Prolific children’s book writer, Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, The Polar Express), and his partner, producer William Teitler, initially showed the general idea for Zathura: A Space Adventureto Columbia Pictures just after he conceived the book.

“We brought it to Amy Pascal, Matt Tolmach and Amy Baer and they flipped. They absolutely loved it,” recalls Teitler. “Once Chris finished writing the book, the screenwriters David Koepp & John Kamps read it and felt they had a very clear vision of how it should be adapted it to the screen.”

“Jumanji took seven years from the first time we optioned it to the time it actually got released,” Teitler continues. “Zathura went so much faster because everyone immediately recognized what a great concept it was for a movie.”

The challenge of adapting Zathura to the screen was the exact opposite of most literary works, which have to be compressed to accommodate a running time of about two hours. Van Allsburg’s books follow a time-honored format for children’s literature: Each book is extremely concise, 32 pages long with 14 illustrations. It makes an excellent blueprint for expansion into a full-length motion picture, giving the screenwriters a clear outline, while also allowing them a great deal of creative latitude in expanding on the source material.

“When I first read the script, I was immediately taken by how sincere the depiction of the characters was,” comments Favreau. “David (Koepp) and John (Kamps) preserved a great deal of the emotion and imagery of Chris’ book.”

Producer Mike De Luca agrees, adding, “It’s a wonderful screenplay. It expands on the book’s themes and turns it into an exciting, breathless adventure built around the story of these two bickering brothers.”

There were several reasons Favreau chose Zathura: A Space Adventure as the follow-up project to his recent holiday hit, Elf. He was he looking for a film that would be a technical challenge, but one that still enabled him to tell a rousing, spirited story with a meaningful message at its core. “I wanted Zathura to work first and foremost on a visceral level,” says Favreau, “very much in the way Steven Spielberg’s early Amblin movies did. Films like E.T. and Close Encounters and George Lucas’ Star Wars movies are the kind of sci-fi stories I grew up loving and that’s something I was eager to explore with this film. I also thought it would be fun to work with special effects, miniatures, robots, computer graphics — areas I haven’t had a chance to play with in the past. After working on Elf and having a small taste of that kind of filmmaking, Zathura seemed to be the next logical step for me to challenge myself and grow as a filmmaker.”

Another reason for taking on Zathura: A Space Adventure was more personal, Favreau continues. “I have two children now, I watch a lot of movies that are geared towards kids and this one really appealed to my sensibility. As a filmmaker, a big part of your job is to put energy into getting a message out into the world that you believe in. I like stories that offer hope and films that have responsible themes. When you’re making a movie for young people, there should be a little aspirin in the applesauce. There should be a nice message at the core.”

For Teitler, one of the rewards of being a producer, he says, is hearing that a director like Favreau, who was coming off a huge hit like Elf, was interested in taking on his project as his next directorial assignment. “As a producer, you work really hard on a project, because you love it,” says Teitler. “Part of the process is getting a strong director attached who feels as passionately about it as you do. When we heard that Jon really wanted to do the movie, it was like ‘Yes!’”

Since Favreau had worked as an independent filmmaker for years, Teitler and his fellow producer De Luca sensed that he would bring a different perspective to the material. “While I'm too old to say I grew up on the Amblin movies from the '80s, such as Back To The Future, E.T., Gremlins and Goonies, they had enough adventure in them to please the whole family,” says De Luca. “In Zathura, Jon retained that kind of wholesomeness while at the same time bringing his own special brand of irreverence to the project that makes it interesting for adults.”

Adds Teitler: “We all know that Jon has this great instinct for comedy. But he also has a great feel for the emotional heart of the story. The script already had a lot of heart and as Jon continued to develop it with the writers and the actors, he found all the emotional and comedic moments that exist in the midst of the action and adventure.”

Favreau agrees that his preparation as an actor and independent filmmaker was useful in helping him recognize that the emotional connection between the characters was a great way to move the story along. “I’m good at understanding the relationship between people,” says the director. “My background as a writer and as an actor helps me create a situation where I can work with the actors to achieve something that's true and real. And the more real the situations — even in an extraordinary set of circumstances like a house in space — the more you can ground this story in reality. That helps the audience relate and experience the adventure along with the characters.”

Once the script was ready, the arduous task of casting began. The filmmakers knew that they needed two extraordinary young actors to pull off the roles of the two central characters, Walter and Danny. “We had to find kids who would make you believe in this incredible flight of fancy,” says De Luca. “So the casting was a critical, critical part of the process.”

Though they are brothers, Walter and Danny have strongly divergent personalities, mentions Teitler. “Walter, the older boy, doesn't really hate his younger brother, but won’t give him the time of day. Still, Danny looks up to his older brother and really wants his attention and respect.”

“I wanted young actors who could improvise and react in an honest way to the circumstances,” says Favreau. “I didn’t want kids who were just going to hit their marks and scream when the monster arrived. They had to be able to expand on what was written and find the reality in it. When you’re entrusting an entire film to two young boys, you have to find the very best actors out there.”

