I used to beat the crap out of my younger brother when we were kids. I know he got some good shots in on me too, but the point isn’t who wins the fight. With young siblings, camaraderie and friendship are always mixed in varying degrees of unequal parts along with competition and jealousy.
In “Zathura: A Space Adventure,” athletic ten year-old Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and his more sensitive six year-old brother Danny (Jonah Bobo) are embroiled in this very same situation. Walter and Danny’s parents are divorced, and both kids compete for their father’s attention during a weekend at his house. They both lose out briefly to his stressful job. As Dad (Tim Robbins) is called away unexpectedly for a business meeting, he leaves them in the care of their lazy teenage sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart), who is more concerned with sleep and the mall punk rock on her iPod than what’s going on with her brothers.
To make matters worse, their entire house is transported without warning into deep space.
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Ignored by his older brother, Danny toys around with Zathura, a dusty old sci-fi board game in a nifty, 50s-looking tin box. After moving his piece forward, the game spits out a card that reads:
Meteor Shower
Take Evasive Action
Walter tears himself away from ESPN’s SportsCenter long enough to read the card to Danny, and suddenly the living room is bombarded by meteors. The adventure is on, and our heroes are both under eleven.
By establishing a clear sense of the boys’ situation before things get outlandish, “Zathura” is always able to come back to the troubled adolescent relationship that is at the core of its story. It is an important focus that director Jon Favreau (“Made,” “Elf”) is able to keep throughout the film. Now the brothers mustn’t just get along to make their Dad happy, they must work together in order to finish the game and survive in outer space.
With each new card that is drawn, another obstacle is thrown in their path. Although this is a kids’ movie, it contains some pretty hair-raising scenarios for very young ones to witness, something that will be amplified, no doubt, by the fact that the protagonists are young kids themselves. I remember being afraid watching “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” when the government agents burst into Elliot’s home in HazMat suits with guns, and “Zathura” has some of that same element as well.
The boys are terrorized not only by a giant robot (modeled after designs in early Hollywood horror/sci-fi films), but also a scary group of lizard-like aliens called Zorgons, who travel in spaceships and are attracted to heat. Like a puzzle, the brothers must use this bit of background information against the Zorgons if they are going to survive. Favreau wrenches the scare factor up pretty high for a kids’ flick, and the kids’ lives are certainly in danger. But, like “E.T.” before it, the terror forces the kids to face their inner fear and overcome their differences.
The boys receive some help from Dax Shepard, who plays an astronaut. He’s been stranded in space for years, he says, and by drawing the right card, Walter and Danny have rescued him. Although the film benefit’s from the astronaut’s presence, and his story sheds new light on the brother’s relationship, Shepard never quite connects with the young actors. He seems strange and aloof even when he’s trying to be helpful. Then again, how would you feel if you were floating in space for years?
“Zathura” has only five actors, it all takes place in one house, and packs more of a punch than it should. It’s masterstroke lies in its simplicity. The danger outweighs the humor, but the danger really works. The film’s pace rarely flags, and adults can enjoy the ride too.
I have a theory that scary situations are okay for children, as long as they are there to see them resolved happily. When she was five, my younger sister was so scared during the opening scene of “Ghostbusters” (the librarian ghost!), that my Granny had to remove her from the theater while the rest of the family watched the movie. Had she seen them vanquish the StayPuft marshmallow man, perhaps she wouldn’t still be scared of “Ghostbusters” today. I mean, has anyone seen “Bambi” lately?
“Zathura” is rated PG, but it’s the kind of film that gets a little heavy and draws on your imagination to complete the story. Since the movie rarely leaves the confines of the house, much of the action is barely glimpsed right outside the window. If I were Danny or Walter’s age, “Zathura” would have stoked my imagination like few others, and since I’m not, I’ll just tell you that my nieces and nephews loved it.
