ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE [2005 / 2015] [10th Anniversary Edition] [Blu-ray + Digital HD] [USA Release] A Rollicking Space Adventure That Delivers One Heck of a Wild Ride! From The Director of IRON MAN!
Celebrate the 10th Anniversary Edition of this heart-racing science-fiction adventure with a special, all-new Blu-ray edition! Two squabbling brothers are propelled into deepest, darkest space while playing a mysterious game discovered in the basement of their old house. On their fantastic journey, they are joined by a stranded astronaut and must survive meteor showers, hostile lizard-like aliens, a rocket-propelled robot that runs amok and an intergalactic spaceship battle. Unless they finish the game and reach the planet ZATHURA, as otherwise they could be trapped in outer space forever.
FILM FACT: A board game was released by Pressman Toy Corporation that replicated as much as possible the gameplay of the game in the movie. Titled “Zathura: Adventure is Waiting” and the game incorporated the spring-driven clockwork card delivery mechanism, the astronaut, the Zorgons, the haywire robot, and the disintegrating house in various ways. The film was shot in Los Angeles and Culver City, California, and was released on the 11th November, 2005 by Columbia Pictures. Despite positive reviews from critics, the film was a box office flop. Director Jon Favreau preferred to use practical effects instead of computer generated imagery (CGI) in the film.
Cast: Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins, Frank Oz (Robot voice), John Alexander (Robot), Derek Mears (Lead Zorgon), Douglas Tait (Zorgon), Joe Bucaro III (Zorgon) Jeff Wolfe (Zorgon), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star) (archive footage) (uncredited) and Stuart Scott (archive footage) (uncredited)
Director: Jon Favreau
Producers: Louis D'Esposito, Michael De Luca, Peter Billingsley, Scott Kroopf, Ted Field and William Teitler
Screenplay: Chris Van Allsburg (Zathura book), David Koepp (screenplay)and John Kamps (screenplay)
Composer: John Debney
Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro (Director of Photography)
Animation Department: Alice V. Kaiserian, David Gelb (uncredited) and Gary Mau
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by Deluxe)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio,
English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
French [Paris]: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Japanese: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Português: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Thai: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese [Traditional], Dutch, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai
Running Time: 101 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / SONY Pictures Home Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: This 10th Anniversary Edition of ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ is arguably the best adaptation of a Chris Van Allsburg book to date. A visually resplendent adventure about two brothers and an enchanted board game that beams them into outer space, SONY's unofficial follow-up to its 1995 hit ‘JUMANJI’ benefits from the professional helm of the brilliant adventurous director Jon Favreau's amiably low-key sense of humour and assured handling of well-trod emotional territory.
Ten-year-old Walter [Josh Hutcherson] and 6-year-old Danny [Jonah Bobo] compete for the attention of their stressed-out father [Tim Robbins] in a brief but effective turn. After Dad takes off, putting their negligent older sister Lisa [Kristen Stewart] in charge, Danny finds himself stuck in the basement, where he digs up a ’50s-style space-themed board game called “ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE.” Danny begins to play the game, an ingenious wind-up contraption that comes with self-moving pieces and a metal turnkey in lieu of rolling dice instead of the original story book synopsis. It soon becomes clear, however and after an impromptu meteor shower in the living room and that self-operation is the least of the game’s properties. Along the way, they pick up a free-floating Astronaut [Dax Shepard] who helps keep the “Zorgons” at bay and, in a clever but foreseeable twist that fits neatly into the escalating emotional drama between the two siblings. For their part, Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson excel at delivering the script’s clever banter while coming across as real live children, especially their angry exchanges veering only occasionally into melodramatic excess.
Since Jon Favreau’s directing his first film ‘ELF,’ he has him this time directing the brilliant project that finds him very much at ease with the challenges of a larger-scale, more action-oriented family film, especially in not relying too heavily on CGI effects where possible, which Jon Faverau is not so keen on using and much more prefers of the real models effects, and with his professional helm in displaying a wizardly command of the house interiors, keeping the action tightly focused, sometimes to the point of claustrophobia, with only brief cutaways to the staggering sights just outside the window.
Jon Favreau is really good with comedy and knows how to frighten the grown-ups at the same time. Also equally good is the performances of all the actors that are anything but annoying. In fact, they are charming, without being too cute, and without being too show-off. As a sleeper success, ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ might bring back board games into fashion. You never know and it is so much more fun than Monopoly!
