110 Fun Facts About Jumanji

Who plays the adult Alan Parrish in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Robin Williams. He passed on the first script, so the director and writers stayed up all night cutting and pasting a new version, and he liked it enough to say yes.

Which director of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids went on to make Jumanji in 1995?

Joe Johnston. He admitted being 'a little apprehensive' that his star would ad-lib his way off the page, but found that he 'never went out of the box' of a tightly plotted film.

In Jumanji, which kind of storm does a roll of the dice bring on inside the Parrish house?

A monsoon. The board promises 'a monsoon in your lagoon', the ground floor fills with water, and Alan ends up wrestling a crocodile that Sarah takes for an alligator.

In which fictional New Hampshire town is Jumanji set?

Brantford. When Alan returns in 1995 he finds his once-prosperous hometown run down and half shut, having 'folded up' once his family lost him.

In Jumanji, what does the game warn will 'grow much faster than bamboo' and come after the players?

Man-eating plants. Vines burst through the walls, some strangling and some firing poison darts, and the rule for surviving them is to keep clear of the walls and make no quick movements.

In Jumanji, what kind of business does the Parrish family run?

A shoe factory. After Alan vanishes, Sam Parrish pours his time and money into searching for him, and the neglected business folds, taking much of the town down with it.

Who plays Judy Shepherd in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Kirsten Dunst plays Judy as a compulsive fibber who tells the realtor her parents went down with a sheik's yacht.

In Jumanji, Peter's roll of five frees the adult Alan along with which animal?

A lion. The game had told Alan to wait in the jungle until the dice read five or eight, so Peter's five released them both.

In Jumanji, which sound leads young Alan Parrish to the game at a construction site?

Tribal drumbeats are how the game calls for new players, so when they start up again at the end of Welcome to the Jungle, the four teenagers destroy it.

The 1995 film Jumanji opens with two boys doing what to the game?

Burying it: one boy asks what happens if someone digs it up, and the other answers, "May God have mercy on his soul."

In the 1995 film Jumanji, Peter slowly turns into what animal after trying to cheat?

A monkey. Ten spaces from the end, Peter drops the dice to force a twelve, and the game rules that he will slip back even more than his token.

In Jumanji, how does the adult Sarah Whittle make her living when Alan tracks her down?

Working as a fortune-teller: Sarah trades as the psychic Madam Serena, yet she has spent over 2,000 hours in therapy convincing herself the game never existed.

In Jumanji, the actor who plays the hunter Van Pelt also plays which other character?

Alan's father. Jonathan Hyde plays both Sam Parrish, who tells his son to face what he fears, and Van Pelt, the hunter Alan finally stops running from.

In Jumanji, what job does Carl Bentley hold in 1995, years after Sam Parrish fired him?

Police officer: Carl was sacked after taking the blame for a mistake of Alan's, and years later, in uniform, he ends up arresting the grown-up Alan.

Who plays Aunt Nora, Judy and Peter's guardian, in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Bebe Neuwirth came back as Nora 24 years later for a cameo in Jumanji: The Next Level, where the aunt now runs a restaurant called Nora's.

In the 1995 film Jumanji, how did Judy and Peter's parents die?

A car crash, on a ski trip to Canada. When Alan wins the game and time resets, he talks the couple out of that holiday, so they never die.

In Jumanji, which unlikely birds turn up among the animals in the stampede?

Pelicans fly in with the stampeding herd, and one of them snatches the board game, so Peter has to win it back.

Who composed the score for the 1995 film Jumanji?

James Horner had a crowded 1995: two of his other scores that year, Braveheart and Apollo 13, ended up competing against each other for the same Oscar.

Which visual effects house created the computer-generated animals in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Industrial Light & Magic had to invent its own software for the job, including a program that coated the creatures in digital hair.

In the 1995 film Jumanji, where in the old Parrish house do Judy and Peter find the game?

The attic. Their first roll lets loose giant mosquitoes, and only afterwards do they read that nothing will vanish until someone finishes the game.

In Jumanji, which creatures chase young Sarah out of the Parrish house in 1969?

Bats, promised by the rhyme "At night they fly, you better run", burst out moments after Sarah watches Alan sucked into the game.

