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Zathura: A Space Adventure is a 2005 science fiction adventure film based upon a 2002 science-fiction novel by Chris Van Allsburg. Zathura: A Space Adventure received positive reviews from critics, however it flopped at the box office.

Plot[]

Walter and Danny are two brothers who do not get along with each other, nor does their teenage sister, Lisa since their parents divorced. While their father is away at work and Lisa (whom he left in charge) is napping, Danny discovers an old science fiction-themed board game called Zathura in the basement. When he starts playing, the game produces a card that warns of a meteor shower.

After an actual meteor shower occurs in the living room, Walter and Danny realize the game is affecting reality and discover the house floating in outer space. Lisa thought she had overslept because of the dark sky and was preparing to go out; however, the next card put her in cryonic sleep, leaving her frozen solid. Walter and Danny learn that they must finish the game to return home and restore everything to normal.

As they continue to play, Walter and Danny overcome the dangers presented by the game, including a defective robot, passing too close to a star, and an attack by a race of reptilian aliens called Zorgons. One of Danny's turns causes an astronaut to appear, who methodically eliminates the house's heat sources, as the Zorgons are attracted to heat. The astronaut lures the Zorgons' ship away by setting the boys' couch on fire and ejecting it from the house, allowing them to follow it.

Walter demands that the astronaut leave, but Danny lets him stay. Growing increasingly agitated, Walter accuses Danny of prematurely cheating by moving his piece. When he tries to push the piece back and takes his next turn, the game reacts as if Walter were cheating and ejects him from the house, but the astronaut rescues him.

Danny apologizes to Walter, but he does not forgive him. On Walter's next turn, he receives a card that allows him to make a wish, resulting in another heated argument between the boys. The astronaut warns Walter not to make a wish out of anger. Fearing the worst, the astronaut checks on Danny, only to find him and learns that Walter merely wished for an autographed American football. The brothers question the astronaut, and he explains his origins, revealing that he and his own younger brother had played the game before. They had been fighting a lot back then and when he landed on the wish card, after an escalating fight, he wished his brother was never born. This resulted in him being stranded, as he could not finish the game without the second player. Upon hearing this, Danny and Walter finally put their differences aside.

Lisa awakens from her stasis and turns up the heat, still oblivious to the situation. The Zorgons return and anchor their ships to the house. She finally discovers the predicament, and the quartet hides, only to realize they have left the game behind. Danny finds the game aboard one of the Zorgon ships but is spotted by the Zorgons. Walter uses a "Reprogram" card he had drawn earlier to fix the robot, which attacks the Zorgons instead, causing them to retreat.

Walter receives another wish card and uses it to bring the astronaut's brother back into existence. The astronaut reveals that he is an older version of Walter from an alternate timeline and commends his present self for making a better choice than he did. As the timeline changes, the astronaut and the alternate Danny merge.

The Zorgons return to the house with a large fleet, intending to destroy it. When Danny wins the game, it is revealed that Zathura is a black hole, which consumes the Zorgons' fleet and the house. The siblings find themselves back in the house exactly as it was before the brothers started the game, just as their father returns home. The brothers finally bond and promise to each other and Lisa not to tell anyone about the game and their adventure.

Cast[]


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