Van Pelt

"You miserable coward! Come back and face me like a man!"

- Van Pelt

Van Pelt is the main antagonist of the 1995 live action fantasy film Jumanji and its 2017 sequel Welcome to the Jungle. He also appears in the animated series based on the film.

In the 1995 film, Van Pelt is portrayed a cunning, murderous, destructive, and traitorous hunter who resides within the cursed board game, Jumanji. As a game hunter, he wears a hunter's uniform with a cape and pith helmet. He is also one of the game's main dangers and his face is carved on the top left corner of one of the lids of the game box. This incarnation of Van Pelt serves as the basis of his appearance in the animated series.

For Welcome to the Jungle, which sees the board game transform into a video game, Van Pelt is given the surname Russel and appears as a corrupt explorer who seeks to gain possession of the Jaguar's Eye, a powerful jewel in Jumanji, and kill anyone who tries to take it from him. Through contact with the jewel, Van Pelt gains the ability to control wildlife and is also assisted by army of henchmen.

In the 1995 film, he was portrayed by Jonathan Hyde, who also played Alan's father, Sam Parrish in the film. Bobby Cannavale portrayed Van Pelt in Welcome to the Jungle. In the animated series, he was voiced by Sherman Howard.

1995 Film
Van Pelt is first introduced after one of Alan's turns on Jumanji, which releases the hunter, who immediately begins chasing him. He tells Sarah that he did not shoot her because "You didn't roll the dice. Alan did" implying he is hunting down Alan because Alan released him from the game (as part of the rules). It can also be noted that part of the reason why Van Pelt is hunting him down because Alan is not man enough to face him, since Alan is always running away from him like a coward.

After he runs out of bullets, he switches his weapon at a gun shop with a sniper and silencer because his previous weapon's bullets had stopped being produced in 1903. He tries to shoot Alan from a distance when he is taken in by a police officer (his childhood friend), then chases after Sarah and the kids to steal the game so Alan will come to him for it, but his plan is once again foiled by Peter and later Alan. His next appearance is at the climax, when he holds both Alan and Sarah at gunpoint when he is about to throw the dice.

When Van Pelt tells him to drop the dice, he orders Alan to start running again so that he can chase him. However, Alan refuses to run off this time, admitting that even though he is still scared, he no longer finds in his heart to run away from what he's afraid of and instead face it to get it over with. Impressed, Van Pelt acknowledges Alan of acting like a real man, and ask for any last words before he pulls the trigger. Before his death, it was then the dice gave in the right number that allows Alan to win the game, and once he says "Jumanji", all of the animals and dangers of the game are sucked back into it by tornado-force winds, including Van Pelt himself, much to his dismay.

TV series
Van Pelt returns as a recurring antagonist in the animated series based on the movie. He is revealed to be a part of the game, and when he actually dies in an episode, Peter starts to become him little by little, but is saved by Alan and Judy. His later appearances are usually about hunting the heroes and failing constantly. Unlike his movie version, who is trustworthy and honorable, despite his ruthlessness, this version of the character is noticeably more certifiable, deranged, and cruel.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Main Article: Russel Van Pelt

Van Pelt appears as the main antagonist of the 2017 sequel film, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. In this film, due to Jumanji reincarnating itself as a videogame, Van Pelt is also reimagined, this time as a corrupt explorer seeking to obtain a powerful gem called the Jaguar's Eye.

Personality
In the 1995 film and the animated series, Van Pelt is truly merciless, traitorous, destructive, bloodthirsty, uncaring, and cruel, trying at all costs to hunt his prey to the very end. He is very murderous, sanguinary, treacherous, and manipulative, so he loves to hunts men and animals to display them on his wall. His constant attempts of hunting Alan might be associated to Alan's cowardice, or Van Pelt's tastes for human hunting. In the series, as he is part of the game and, unlike the movie, never leaves the jungle, his moral and role are even more twisted. This personality is shared by his Welcome to the Jungle counterpart, although his professional background and objective differ; as an explorer, his goal is to possess the Jaguar's Eye at any cost.

As he is a vital part of the game's mechanic in the animated series, if he somehow dies (he can, indeed, die in the animated series, although it is very difficult to do so), the victor will immediately take his role (which almost happened to Peter). Also, later in the series, and not much unlike the movie, he begins to learn the game's mechanics. Although, in this case, since he never left the jungle, he understands it a little more, knowing exactly how to act according to the rules and even use it to his advantage. His most commonly used word is "Blast!", particularly when something goes wrong.

Quotes
"Not good enough Sonny Jim! Coming, ready or not!"

- Van Pelt

"Blast!"

- Van Pelt

"Blast it all!"

- Van Pelt

"Don't move or I'll blow your blinking brains out!"

- Van Pelt

"I can inflict more pain than you can possibly imagine."

- Van Pelt

"Good lad, you're finally acting like a man. Any last words?"

- Van Pelt's last words to Alan

"If there's one thing I love, it's a good hunt."

- Van Pelt