The search was far-reaching and comprehensive, covering five cities across the U.S. and live auditions with more than 500 young boys for each of the two roles. In addition, casting director Avy Kaufman received tapes from across the country and Canada.

But it was in New York City that the production found their two leading men. Twelve-year-old, Kentucky-based Josh Hutcherson was cast as Walter, the older brother who is annoyed by his younger attention-seeking sibling and reacts with predictable irritation. “Josh is as good an actor as any I’ve ever worked with,” says Favreau. “He came in after we had seen hundreds of other kids his age and it was like getting to drive a Ferrari after having only been behind the wheel of Volkswagens. He was able to incorporate even the most subtle direction.”

Favreau was no less impressed by his other choice, seven-year-old New York-born Jonah Bobo, who was cast as Danny. “Jonah is pretty new to acting,” the director states, “but he already has a presence and a core of honesty. You can teach acting, but presence and honesty cannot be taught.”

Before signing the two young actors, Favreau made sure that both they and their parents were aware of what lay ahead. Not only would they be called on to act, but they would need to possess the physical stamina to handle the rigors of a long and complicated three-month shooting schedule. Their time on the set would be spent in harnesses, swinging from wires, running from robots and Zorgon creatures, as well as being tossed around on sets that tilted and shook.

“I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that there would be real stuff chasing the boys, that dust would be flying, wood shattering and fires on the set,” Favreau says.

For Hutcherson, the realism was exactly what made appearing in Zathura: A Space Adventure worthwhile. “It was pretty easy on the set because there really were Zorgons there chasing you,” he says. “There were real explosions and meteor showers. Because everything was so real, it was easy to get into character.”

Following her highly praised performance as Jodie Foster’s daughter in David Fincher’s suspense thriller, Panic Room, 14-year-old Kristen Stewart took on her first comedic role in Zathura: A Space Adventure as Lisa, the boys’ older sister. “It was unlike any other role I've ever played,” says Stewart. “Teen angst is kind of my genre right now, so it was great to get a chance to do comedy.”

In addition, Stewart also had to establish a believable relationship with the young actors who would be playing her kid brothers. “I have an older brother, so I'm not really used to dealing with smaller children,” she confesses. “When you're so used to being the younger sister, being bossed around and doing everything for your older brother, it's an interesting swap to be the one in charge. And I have to say, I kind of liked it,” she laughs.

Favreau acknowledges that Stewart was not anything like the character he’d originally envisioned when he first read the script. But once she read for the part, he quickly changed his mind. “She was just so luminous,” recalls Favreau, “and so very talented as an actor. She was so wonderful, that you just couldn't take your eyes off of her. I knew she had to play Lisa.”

The role of the astronaut called for an actor who could not only bring humor to the character, but also demonstrate a serious, heroic quality when he has to help the boys out of their predicament. Favreau, himself an improv-trained actor, turned to Groundlings alum Dax Shepard for the job.

Shepard, a product of the highly respected comedy troupe The Groundlings and a relative newcomer to films, was a little nervous about taking on the responsibility of being a hero. “I was scared,” Shepard admits. “I do comedy, so I’m comfortable with that. But being a hero, looking into the camera and saying, ‘This way,’ and ‘Follow me,’ I wasn’t so sure about. Fortunately, Jon was able to put me at ease. He told me that a hero doesn't have to be Tom Cruise conquering the world. Since I think that Tom Cruise conquering the world is the definition of a hero, I’m lucky that Jon is a little more flexible in his interpretation,” he laughs.

Favreau had wanted Oscar® winner Tim Robbins for the role of the family’s dedicated, if somewhat distracted father right from the start, and was thrilled when he agreed. “Tim was our first choice,” the director recalls. “He’s got a family, so I think the film was appealing to him. And when he does comedy, he always brings a lot of heart and soul to it.”

The overall quality of the script and the specific family dynamics it addresses were important factors in Robbins’ decision. He recognized that although the film was first and foremost a space adventure, it was also about the journey the family goes on — one that leads to better understanding among them.

“For the fantasy to work, it has to come out of a believable situation,” comments Robbins. “There have to be issues like in any great family movie. There has to be a path the family must take to discover, to evolve, to change. The first 20 pages of the script are really about problems and what's going on at home.”

“This is a story about how the boys come to grips with their competitive natures,” says De Luca, “and how they eventually team up and work to get themselves back home. I think all of that plays real, which allows you to buy into the fantasy elements. Part of casting Tim was an effort to maintain that verisimilitude, that reality quotient, where you feel like it's a family struggling with real issues.”

Another reason that Robbins responded so positively to the script was its universality in regards to children and their imaginations. “In your imagination you're always going other places, but you're still in your house,” according to Robbins, “imagining everything from cowboys and Indians to soldiers to space adventures. But all of that is done from the safety of your own home. In Zathura, the idea that a house travels through space taps into a common childhood fantasy, which gives it a universal quality. It’s something that almost every kid has fantasized about. We’ve all gone through this journey at some point in our house, in our living room, in our mind. This adventure actually takes them out there, and I think that's really cool.”