Iloura unlocks the gates of Jumanji

A full-throttle reboot of the 90’s cult fantasy movie, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle inverts the premise of the original, inviting us to follow a group of teens inside a high-stakes jungle battle where beating the game is a matter of survival. Sony Pictures’ Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle boasts action-packed scenes thanks to Iloura’s meticulous work on jaw-dropping visual effects, as the characters strive to restore a precious gem to its rightful place atop a mountain,

Serving as a principal VFX facility for the film, Iloura worked with Jake Kasdan and production VFX Supervisor Jerome Chen over the course of a year to deliver 374 key shots in the movie.  

The ‘albino rhino’ sequence in which the heroes – played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan – become trapped in a ravine after their helicopter is damaged and must find a way to outrun a herd of stampeding rhinos is almost entirely CG and among the most complex sequences in Iloura’s history.

Iloura VFX Supervisor Glenn Melenhorst explained: “The ravine environment was completely CG, and in terms of sheer assets it was astounding. We had millions and millions of pebbles, boulders, trees, leaf litter, and so on, and every single element was built and rendered. We ran ground interaction simulations to determine how each individual asset would behave both in relation to the stampede and to the chopper blades kicking things up; plus we did simulations on dust swirling up from the ground and smoke rising from the chopper and coiling around the blades. And on top of these millions of environmental elements, we also had fully CG rhinos, a fully CG helicopter, and often, digital doubles of the cast.”

Iloura Animation Supervisor Nicholas Tripodi led the team in developing the look and behavior of the rhinos. Using real world rhinos as reference, artists ultimately created a hybrid look that incorporated elements from various rhino species, plus some creative liberties to fit within the fantastic video game world of the film. 

“We worked with Jake and Jerome to refine the look of the ‘albino rhinos,’ iterating on particular details such as the armor-like plating of their skin, and how white their skin should be,” explained Tripodi. “It was also a big challenge to nail the rhinos’ movements – to realistically keep up with the helicopter, even flying at the slowest speeds, we had to make the rhinos run about three or four times faster than they would in reality. It was a balancing act to achieve that speed while still conveying the heaviness of the animals and making it feel authentic.”

Melenhorst and team designed the ravine to contrast the lush jungle setting seen in most of the film. A dry riverbed filled with crumbling rocks and decaying trees, the ravine offers a darker, more somber location. Through a combination of live action footage including a helicopter from the Hawaii-based set, and the cast sitting in a gimbal in the studio, Iloura artists digitally recreated the helicopter’s exterior and interior, and created digital doubles of the leads as needed. Iloura built its own digital doubles to achieve the fidelity required for close-up shots.

Iloura also created VFX for the transitions in and out of the video game world, a CG waterfall and jungle set extensions, a digital matte painting for the reveal of Berber City, and CG creatures including a vulture that appears across several shots.

An internationally sought-after animation and visual effects studio based in Melbourne and Sydney, Iloura houses a collective of award-winning animation and VFX artists who are motivated by creativity and technical innovation, and passionate about producing the best impact on screen. Their impressive portfolio includes high profile international productions such as Game of Thrones ‘The Spoils of War’, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ghost in the Shell, The Leftovers, Deepwater Horizon and Ghostbusters. Visit their website for further information on their work.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was supported through Film Victoria’s Production Incentive Attraction Fund – Post production, Digital and Visual Effects (PIAF - PDV).