I first saw Jumanji years ago, and I decided to watch it again before watching the new, bigger-budgeted sequel.

The basic story is still cool, and Robin Williams -- as always -- owns the screen whenever he appears. But the special effects of this movie don't hold up to modern standards, and the plot is a little nonsensical.

Basically, a couple of kids in the long-ago bury something they obviously believe is dangerous. Alan Parrish, the son of a New England shoe mogul in 1969, finds the buried package, which turns out to be a board game called Jumanji. Alan (Adam Hann-Byrd) is abused by his peers and ignored by his father (Jonathan Hyde), but he's distracted from running away by both the game and a well-timed visit by his teenage crush, Sarah Whittle (Laura Bell Bundy). They play, and a couple of unlucky rolls of the dice summon a swarm of bats and suck Alan into the Jumanji jungle, where only the roll of a 5 or 8 can restore him to the world.

Unfortunately, Sarah flees (because, you know, bats) and the game goes unplayed -- and the dice unrolled -- for a few decades until it's rediscovered by kids Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) Shepherd, who have moved into Alan's old house. They begin to play, things happen, and a lucky roll of the dice brings Alan -- now aged 26 years into a bewhiskered Robin Williams -- back from Jumanji Land. They find Sarah -- who has grown into a reclusive Bonnie Hunt -- because she's needed to finish the game, which they vow to complete even though they summon monkeys, a rampaging herd of elephants, rhinoceroses and zebras, giant spiders and a murderous big game hunter into Alan's small, quiet town.

Peril abounds, and hijinks ensue, even though one wonders why the players don't just keep rolling the dice until one of them reaches the end instead of pausing so much to react to things happening around them. The action is exaggerated and the rules of the game never quite make sense, but Jumanji is still a fun movie largely because of Williams' performance (which, restricted by the script, is less over-the-top than was his norm).

It doesn't fall high on the list of movies I want to share with my kids, but I wouldn't object to watching it with them if they asked.