Man, when I woke up today I never expected to be comparing a classic children”s novel to a cheesy video game you play at adult Chuck E. Cheese. But here we are. What am I talking about? Jumanji and Let”s Go Jungle! of course. Still confused? Let me back up.
If you haven”t heard, Dwayne Johnson is starring in a sequel to Jumanji. He will be joined by Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Nick Jonas, and Jack Black. While the plot is still under wraps, today the first official photo was released of the cast (minus one Jonas Brother). At first, only Kevin Hart had the image on his Instagram, sans any explanation. Which was…a bad idea.
Let”s be frank. Without context, this looks awful. We”ve got Kevin Hart as the Regular Joe™, Dwayne Johnson as an Indiana Jones knock-off/p0rn parody, Karen Gillan as a Lara Croft knock-off, and Jack Black as a traditional 1800s big game hunter. In fact, my first reaction to this image was “This looks like a video game I used to play at Dave & Busters during date night.” Which is how I ended up down the rabbit hole that is Let”s Go Jungle! Lost on the Island of Spice. The above characters look like they”d be right at home in this cheesy acid game.
The Jumanji photo is about as tone-deaf as could get without actively trying. But surprise! It looks like they ARE actively trying. With social media quickly turning derisive, The Rock swooped in to save the day by posting the image with context.
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You see those names? Moose Finbar. Ruby Roundhouse. Dr. SMOLDER BRAVESTONE. By comparison, Professor Shelly Oberon sounds downright normal. These are the names of actors in a parody television show if every there were, which matches the SNL feel of the costumes and poses. Another option? Perhaps they are denizens of Jumanji. The place isn't known for its subtlety.
As always, Dwayne Johnson knows his way around social media and saves the day. Someone make a movie about that!