We are about to circle into a year since the pandemic has hit our worlds. With it, so much has changed, and just as we start to feel like we’re getting used to the new normal, as bad as it is, something else pops up. 

We have the COVID-19 virus, the murder bees popped up to give us a scare, we’ve had civil unrest, and we’ve dealt with a political year that’s had turmoil we never expected, too. Basically, the whole 2020 year has felt like a bad dream. The year has felt like something from horror movies and not real life. And it’s been compared to the children’s book turned movie franchise Jumanji. 

If you haven’t seen Jumanji, first, you need to go watch it now, and second, it’s the perfect metaphor for the 2020 year. The adventure drama movie follows kids as they play a game (in the 1995 original, it’s a board game, but in the new series, beginning in 2017, it’s a video game). When something happens in the game, it also happens in real life. 

In the original movie, starring Robin Williams, the troublesome things in the board game reflect in the kids’ real life. In the new movie, starring Dwayne Johnson, the kids are sucked into another realm to navigate the troubling situations. 

Specifically, in the original movie, jungle animals ran wild through their city streets, lions are let loose on the house, and the boy turns into an animal. In the new movie, the characters have their bodies morphed into video game avatars. The main goal was to return a stone to the mountain while navigating the strange jungle world. 

Basically, they were all facing situations that seemed otherworldly — because they were. At the end of both games, when the kids had won and completed all their goals, they would yell “Jumanji” to signal all the wild stuff to end. 

It should come as no surprise that people have drawn parallels between the movie Jumanji and the real life of 2020. With wild things happening, seemingly just when things calm down, something else pops up. It’s been a year that almost doesn’t feel real, and people are encouraging others to yell “Jumanji” at the stroke of midnight to signal that we’re done with this game. 

“Look, I know there’s a lot folks aren’t agreeing on this year, but can we all just get along long enough to shout Jumanji at midnight and end this year’s game?!” Zelda, daughter of the late Robin Williams, tweeted.

Happy New Year everyone, and don’t forget to end this year properly! And, fingers crossed that 2021 will be kinder on us all.