60 Fun Facts About Jumanji

Who plays the adult Alan Parrish in the 1995 film?

TriStar would only finance the film on condition he starred, and he turned down the first script before rewrites won him over.

Who directed the 1995 film Jumanji?

He had reservations about casting the star because of his reputation for improvising, but the actor stuck to the tightly structured script.

The 1995 film is based on a 1981 picture book by which author?

He won the Caldecott Medal for it, and again for The Polar Express four years later.

In which fictional New Hampshire town is Jumanji set?

Keene, New Hampshire stood in for the town during filming in late 1994.

For how many years is Alan trapped inside the game?

He vanishes in 1969 and is released in 1995, the year the film came out.

What kind of business does Alan's father Sam run in town?

Its closure after Sam abandons it to search for his son sends the whole town into decline.

Who plays Judy Shepherd?

She had already played the child vampire Claudia in Interview with the Vampire the year before.

What roll of the dice releases the lion and the adult Alan?

In the book, by contrast, the lion arrives when Peter rolls a seven.

Which sound leads young Alan to the buried game at a construction site?

The same sound is heard by two French-speaking girls on a beach in the film's final shot.

How long had the game been buried when Alan dug it up in 1969?

The film's ending has Alan and Sarah throw it into a river, only for it to wash up on a beach.

Peter is gradually transformed into what animal for cheating at the game?

Bradley Pierce spent three and a half hours in prosthetic makeup every day for two and a half months to film it.

What was Sarah Whittle doing for a living when Alan, Judy and Peter track her down in 1995?

Bonnie Hunt and Robin Williams were allowed to shoot duplicate improvised takes of their scenes together.

Which actor plays both the hunter Van Pelt and Alan's father Sam Parrish?

The doubling is deliberate: the hunter who stalks Alan through the film wears his stern father's face.

What job does Carl Bentley hold in 1995 after being fired by Sam Parrish in 1969?

David Alan Grier plays him; in the reset timeline he is rehired as a trusted employee once Alan admits he damaged the shoe.

Who plays Aunt Nora, Judy and Peter's guardian?

She returned for a cameo at the end of Jumanji: The Next Level in 2019.

How did Judy and Peter's parents die the previous winter?

In the reset ending Alan talks their parents out of the trip, averting their deaths.

Judy's roll summons a stampede that includes which unlikely birds?

The 2019 sequel would open with an ostrich stampede instead.

Who composed the score for the 1995 film?

He would win two Oscars two years later for Titanic.

Which visual effects house created the film's computer-generated animals?

Two new software tools were written for the film, one for animal facial expressions and one for realistic digital hair on the monkeys and lion.

What was the name of the ILM software written to give the CG animals realistic facial expressions?

The other new program created digital hair for the first time, used on the monkeys and lion.

Which New Hampshire town stood in for the film's fictional setting during filming?

An old woolen mill in North Berwick, Maine played the Parrish shoe factory, and much of the rest was shot in Vancouver.

Which studio released the 1995 film?

The studio agreed to finance the film only on condition that Robin Williams took the lead.

Roughly how much did the 1995 film gross worldwide?

About $101 million came from the US and Canada and $162 million from overseas.

What was the 1995 film's production budget?

It opened at number one with roughly $11 million in its first weekend.

Which critic gave the film 1.5 stars, calling it as suitable for small children as Jaws?

He specifically objected to the film's PG rating and to Peter's monkey transformation, which he said made him look like a Wolf Man.

What Rotten Tomatoes score did the 1995 film hold as of 2025?

Its consensus calls it a feast for the eyes with a somewhat malnourished plot.

Where did the film hold its premiere on December 10, 1995?

That is where Sony Pictures Entertainment, TriStar's parent company, was based.

Where does the 1995 film rank among best-selling home videos in the US for 1996?

In the UK the DVD was later sold bundled with a Jumanji board game.

Between which years did the animated Jumanji TV series air?

In the series Alan is sucked into the game in 1972 rather than 1969, and Sarah Whittle never appears.

Which 2005 film was marketed as a spiritual successor to Jumanji, based on another Van Allsburg book?

Its two young heroes, Danny and Walter, are the boys seen carrying the game away at the end of the original book.

Which effects supervisor on Jumanji was hired to direct a sequel planned for Christmas 2000, later cancelled?

The sequel idea only resurfaced in 2012, and finally arrived in 2017 with a new director and cast.

In the original 1981 book, what does the game's warning say it will not be over until one player reaches?