Which studio released the 1995 film Jumanji?

TriStar Pictures made the original, but when the series returned in 2017 its parent Sony handed the sequels to sister studio Columbia Pictures.

In Jumanji, what does the mansion floor turn into beneath Alan near the end of the game?

Quicksand. The game warns, "Beware the ground on which you stand, the floor is quicker than the sand," and Alan is nearly swallowed whole.

In Jumanji, which plan of his father's makes young Alan decide to run away from home?

Boarding school. Sam insists on the Cliffside School for Boys, where Parrishes have gone since the 1700s, but once the game resets time he tells Alan he doesn't have to go.

Which critic said the 1995 film Jumanji was about as appropriate for smaller children as Jaws?

Roger Ebert warned that the PG-rated film would send younger children fleeing from the theater, and scoffed that it was "not even PG-13".

In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the four teenagers stumble on the game while serving what?

Detention. Martha earned hers by telling the gym teacher she would hate to waste her life being one.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle borrows its subtitle from a 1987 song by which rock band?

Guns N' Roses. One of the film's stars suggested borrowing both the title and the song itself, which duly plays in the film.

In Welcome to the Jungle, what do the three tattooed lines on each player's arm count?

Lives. Each avatar starts with three, and the players soon suspect that using up the last one would mean dying for real.

In the animated Jumanji series, what must the players solve each turn?

A clue. Solving it sends Judy and Peter home again, but Alan never saw his own, which is why he has been stuck in the jungle since boyhood.

Which 2005 film was marketed as a spiritual successor to Jumanji, based on another book by the same author?

Zathura: A Space Adventure swaps the jungle for outer space, but its worldwide takings only about matched its $65 million budget.

In Welcome to the Jungle, which strength belongs to Karen Gillan's avatar, Ruby Roundhouse?

Dance fighting. Reading her list of skills, Martha asks, "Is that even a thing?", and later turns it on some guards with the line, "You guys like to dance?"

In the Jumanji picture book, which place must one player reach before the game can end?

The Golden City. Judy gets there first and shouts the game's name, and everything the dice had let loose in the house vanishes at once.

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.

In the original Jumanji picture book, where do Judy and Peter find the game?

In a park. A note on the box warns them to read the instructions, and when the game is over they hurry it back to the same spot for someone else to find.

When a volcano erupts in the Jumanji picture book, where does the lava pour from?

The fireplace. The lava fills the room with steam, so Judy makes her winning roll in a thickening cloud that clears the instant the game ends.

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

The Polar Express earned him a second Caldecott Medal; it grew from a single mental image, a train in the night, that he spun into a story by asking where it was headed.

At the end of Jumanji: The Next Level, which character chooses to stay behind in the game?

Milo. Newly able to fly, he says somebody has to stay and look after the place, and that at 75 he has only just learned how.

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

A video game cartridge. Handed the board game in 1996, teenager Alex scoffs, "Who plays board games?", so that night it reshapes itself to suit him.

In Welcome to the Jungle, which animal eats Professor Shelly Oberon moments after the players arrive?

A hippo. Shelly drops back out of the sky seconds later, while Fridge finds himself reciting hippo facts he never learned, courtesy of his avatar's zoology skills.

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

Xander Bravestone is everything his player is not: the anxious Spencer finds himself inside a fearless strongman whose weakness list reads "none".

In Welcome to the Jungle, the phone-obsessed popular girl ends up inside an avatar played by which actor?

Jack Black. His Professor Shelly Oberon is a selfie-loving schoolgirl horrified to find herself, as she puts it, an overweight, middle-aged man.

In Welcome to the Jungle, which weakness does Kevin Hart's avatar Mouse Finbar have, besides strength and speed?

Cake. Fridge finds out the hard way at the bazaar, where one bite of pound cake he mistakes for bread makes his avatar explode.

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

The Jaguar's Eye. Van Pelt stole it from its shrine and gained control of the jungle's animals, and the curse lifts only when the players put it back and call out the game's name.

Which pop star plays Alex Vreeke's avatar in Welcome to the Jungle?