So to round off with this review, you really get a brilliant witty script that generates lots of laughs, especially from the cryonic freezing of the boys' sister, but there are also very touching moments too, like the revelation of can-do Astronaut Dax Shepard's true identity. Having the entire universe just outside their front door that creates huge imaginative scope, while the terrific retro Dan Dare-style designed board game matches the film's refreshing reliance on old-school special effects. Jon Favreau brings a delightful sense of childlike wonder to this brilliant stellar comic-book style fantasy adventure that offers lots of fun, brilliant scares and an equally wonderful adventurous sci-fi film for all age groups.
Blu-ray Image Quality – The 10th Anniversary Edition of ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ finally appears back onto this superb and brilliant upgraded Blu-ray disc that has an eye-catching and stunning 1080p encoded image and has also an equally brilliant 1.85:1 aspect ratio transfer from SONY, that will knock the socks off you. SONY studio simply brings you it's a beautifully filmic transfer that offers pristine detailing across the board and in every environment, whether the bright outdoor shots of the family on the front lawn, the warm wooden-accented studio built interiors inside the home, or the crisp star fields of outer space. The transfer is naturally sharp and very crisp; the image retains its strong detailing and accuracy even out to a distance, and it's made all the better by the retention of a fine layer of film grain and especially the colour palette skin tones and the black levels are rich and exhibit great shadow detail and delivers the best-looking Blu-ray disc of this original 2005 film.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – The 10th Anniversary Edition of ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is every bit the match for the crisp image visuals. The picture enjoys a big, sweeping, even heroic old-time Science Fiction style music score by the brilliant John Debney that features seamless and rich delivery, natural spacing, and plenty of surround support. The entire soundstage is constantly engaged in the film's many action sequences, with sound effects traversing here and there and everywhere, never losing their authority or clarity as they bombard the listening area with sonic goodness, whether meteorites devastating the house, a robot tearing through it, or aliens shooting deadly projectiles into the now space-based abode. This is an exciting, well-executed soundtrack that is the perfect complement to all age groups with this totally brilliant boisterous sci-fi fantasy comes to life on this Blu-ray disc.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Director Jon Favreau and Co-Producer Peter Billingsley: Here we are introduced to the Director Jon Favreau and Co-Producer Peter Billingsley and are here to talk about the film ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE.’ Jon Favreau says that Peter has worked with Jon on several projects like the TV Show ‘Dinner for Five’ [2001-2005], Peter also worked with Jon on the film ‘ELF’ [2003] where Jon Favreau did a cameo role in that film, as he did in the film ‘The Break-Up’ [2006]. Peter was also Co-producer on the film ‘MAID’ [2001]. While the film starts, Jon really praisea the Title sequence that was produced by Kyle Cooper [Title Designer: Main Titles and Prologue] on his computer at home, who also has also directed over 150 film title sequences, and has been credited with "almost single-handedly revitalising the main-title sequence as an art form." As we get into the film and see the outside shot on the lawn with the Dad and the two brothers, Jon points out the car parked in the road, which was a 1963 Comet Convertible and was the same car used in Jon’s film ‘SWINGERS’ [1996]. Jon also felt proud of the special work of the interior of the house and especially when you can see through the windows of the outside, that you think is the real outside, but in fact was all shot on the film set and is always concerned about false looking outside shots in a studio film set, that he really praises Guillermo Navarro (Director of Photography) for making it look realistic. Jon also praised actor Tim Robbins, who he thought was brilliant with just two weeks work on the film. They both talk about the part in the film when Dax Shepard the Astronaut is in the house and working with the brothers with the metal game, but start screaming at each other and tells them to both shut up and grow up and when Jon viewed the film in the cinema, saw how the audience reacted to that particular scene and all shouted at the screen for the brothers to shut up, and personally I did not like those scenes with the brothers always shouting and arguing up to about half way in the film. Jon talks about the cost of making the film that came to roughly $65 million and felt it was not a lot, compared today’s cost of making films and he quotes about the Harry Potter No.4 film, which was shown a week before Jon’s film came out in the cinemas and he quotes that that particular Harry Potter film was made for $280 million. When the boys reprograms the robot and shoots into one of the Zargons ship and is blown up, Jon mentions that the explosion effects were done by the guy who worked on the first ‘STAR WARS’ film, who created the special exploding effects. Jon also informs us that Frank Oz came in as a favour to do the voice of the robot. Jon also talks about Paul Simon and the actual song that is performed with the end credits, and was so honoured and also says what a great song it was. Jon actually took the finished film to show Paul Simon and his brother, because Paul wanted to see where his song appeared in the film and that Paul and his brother loved the film, but Jon also moans about how many people were involved with the film and how long it takes to rol up the screen, but Peter Billingsley point out that by law they have to be all include and of course Jon agreed. And so ends a really jolly audio commentary, but one annoying thing is that Jon kept going on about watching the DVD, well as this was a 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray, why couldn’t they have got Jon and Peter back in the studio to do a new audio commentary edit where they mention that they were watching the Blu-ray disc, which is such a shame, still despite this, it was a really fun audio commentary and not to be missed.
