Synopsis

When two quarrelsome brothers discover an old board game in their basement, their house is launched into outer space. Each turn unleashes a new danger, from meteor showers and hostile creatures to shifting gravity and an astronaut stranded in orbit. To survive and return home, the boys must finish the game while learning to cooperate and put aside their rivalry.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts Chris Van Allsburg's 2002 children's book, which was created as a space-themed companion to his earlier book Jumanji. The movie functions as a standalone spin-off of the 1995 Jumanji film.

• Practical effects were emphasized throughout production. Stan Winston Studio created the robot and Zorgon creatures, while miniature spacecraft and physical set pieces were used alongside digital effects.

• The house interior was constructed on a large gimbal at Sony Pictures Studios. The rig could tilt the set dramatically during the gravity-field sequence, requiring cast and crew to work with safety cables and harnesses.

• Because the house is progressively damaged during the story, much of the film was shot in chronological order. The production generally filmed the opening and ending separately, then followed the destruction of the set as it appeared in the narrative.

• The film retains a retro, 1950s-inspired science-fiction design influenced by Van Allsburg's illustrations. Digital effects were used to extend the practical work, including the Zorgons, space environments, meteors, and portions of the robot.

• Real goats were used in the production. Their unusual four-eyed appearance was created afterward with computer-generated imagery rather than by placing the animals in makeup or prosthetics.

• The exterior of the Budwing house was filmed on Oaklawn Avenue in South Pasadena, California, while the interior scenes were shot on a constructed set at Sony Pictures Studios.