Nick Jonas plays Alex's avatar, a pilot who believes he has been stuck for a few months until the others break the news that it has been twenty years.

Where did filming on Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle begin in September 2016?

Honolulu, Hawaii. Cameras only rolled there in September 2016, far too late for the Christmas 2016 release Sony had announced, so the film slipped a full year.

In 2018, Welcome to the Jungle passed which film as Sony's top US earner?

Spider-Man. The 2002 original had been the studio's top earner in America for sixteen years, and a later Spider-Man film took the record back in 2021.

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

The Last Jedi held it off for two weekends, but the Jumanji sequel then climbed to number one in its third and stayed there the week after.

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

Colin Hanks appears unbilled for a single scene as the grown-up Alex, a husband and father who got his years back, and returned to the part in The Next Level.

In Jumanji: The Next Level, who plays Spencer's grandfather Eddie?

Danny DeVito's grumpy Eddie lands inside Dwayne Johnson's avatar, which leaves Johnson doing a DeVito impression for much of the film.

Awkwafina joins The Next Level as which new avatar?

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

In Jumanji: The Next Level, which of the friends ends up in the game as a black stallion named Cyclone?

Bethany. The game leaves her behind when it swallows her friends, so she tracks down Alex for help and arrives late, on four legs.

In Jumanji: The Next Level, which animals chase the players in a stampede soon after they arrive?

Ostriches. One bird looks harmless until the group's zoologist remembers, too late, that they travel in herds, and the players flee in dune buggies.

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

Rory McCann, the Hound of Game of Thrones, plays the warlord whose theft of a sacred jewel has left Jumanji parched by drought.

Who plays the adult Sarah Whittle in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Bonnie Hunt plays the grown-up Sarah, who protests that the game ruined her life, only for the man who spent decades inside it to ask, "It ruined your life?"

In Jumanji: The Next Level, which animals attack the players as they cross a ravine by bridge?

Mandrills. The group's slow-talking zoologist is still describing their colourful faces when the horde charges, and one of them hurls a player off a bridge.

In Jumanji, where do Judy, Peter and Sarah battle the hunter Van Pelt to win back the game?

A discount store. A radio dispatcher calls it a hostage situation at Sir Sav-a-lot, with an armed man in a pith helmet and khakis.

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

Milton Bradley turned the film's game into a real one, and Cardinal Games revived it with new artwork in 2017, the year the film series came back.

In Welcome to the Jungle, which animals chase the players' damaged helicopter through a canyon?

Albino rhinos. The group's zoologist calls them huge, white, scary and stupid man-eaters, and the players only shake them off once the chopper is repaired in mid-air.

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

Toy Story lost the top spot by barely $100,000, $11.08 million to $10.98 million, and a week later it was back ahead of Jumanji.

At CinemaCon in April 2026, which title did Sony announce for the follow-up to Jumanji: The Next Level?

Jumanji: Open World is billed as a reversal of the last two films: this time the game breaks out and looses its chaos on the real world.

In a scrapped 1999 sequel to Jumanji, which world leader was to buy the game and get sucked inside?

The US president, a fictional John Cooper, would have carried the game home to the White House to play with his children. Steve Buscemi was lined up as the vice-president who seizes power.

Which author and illustrator, trained as a sculptor, created the 1981 picture book Jumanji?

Chris Van Allsburg has said the title is a made-up word, chosen because it sounded slightly exotic and evoked the idea of the jungle.

Which giant insects are among the first creatures released when Judy and Peter play Jumanji in 1995?

Mosquitoes return in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, where they are the listed weakness of the game's pilot avatar.

Which reptiles turn up inside the Parrish mansion in the film Jumanji, replacing the book's snake?

Crocodiles are a film invention: none appears in the 1981 picture book, whose one reptile never made it to the screen.

Back in 1969 at the end of the 1995 film Jumanji, where do Alan and Sarah get rid of the game?

In a river is where the pair throw it, but the final scene shows the board washed up on a beach as two girls walk toward it.

Which In Living Color comedian plays Parrish employee Carl Bentley in the 1995 film Jumanji?

David Alan Grier's character takes the blame for a mishap that young Alan caused and loses his job over it.

