Chris Van Allsburg’s 1981 children’s book Jumanji spawned a weirdly saleable 1995 movie in which Robin Williams escaped from a board game pursued by rhinos, elephants, monkeys and lions which then ran amok in Brantford, New Hampshire. This “continuation of the story” smartly inverts the premise of the original, welcoming us to the jungle as we follow four young players into the game, where they must meet various next-level challenges to secure their safe passage home. Wholly superior to Joe Johnston’s wildly uneven big-screen predecessor ( and indeed to Jon Favreau’s related Van Allsburg adaptation Zathura: A Space Adventure) , this crowd-pleasing romp combines boisterous action with coming-of-age comedy, all delivered in a shiny FX-laden package tailor-made for holiday audiences.