillas, making him a far more nefarious antagonist than the hunter Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde) in "Jumanji." Outside of the natural fish-out-of-water dynamics, both films offer plenty of action and showcases for how humanity can interact with nature.

If nothing else, you should know the plot of "National Treasure" from the memes alone: Nicolas Cage plans to steal the Declaration of Independence. The whole film's a treasure hunt in the style of "The Da Vinci Code" where everything has a hidden meaning, and it sure is fun. There's no magic to be found here, but viewers get taken on an expedition through American history, offering a similar sense of style and adventure as "Jumanji."

Unlike other action adventure movies in the 2000s, "National Treasure" doesn't get bogged down in poorly-aged CGI. There aren't any monsters chasing after Cage and his friends (although it might be fun to see a zombie Ben Franklin run amok). It's just a ragtag team trying to solve riddles you can try to figure out for yourself, which is almost impossible unless, like Cage's Benjamin Franklin Gates character, you have an encyclopedic knowledge of the United States' founding. Cage delivers a surprisingly subdued performance, allowing the chaos unfolding around him to take center stage. 

When you're in a '90s action kick, you can't go wrong with putting "The Mummy" in the rotation. It's the very definition of a swashbuckling action flick. Treasure hunter Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and librarian Evie (Rachel Weisz) accidentally awaken an ancient Egyptian high priest and must find a way to put him back into his eternal slumber. There's no denying the sheer charisma and charm of Fraser, who should've had a far more fruitful action star career after this. 

"The Mummy" genuinely has something for everyone. If you're not super into action sequences, you'll be drawn in by the romance between Rick and Evie, as Fraser and Weisz have mountains of chemistry that should've been harnessed for scientific experimentation. The film is rated PG-13, making it a departure from the most of the PG-rated movies on this list, so parents may want to keep that in mind when watching with kids. But aside from a few frightening images, 10-year-olds could probably handle this. And with "The Mummy 4" in the works with Fraser and Weisz returning, it's the perfect time to revisit this modern classic. 

These days, director Matthew Vaughn is known for largely profane, hyper-violent fare like "Kick-Ass" and the "Kingsman" franchise. But even after all this time, Vaughn's best movie is the one unlike all of his others: 2007's "Stardust." There are no super spies or superheroes here. Instead, it's a fantasy adventure where a normal man, Tristan (Charlie Cox), enters a magical realm to collect a star named Yvaine (Clarie Danes) for his beloved, only to realize that many others also seek this star. 

"Stardust" very much falls in the same vein as "Jumanji," as they're both fish-out-of-water stories where someone completely unfamiliar with magic needs to figure out how to get things back to normal. "Stardust" has a stacked cast ,with Michelle Pfeiffer offering a great turn as the villainous Lumia, who wants to eat the star's heart, as well as Robert De Niro as Captain Shakespeare, who acts all macho only to be secretly sensitive in private. You may have an idea of what archetypes will be found in a fantasy flick like "Stardust," but rest assured, "Stardust" is so great because it's such a refreshing departure from others in its genre. 

"Holes" doesn't have the same level of fantasy as "Jumanji," but it's one of those childhood staples for many millennials. Now that they're growing up and starting to have children of their own, it only makes sense to pass on some of these classics to the next generation. "Holes" is a surprisingly profound children's book-turned-movie, as it hones in on Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf), who gets sent to a juvenile detention camp for a theft he didn't commit where all the inmates (read: children) dig holes all day.

But that's only the beginning, as the story contains various interweaving storylines to show how the actions in the past can have ramifications decades into the future. There are frequent discussions of family curses and fate, but in actuality, we all have a choice to move beyond what our ancestors were known for. "Holes" continues to be a relevant film long after it came out, and it's a great film to watch with the family and then discuss some of the larger themes afterward. 

If you enjoy your fantasy adventure with a healthy dose of surrealism, check out 1981's "Time Bandits." Directed by Terry Gilliam, it's a good way to ease yourself into the filmmaker's body of work before diving headfirst into something deeper, like "Brazil." As for "Time Bandits," it's a time-traveling odyssey where a young boy, Kevin (Craig Warnock), gets wrapped up in a band of treasure plunderers who move throughout various points in history to collect valuable artifacts, running into figures like Agamemnon (Sean Connery) and Robin Hood (John Cleese) along the way. 