Which future Twilight star plays the frozen older sister in the 2005 spin-off from the Jumanji books?

Kristen Stewart was scanned so the crew could build a full life-size frozen model of her, detailed down to the freckles on her arm.

In the film Jumanji, what do bullies take from young Alan Parrish shortly before he finds the game?

His bicycle is brought back that evening by Sarah Whittle, which is how she ends up joining his very first game.

In the 1995 film Jumanji, where on the board does a cryptic message appear after each dice roll?

In a crystal ball at the centre of the board, each message describes what the roll has just released, while the playing pieces move by themselves.

In the film Jumanji, Alan finally talks Judy and Peter's parents out of a ski trip to which country?

Canada is where the couple died in the original timeline, so the grown-up Alan offers Jim Shepherd a job and persuades him to cancel.

In the closing scene of the film Jumanji, two girls who come across the game speak which language?

French is heard as the two girls stroll along a beach toward the board, which lies half hidden in the sand long after Alan and Sarah disposed of it.

In the Jumanji picture book, which snake appears after Peter's roll and coils around the clock?

A python eight feet long slides in after one of Peter's rolls, a danger the 1995 film left out entirely.

Which director, fresh from Elf, made the 2005 spin-off based on the sequel to the Jumanji book?

Jon Favreau favoured practical effects over computer imagery, filming miniature models and a real robot suit built by Stan Winston's studio.

Which voice of Nigel Thornberry played the merchant Trader Slick in the animated Jumanji series?

Tim Curry's Slick runs a trading post at the heart of the jungle, one of several villains the series added beyond the film's hunter.

Which voice of Patrick Star played the adult Alan Parrish in the animated Jumanji series?

Bill Fagerbakke voiced Alan from 1996 to 1999, and in the series the character stays stuck inside the game until the final episode.

Which actor, later J. Bruce Ismay in Titanic, plays the hunter Van Pelt in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Jonathan Hyde stayed in adventure films through the 1990s, following Jumanji with Anaconda and then The Mummy, where he is the Egyptologist.

Which child actor, the first voice of Chip in Beauty and the Beast, plays Peter in the film Jumanji?

Bradley Pierce sat through three and a half hours of prosthetic make-up a day for two and a half months to film his character's slow animal transformation.

In the Jumanji picture book, where have Judy and Peter's parents gone when the children start the game?

To the opera, with guests due back at the house afterwards. When the grown-ups return, they laugh off Peter's account of the afternoon.

Which disaster is the land suffering from when the players return in Jumanji: The Next Level?

A drought is the game's surprise new plot, catching out returning players who expected the same quest as before.

In Jumanji: The Next Level, which business did Eddie once co-own with his estranged friend?

A diner, which the friend sold against Eddie's wishes, and the grudge lasts until the two men are thrown together inside the game.

Which Flight of the Conchords star plays Nigel, the players' guide in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?

Rhys Darby, who played band manager Murray in that comedy, returned as the game's non-player guide in Jumanji: The Next Level.

Which director of Bad Teacher and Walk Hard made both Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level?

Jake Kasdan is the son of Lawrence Kasdan and appeared as a child in two of his films, The Big Chill and Silverado.

Which Emmy winner for Boardwalk Empire plays the villain Van Pelt in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?

Bobby Cannavale's Van Pelt is a reimagined version of the 1995 villain, and he goes by a different first name in some international releases of the film.

Which stolen gem must the players win back from a warlord to finish the game in Jumanji: The Next Level?

The Falcon Jewel has to be held up to the sky so that sunlight touches it while a player calls out the game's name.

In Jumanji: The Next Level, what do the trapped players find that finally lets them switch avatars?

Magical water lets the younger players reclaim their original avatars, leaving the two older men with the newest avatar and a horse instead.

Which real New Hampshire town stood in for the fictional setting of the 1995 film Jumanji?

Keene hosted much of the shoot in November 1994, and a sign painted there for the film became a memorial site for its late star in 2014.

A mock-up of the Parrish house for the 1995 film Jumanji was built in which city, far from New England?

Vancouver hosted a large portion of the filming, while small New England towns supplied the streets and exteriors.

