The violence can be scary to very young kids, but it is appropriate for kids 9 and up with 9- and 10-year-olds watching it with an adult. Despite the violence, there are great messages, like overcoming fear, and even when you do not want to do something, you need to get it done.

Alan's parents are still alive, and Alan is successfully running the family business. Alan and Sarah meet Judy, Peter, and their parents Jim and Martha for the first time during a Christmas party. Alan offers a job to Jim and convinces them to cancel their ski trip, averting their deaths in the previous timeline.

The main criticism of the film seems to stem from the notion that, while Jumanji's admittedly impressive special effects are a blast and do a great job immersing the viewer in the film's fantasy world, they also tend to overwhelm the story and push the human characters to the side.

The film is based on the children's book Zathura, also written by Van Allsburg, which was a sequel to the Jumanji novel. Despite the film's placement within the same fictional universe, director Jon Favreau discourages the notion that the film is a direct sequel, having not particularly liked Jumanji.