Judy finally wins by rolling a twelve and shouting the game's name as loud as she can.

In the book, Peter falls asleep after being bitten by which insect?

His mother later assumes both children have come down with sleeping sickness when they doze off over a puzzle.

Which animal from the book was left out of the 1995 film, replaced by crocodiles in the monsoon scene?

In the book it wraps itself around a clock on the mantelpiece.

According to Van Allsburg, where did the word Jumanji come from?

He wanted something slightly exotic that evoked the idea of the jungle, and it simply came to him.

The author of Jumanji won the Caldecott Medal for it and for which other book?

Both books became films, and he served as executive producer on the 2004 Polar Express movie.

Which surname do the boys who carry the game off at the end of the book share?

Danny and Walter turn up as the heroes of Van Allsburg's 2002 sequel, Zathura.

In Welcome to the Jungle, Jumanji has transformed itself into what?

Teenager Alex Vreeke sets the board game aside in 1996 and finds it changed that night.

Who directed Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?

He returned for The Next Level in 2019.

What is the name of Dwayne Johnson's avatar in Welcome to the Jungle?

Nicknamed Smolder, the archaeologist has no weaknesses at all, at least in the first film.

Which teenager is transformed into Jack Black's avatar, Professor Shelly Oberon?

The popular, phone-obsessed girl spends the film as an overweight male cartographer, and Alex later names his daughter after her.

What weakness does Kevin Hart's avatar Mouse Finbar have, alongside strength and speed?

He is the zoologist and weapons carrier of the group.

What is the magical jewel that must be returned to end the curse in Welcome to the Jungle?

Bobby Cannavale's corrupt archaeologist Russell Van Pelt stole it and gained control of the jungle's animals.

Nick Jonas plays Alex Vreeke, who has been trapped in the game since which year?

His avatar is the pilot Seaplane McDonough, and he lives in a treehouse Alan Parrish built during his own years inside.

Where did principal photography on Welcome to the Jungle begin in September 2016?

Most of it was shot at the Kualoa Ranch nature reserve, before wrapping in Atlanta that December.

Approximately how much did Welcome to the Jungle gross worldwide?

It was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2017 and briefly became Sony's biggest domestic earner ever, passing 2002's Spider-Man.

Which film kept Welcome to the Jungle in second place at the US box office on its opening weekend?

It then rose 38 percent in its second weekend and took the top spot the weekend after.

Which uncredited actor plays the adult Alex Vreeke at the end of Welcome to the Jungle?

His character named his daughter Bethany, after the girl who sacrificed one of her lives for him in the game.

In The Next Level, Spencer's grandfather Eddie is played by whom?

He is sucked into the game and ends up inside Dwayne Johnson's avatar, giving Johnson an excuse for a Danny DeVito impression.

Awkwafina joins The Next Level as which new avatar?

The thief has a weakness to pollen and is initially Spencer's new avatar.

In The Next Level, which teenager ends up inside the game as a black stallion named Cyclone?

The horse turns out to be able to sprout wings, and Milo chooses to stay in the game in that form.

What kind of stampede opens the action in The Next Level?

A herd of them appears outside Eddie's old diner in the mid-credits scene, loose in the real world.

Who plays the warlord Jurgen the Brutal in The Next Level?

Best known as the Hound in Game of Thrones, his villain was later revealed by Dwayne Johnson to be an avatar of an as-yet unknown character.

How much was Dwayne Johnson reportedly paid for The Next Level?

For the previous film Jack Black and Kevin Hart had been paid $5 million and $10 million respectively.

Where does The Next Level rank among the highest-grossing films of 2019?

It made about $800 million against a budget of roughly $125-132 million.

The Parrish Shoe Factory in the 1995 film was played by the Olde Woolen Mill in which state?

The mill stands in North Berwick; most of the town scenes were shot in Keene, New Hampshire.

Which toy company released the original Jumanji board game in the United States in 1995?

Cardinal Games issued an updated version with new colourised artwork in 2017, tweaking some danger-card riddles.

Which company provided the puppetry and animatronics for the 1995 film's practical effects?

Industrial Light & Magic handled the digital side, writing two new software programs for the film.

Which film did Jumanji overtake to open at number one at the US box office in December 1995?

It took roughly $11 million in its first weekend on the way to $263 million worldwide.

What is the title of the Jumanji sequel announced for release in 2026?

It was announced as the follow-up to Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and The Next Level (2019).