It may be rated PG, but the film contains some darker elements and imagery. Kids' films in the '80s could get away with a bit more darkness compared to what you tend to see now. You're probably not going to see many kids' films in the modern era featuring discussions on the nature of God creating evil things. It's truly a product of its time, which might explain why the Apple TV "Time Bandits" series was cancelled after just one season. 

"Goosebumps" was a cultural phenomenon throughout the 1990s. Thanks to the Scholastic Book Fair, millions of kids read through each tale of kid-friendly terror, so it's safe to say folks were itching for a big-screen adaptation when 2015's "Goosebumps" finally dropped. The movie takes a lot of cues from "Jumanji," as Zach (Dylan Minnette) accidentally unleashes all of R.L. Stine's (Jack Black) creations onto the town. The rest of the film involves a ragtag team trying to get the monsters, like the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena to Slappy the Dummy (voiced by Black), back into their manuscripts.

There's an additional meta-layer to "Goosebumps" where R.L. Stine is literally a character in the film. It turns out to be a great move because it naturally allows for a bunch of his books to get attention as opposed to only adapting a single story, like what George A. Romero wanted to do with "Welcome to Dead House" in the '90s. The film is funny and has some genuinely cool creature designs, making it a great entry point for kids who want to get into horror. 

When you're a kid, there's a level of wish fulfillment when it comes to watching movies like "Jumanji." At 10 years old or so, you may feel like you're ready to take on more responsibilities, yet your bedtime is still ridiculously early. "Spy Kids" takes that wish fulfillment to the next level by having members of its target audience literally become super spies. 

Carmen (Alexa PenaVega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) are shocked when their parents, who just so happen to be former spies, go missing. The kids have to use their parents' equipment to get to the bottom of what's happening. But what makes "Spy Kids" truly a standout is the campy visual effects. The villain, Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming), has a bunch of bodyguards that are just thumbs. Floop also turns any spies he imprisons into downright disturbing-looking creatures to put onto his TV show. It's an odd movie, which is part of the charm that has carried over into numerous sequels. 

Listen, you're normally not going to see me recommend any of the Disney live-action remakes, especially when the originals are still easily accessible on Disney+ and are far superior in every way. But there is something to be said for 2016's "The Jungle Book," which remains the best of this creatively bankrupt but financially successful experiment Disney has embarked upon. The 2016 movie largely pulls from the 1967 original but adds some extra material from Rudyard Kipling's story. Mowgli (Neel Sethi) and all of the animal friends (and enemies) he encounters on his journey are fleshed out even more, so you're not just sitting there waiting for "The Bare Necessities" to start playing. 

It's a truly impressive visual spectacle where all of the animals are rendered with amazing attention to detail. Unlike other live-action remakes that tell the same story as the original beat for beat, "The Jungle Book" at least tries to do something different, and it utilizes new technology in an interesting way. 

If we lived in a just world, "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" would've kickstarted an entire cinematic franchise. We'd have at least a couple of sequels and maybe a Paramount+ original series at this point. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be, even though it's an incredible adventure film that utilizes D&D to its fullest potential. The set-up will sound familiar to anyone who's ever played the game, but an unlikely group of heroes must recover a powerful artifact before it falls into nefarious hands. 

There are numerous aspects of the film that anyone who's played D&D will appreciate, like how during the final battle, everyone follows initiative order like you would in a campaign. But the most accurate part of "Honor Among Thieves" is how funny it is. The film is a laugh riot with so many great bits, from Bradley Cooper having a random cameo as a halfling to Ed's (Chris Pine) illusion slowly melting when the sorcerer Simon's (Justice Smith) power starts failing. Action-adventure films don't always have to be dour affairs with half-hearted quips; this film proves there's another way. 

Is "Space Jam" the pinnacle of capital-C "Cinema?" Definitely not, but it's a fun romp for '90s kids where Michael Jordan teams up with the Looney Tunes to beat a bunch of aliens in a basketball game. It knows exactly what it's trying to do, and if nothing else, we get a ton of great Bugs Bunny (voiced by Billy West) gags. Like "Jumanji," it's something a lot of people likely watched ad nauseam growing up, and there's a high level of nostalgic value to it.

Perhaps it's most interesting to compare "Space Jam" to "Jumanji" in how the films were recontextualized for the 21st century. "Jumanji" got a total reinvention where the board game was swapped out for a video game that players are transported into. Meanwhile, "Space Jam: A New Legacy" is pretty much just "Space Jam" with far more pop culture references and Michael Jordan swapped out with LeBron James. Do you prefer your legacy sequels to mix things up or provide more of the same? That's up to you to decide...