Zathura is the story of two young brothers who are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is magically hurtled through space. The story is based on the book Zathura by children's author Chris Van Allsburg. (from MovieWeb.com)

As a child of the 80's, it seemed to be a big thing to make fantasy films when I was a kid. These films offered imaginative creatures and otherworldly situations that took the viewer to new lands from their theater seat or couch at home. These films also preceded the usage of CGI -- or, in most cases, the over-usage of it -- and relied exclusively on minatures and puppets to create some of the most imaginative creatures ever to grace the silver screen. Since then, there seems to be a lot less attention to such detail and imagination, making CGI sort of a costly "easy" way out.

Enter 2005's fantasy space adventure Zathura. As actor Jon Favreau's follow-up to his successful directing debut Elf, Zathura returns fantasies to their glory days, and even works in a strong pro-family message into the mix.

The film centers around two young brothers -- one 10 years old, the other 6, who are stuck in the middle of their parents' divorce and are just trying to make the best out of having to spend portions of their week with Mom or Dad individually. This time around, the boys Danny and Walter are just trying to get along while in their Dad's new house, when Danny discovers an old board game in the house's creepy basement. Once he starts playing, the two realize there's a lot more involved than just turning a key and reading a card... their house is hurtled into space and must remain there until one of them finishes the game successfully. What unfolds is an exciting space adventure that never leaves their house, but brings plenty of excitement and dangerous situations to their newfound "mobile" home.

I must admit I'm mostly skeptical about today's children / family films. Growing up, the films they made for "family" were often rated PG but were borderline PG-13 films considering there was no rating between PG and R yet. A lot of these movies were imaginative and exciting but still a bit too harsh for the younger audience in the content department. Some family films in recent years have abandoned creativity for campy or corny material, making many of those films fine for kids, but painful for anyone even slightly older. Zathura is a breath of fresh air, offering a wonderful blend of excitement for any age, with a fine script, strong acting, and excellent special effects. What helped make the world of Zathura work so well is Favreau's insistance on using mostly minature models and puppeteering for a lot of the effects. This brought a tangible element to the creatures and the boys' house that pulls the audience in in ways modern computer effects can't do. Also, despite their characters bickering through most of the film, the boys turned in strong and believable acting performances, and when the film eventually calls for them to unite, it's a wonderful moment.

I thought the content was kind of rough for today's family films. I was surprised to hear Danny call Walter a "d*ck" in the first scene, even though their father soon reprimands him for it. Their 13 year old sister utters a couple minor cuss words as well, but there luckily isn't all that much swearing in the film (something I wish I could say about the "family" films of my day). There's also quite a bit of violence, although none of it is lethal or gory or anything beyond the house blowing apart and the kids being chased around. Finally, the Zorgon aliens in the film look great, but being lizard-like aliens, they may be quite horrifying for younger viewers.

Overall, I was more than impressed with Zathura. Since I saw it on DVD and not in the theaters, I'm sorry I missed it on the big screen. But the DVD offers some fantastic featurettes on the making of the special effects that it makes for some great at-home entertainment. When all's said and done, Zathura is a fine family film that will most likely stand the test of time.
- John DiBiase, (reviewed: 2/22/06)