Special Feature: Race to the Black Planet [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [11:55] This is a look behind-the-scenes of the making of ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ and the director Jon Faverau takes us on that journey. Here Jon Faverau talks about wanting to do most of the effects on the actual film set, but also to eventually add some CGI effects with the finished film, because it is so much better when the actors experience say like all the explosions around them, whereas with CGI effects the actors would not react in the same way., because Jon Faverau wants to make it more realistic, whereas with too much CGI effects, makes the film look like a video game, because Jon Faverau wanted it to look more like a Steven Spielberg sci-fi film. Next up is Dax Shepherd [Spaceman] and Peter Billingsley [Co-producer] who also much prefers the real on set effects, than having 100% CGI effects, as again you get a much better reaction when say an explosion goes off. You get to see the actual house on a special rig, as this is what Jon Faverau wanted, as that way he had more control over what effects he wanted to happen to the house and you see it in action for real, especially when you see scenes of the actual house shaking, as Jon Faverau did not want the actual camera shaking. Joe Bauer [Visual Effects Supervisor] informs us that with the shaking of the house, they can create a 9.1 earthquake effect, Joseph B. Conmy IV [Visual Effects Supervisor] also informs us what the gimbal rig actual does with the shaking effects and is all controlled by a computer. Jon G. Belyeu [Special Effects Supervisor] talks about the “Zargons” harpoon effects, which you get to actual see while it was being filmed, which is a totally brilliant to watch in action and Josh Hutcherson [Walter] also gets very animated talking about the effects of the harpoon while on the set. Jonah Bobo [Danny] talks about the amazing meteor effects and how he loved reacting to them. But what was nice is that everyone praised Jon Faverau and what a joy it was to work with him, as he is the old school type director and loves getting involved with the actors, but he also informs us that despite his stance on CGI, he is not adverse to some modern techniques in film making.
Special Feature: The Right Moves [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [14:56] With this special feature, it is mainly about the two young actors and the adventure that had with the metal board game. Jon Faverau talks about how the two young actors got along so well together, despite their on screen presence where they were always battling against each other. We also get to see the actual “ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE” book by Author Chris Van Allsburg and Jon Faverau who get to read briefly, and Jon Faverau was keen to turn it into a screenplay and with the beautiful stunning illustrations helped to expand the films potential and William Teitler [Producer] tells us that they wanted to as much as they could to stick to the original story in the book, but to also teak it a bit. But Jon Faverau wanted to go much further by delving into expanding the emotional journey of the two brothers, but one bit of information we hear is that they decided to add a Sister, as they were worried about two young boys left alone in the house without their father there, and Tim Robbins was very keen to appear in the film. Peter Billingsley [Co-producer] informs us that Jon Faverau has a real flare for sci-fi genre, especially bringing to the screen and in being totally professional in what he excels in his art and how pleased Jon Faverau was in making you believe that the actual house was floating in space, which was all done very professionally by Guillermo Navarro [Director of Photography] which Jon Faverau was so pleased he was able to get this person involved in the film. Tom Harper [Stunt Coordinator] explains about all the months of rehearsals to get everything just right for the actual film shoot and how everyone was very impressed with the two young actors and there performances, which Jon Faverau also praises big time. All in all this was a very nice special feature.
Special Feature: The Cast [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [12:50] Here we again we get to see extensive behind-the-scene action, plus we get to see some rare video auditions with the two young actors. Contributions include: Jon Favreau [Director]; Tim Robbins [Dad]; Peter Billingsley [Co-producer]; Avy Kaufman [Casting Director]; Jonah Bobo [Danny]; William Teitler [Producer]; Kristen Stewart [Lisa]; Dax Shepard [Astronaut] and Josh Hutcherson [Walter], but we also get extensive clips from the film.
Special Feature: Miniatures [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:48] Here we get extensive look at all the miniatures that was used, like the house, which Jon Favreau [Director] and Joe Bauer [Visual Effects Supervisor] who inform us that they really only like to work with miniature models, as they feel they are more realistic, than to do 100% CGI effects. We also get lots of views of the miniatures in action and as well as comments from Michael Joyce [Miniature Supervisor]. We also get a sort of slide show of the actual house being built that goes on the rig, and Jon Faverau was totally blown away with the house and how fantastic it looked. We also get to see the miniature “Zorgons” spaceships and Bob Hurrie [Producer of Cinema Production Services] wanted the spaceships to hark back to the days of the old Flash Gordon films. Everyone thought the spaceship models really looked. So all in all this was another fascinating and very interesting special feature that was so informative.
