Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a consistently strong image.
Sharpness always remained positive, as the movie exhibited fine delineation and accuracy. Any softness remained negligible in this tight presentation.
The film lacked moiré effects or jaggies, and it also didn’t suffer from any edge haloes. Print haloes remained absent.
Colors favored a mix of teal, green and amber, with an emphasis on the last two given the jungle settings. The hues came across as well-developed.
Blacks seemed deep and dense, while shadows appeared smooth and concise. Everything about the image satisfied.’
In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack proved to be top-notch, with a vivid, involving soundscape. The movie boasted a slew of action scenes, and those used all five channels in a lively, engaging manner that brought out a good sense of the material.
Audio quality pleased, with speech that seemed natural and distinctive. Music fared well, as the score appeared bold and rich.
Most importantly, effects came across as accurate and dynamic, with tight, dynamic low-end response. The soundtrack gave the movie an extra level of life and fun.
Despite the movie’s enormous success, the Blu-ray skimps on extras. A Gag Reel runs two minutes, 25 seconds and consists of goofs and giggles. With comedians on the set, I expected more funny improvisations, so this becomes a forgettable collection.
Five featurettes follow, and we start with Journey Through the Jungle: The Making of Jumanji. It lasts 14 minutes, 54 seconds and includes notes from director Jake Kasdan, production designer Owen Paterson, location manager Laura Sode-Matteson, costume designer Laura Jean Shannon, producer Matt Tolmach, visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen, Legacy Effects’ Robert Ramsdell,and actors Dwayne Johnson, Nick Jonas, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Bobby Cannavale.
“Journey” looks at Kasdan’s work on the production, sets and locations, connections to the original movie, costumes, creatures and effects. It creates a decent but not especially deep view of the subject matter.
During the seven-minute, eight-second Meet the Players: A Heroic Cast, we hear from Johnson, Hart, Gillan, Black, Kasdan, and Tolmach. As expected, “Meet” discusses cast and performances. It throws out a few good shots from the set but fails to deliver much useful information.
Next comes Surviving the Jungle: Spectacular Stunts, a five-minute, 47-second reel with Gillan, Kasdan, Tolmach, stunt coordinator Gary M. Hymes, 2nd unit director Jack Gill, and motorcycle coordinator Justin Kell. Inevitably, “Surviving” gets into stunts and action. It becomes another moderately interesting piece.
Attack of the Rhinos goes for three minutes, 56 seconds and features Johnson, Black, Kasdan, Chen, director of photography Gyula Pados, helicopter tech advisor Doug Scroggins, and editor Mark Helfrich. “Rhinos” delivers specifics about the creation of one movie scene. Though brief, it becomes a pretty informative clip, especially because we see lots of “before/after” footage.
Finally, Book to Board Game to Big Screen & Beyond: Celebrating the Legacy of Jumanji occupies four minutes, 44 seconds and delivers info from Johnson, Hart, Kasdan, Black and Gillan. “Legacy” looks at the original film and its expansion with Jungle. It lacks substance.
A Music Video called “Jumanji, Jumanji” takes up three minutes, 35 seconds. A duet between Jack Black and Nick Jonas, it offers an intentionally cheesy spoof of movie theme songs. It’s not hilarious but it’s amusing enough.
The disc opens with ads for The Star, Peter Rabbit, The Emoji Movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Angry Bird Blues, The Swan Princess: A Royal MzTery and Hotel Transylvania 3. No trailer for Jjungle appears here.
An unexpected box office hit, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle offers a fun update on the source. Though it never becomes anything special, it still delivers enough laughs and action to satisfy. The Blu-ray provides strong picture and audio as well as a serviceable set of supplements. The lack of dynamic bonus materials disappoints, but the film works pretty well.