Special Feature: The World of Chris Van Allsburg [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [12:52] Here we have a really fascinating and personal insight into the Author Chris Van Allsburg, who is the author of the books “ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE,” “THE POLAR EXPRESS” and “TWO BAD ANTS.” Chris Van Allsburg also talks about his past and what he wanted to do with his life. We also get to view some more stunning illustrations done by Chris Van Allsburg, which are “Just a Dream;” “The Garden of Abdul Gasazi;” “The Mysteries of Harris Burdick;” “The Wreck of the Zephyr” and “Jumanji;” “Polar Express” and “The Widow’s Broom.” We also get to view some of Chris Van Allsburg early work into his model sculptures that were produced in Wood, Waxed Terracotta and bronze, which we get to see and are entitled “Obelish in a Strong Wind” [1971]; “Event at the Observatory” [1974]; “Titanic Sinking” [1971] and “Cones Suffering Impact” [1974]. Author Chris Van Allsburg was very excited when the director Jon Faverau offered to turn his book “ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE” into a film, but at the same time he is worried how the film will be translated from his book, and will they treat the author with respect and also worried how the film will turn out, especially in the hands of the Director and Screenwriter, but eventually when Chris Van Allsburg actually saw the film, he was really pleased with the results. And so ends another fascinating special feature, especially looking at the fascinating world of illustrator/author Chris Van Allsburg and hearing talk about his life and work, you really find out what a really lovely person he is and is also so genuine and a totally viewing pleasure.
Special Feature: Zargons, Robots and Frozen Lisa [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [16:42] With this special feature we take a look at behind-the-scenes of workings of trick photography for this film and especially what work went into making Zargons, the 8 feet Robot and Frozen Lisa. At the same time we finally get the views of Stan Winston [Stan Winston Studios] and talking about his work on the film ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE,’ and Jon Faverau and Shane Mahan [Animatronics Supervisor] were both very enamoured by Stan Winston’s work on his film. Stan Winston made all the interiors for the Zargons spaceship, the actual “Zargons” costumes that the stuntmen wear, but also the Robot. We also get to see in detail how they went about making Lisa frozen and we see how it was done in such a clever way. But as a final epitaph to Stan Winston, I thought you might like to read the final comment Stan made at the end of this special feature about working on this film, that was so good and especially in relation to working with models, people in costumes and other actors and says, “any great actor will tell you that 50% of any acting is reacting, the best actors will tell you their best performances come from acting with another good actor and imagine doing their best performance with an actor there and then, so these are tools we’re creating the performance for these characters, but there are also tools for the actors, and it brings a reality to this movie, reacting to what is physical in front of the actor, that is why I am excited, especially with a terrific script, got an amazing imaginative director, we also have great actors, and we have been able to create characters in a way that no one has seen before, it is a kind of slam dunk in it?” And so ends another brilliant special feature at a look behind-the-scenes, especially on the making of the models for the Zargons, Robots and Frozen Lisa, which was also so fascinating and really interesting is seeing the progress of how to create something that we all tend to take for granted.
Special Feature: Making the Game [2006] [480i] [1.37:1] [14:00] We start off with several clips from the film, relating to the “ZATHURA” tin metal game, that the older brother calls “lame.” We get again hear personal views from Jon Faverau on what he wanted to achieve in making the metal tin game look real and not how originally in the book the children used dice. Jon Faverau wanted it to look like it was a post war Japanese pressed mass produced tin game that had a lot of spirit and intrigue. To make it look realistic they called in Phil Saunders [Illustrator] to produce some detailed illustrations on what it should look like, and Phil Saunders got his inspirations from the comic books of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. But they also wanted a design for the “skate key” and after several drawing finally came up with the winning design, as well as the actual tin metal game. So when Phil Saunders showed his final illustration concept designs, Michael Du Luca and Jon Faverau all fell in love with the design and it was now up to Russell Bobitt [Property Master] to come up with the finished project, but wondered with the actual tin metal game how he could come up with the final 5 elements for the game you actually see in the film. As to the actual metal game that worked in the film, for a start you had Russell Bobitt with a hand held remote control unit to actual work the machine when the two brothers interacted with it and especially when the cards shoot out of the metal game, this was done with an ATM credit card machine motor. As to the end of the game the big ball spins at high speed that creates the black hole, and this was done by three guys underneath the rig that held the metal game in place. And finally, we hear the process that went into making the actual box that held the metal game and a lot of hard work went into making it look old and well used. And so ends another fascinating special feature into the process of making the actual “ZATHURA” metal game, especially how the two young actors reacted to it and who wanted to keep it for real. But overall it was a well worth view and totally enjoyable to watch.
Special Feature: ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ Motion Storybook as Read by Author Chris Van Allsburg [2015] [1080p] [1.77:1] [17:38] This is totally awesome and fantastic at the same time, as the Author Chris Van Allsburg does a stunning and brilliant job in bring the said book alive, because what you get is to view is the fantastic and stunning Black-and-White illustrations of Chris Van Allsburg, but at the same time we get to see the illustrations become animated, to make the whole experience of the book come alive in such a fantastic brilliant way and gets from me a definite 10 out of 10 star rating and it is a definite MUST view. I cannot praise the brilliant Author Chris Van Allsburg in the way he reads the book out in a really interesting and dramatic way and it is a totally unique and fascinating experience and anyone is either blind or partially sighted would understand what is actually happening on the TV screen, and I wish they would do more of this sort of thing, especially when they turn a book into a film, that eventually ends up on the extras of a Blu-ray disc. I can tell you that the concept is just a brilliant idea and who ever thought this idea up should get some kind of Award. But as to the actual Audio/Visual presentation, this should also get a prestige’s Award. One other bonus with this presentation is that you get the John Debney especially composed brilliant composed soundtrack music in the background and makes watching this brilliant Audio/Visual presentation by Author Chris Van Allsburg a much more awesome atmospheric experience!
Special Feature: Race Through Space: Virtual Board Game [2015] [1080p] [1.77:1] Blast off to outer space in this two-player virtual board game! Challenge a friend to see who can reach ZATHURA first by answering trivia questions, but along the way beware of meteor showers, black holes, and most importantly Zargons! Can you reach ZATHURA and turn the world back to normal? If so, then you click on LAUNCH! Next up is the ZATHURA Introduction: Prepare to be rocket launched into the mysteries of outer space! Unfortunately, getting there is the easy part . . . it will take all of your knowledge and a whole lot of luck, to avoid the Zargons, reach ZATHURA, and make it back home to Earth. This is a totally brilliant game and I had loads of fun participating with it and you will get a totally joyous experience in playing the ZATHURA game and you should try and get your friends to participate with you, as they will be also totally fascinated like I was and you never ever get bored at all with the experience. On top of all that you get the awesome brilliant composed soundtrack in the background to make you enjoy the experience even more!
‘GOOSEBUMPS’ Theatrical Trailer [2015] [1080p] [1.85:1] [3:00] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for ‘GOOSEBUMPS.’
Special Feature: The Cast of ‘GOOSEBUMPS’ reflects on ‘ZATHURA’ [2015] [1080p] [1.85:1] [5:18] Here we find actors Dylan Minnette and Ryan Lee, who were attending the “BookCon” in New York City where they discuss the film ‘GOOSEBUMPS’ which they appear in the film. They also discuss the film ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ and their favourite scenes in that film, which we get to see some clips from that film. We also get to see the Theatrical Trailer again of ‘GOOSEBUMPS.’ I personally thought this feature was a complete waste of time, as we did not hear any kind of new information and I thought Dylan Minnette and Ryan Lee had no personality at all and to my mind the film looked really terrible, even with the CGI effects of the monsters, and I will definitely not be paying good money to go and see it at the cinema or even buy the Blu-ray disc.
ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ Theatrical Trailer [2005] [1080p] [1.85:1] [2:32] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE.’
Finally, ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ is not just a follow up to the film 'JUMANJI' especially for people new to the brilliant Author Chris Van Allsburg books that are brought to life via the silver screen, and in fact it is a wholly totally unique, and thoroughly entertaining and thoughtful sci-fi Jon Favreau feature film that understands the often tense dynamic experience that exists between brothers, who are competitive at times, where brothers tend to vie for their parent's attention. They try to outdo each other, and they've learned the art of manipulation in its finest and most destructive forms. It's actually pretty amazing how much the relationship between Walter and Danny resembles real-life relationships between two siblings with an axe to grind. The audio is a fantastic real treat, and especially transporting you to outer space on a thrilling ride of fun and explosions. Along with its lengthy and informative special features, and I can inform you that ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ comes totally with a definitely and worthy 5 star rating. ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ is one of those rare sci-fi films that just somehow gets everything just right, and a sci-fi film that is massively entertaining, relaxing, and infinitely watchable and this SONY's Blu-ray release of ‘ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE’ which in my opinion is also technically flawless. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