Which future Broadway star of Legally Blonde plays the young Sarah Whittle in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Laura Bell Bundy was 14 when the film came out, and in 2007 she originated Elle Woods on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination.

Which future Oscar nominee for Pieces of April plays Alan's mother Carol in the film Jumanji?

Patricia Clarkson has called the early 1990s a turbulent stretch when she could not find significant work, until High Art brought her award attention.

In the 1995 film Jumanji, what do the rules promise will happen once a player finishes the game?

Everything is restored, a promise that persuades Judy and Peter to keep rolling, and Alan's eventual win duly sends him and Sarah back to 1969.

At the end of the film Jumanji, Alan and Sarah first meet Judy and Peter during which celebration?

A Christmas party is where Alan, by then married to Sarah and expecting their first child, greets two children who are meeting him for the first time.

In the mid-credits scene of Jumanji: The Next Level, which visitor accidentally sets off the broken game?

A heater repairman, played by Lamorne Morris, triggers the damaged console, and creatures from the game are soon loose in the real world.

The animated Jumanji series first aired in 1996 on the children's block of which American network?

UPN carried the show on its UPN Kids block before later seasons moved into syndication, and the series ran to 40 episodes in all.

Which composer of the Kingsman films wrote the score for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its sequel?

Henry Jackman stepped in when the film's release slipped by six months and the composer first signed for the job was replaced.

In the animated Jumanji series, which jungle tribe is led by Tribal Bob and befriended by Peter?

The Manjis communicate in squeaks, clicks and whistles, yet Peter can speak their language, having won their friendship by saving their leader.

Which Italian theme park opened the first ride based on the Jumanji films in 2022?

Gardaland built its dark ride around a large animatronic figure, a year before a whole Jumanji land opened at a theme park in England.

Which Hereditary actor plays the teenage Spencer in the real-world scenes of Welcome to the Jungle?

Alex Wolff first found fame alongside his older brother in Nickelodeon's The Naked Brothers Band, a series created by their mother.

The old mill that plays the Parrish family's works in the 1995 film Jumanji stands in which state?

Maine's Olde Woolen Mill in North Berwick had stood mostly unused for nearly 40 years before the film crew arrived.

In Jumanji: The Next Level, the new avatar played by Awkwafina follows which line of work?

Thief is her calling: her listed strengths are cat burglar, pickpocket and safecracker, a long way from the muscle of the returning avatars.

Which nickname belongs to the football player who becomes Mouse Finbar in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?

Fridge, a high school football player, lands in the game's smallest avatar, whose listed weaknesses include both strength and speed.

Which shy student lands inside Ruby Roundhouse after insulting her gym teacher in Welcome to the Jungle?

Martha, a quiet and cynical student, ends up controlling a martial arts expert, and by the end of the film she and Spencer are a couple.

In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which weakness is listed for the martial-arts avatar Ruby Roundhouse?

Venom is her only listed weakness, a sharp contrast with the quiet student who suddenly finds herself controlling a martial arts expert.

Which science is the specialty of weapons carrier Mouse Finbar in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle?

Zoology is his field, and in Jumanji: The Next Level he gains a talent for linguistics that extends to animal languages.

In the 1995 film Jumanji, what does Aunt Nora plan to turn the old Parrish mansion into?

A bed and breakfast was the plan, and the same actress came back as Nora for a cameo in Jumanji: The Next Level.

Which skill is a listed strength of Shelly Oberon, the popular girl's avatar in Welcome to the Jungle?

Cartography is one of his listed strengths alongside palaeontology, while his one listed weakness is endurance.

In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the villain Van Pelt is reimagined from a hunter into a corrupt what?

Archaeologist Van Pelt was once the hero avatar's partner, until he stole an enchanted gem and gained control of the jungle's animals.

In Welcome to the Jungle, missing teenager Alex Vreeke is found playing a pilot with which nickname?

Seaplane is the nickname of pilot Jefferson McDonough, and the boy playing him thinks a couple of months have passed when it has been two decades.

Which weapon does Ruby Roundhouse gain a new mastery of in Jumanji: The Next Level?

Nunchucks are a new entry on her strengths list, one of several tweaks the game makes to its returning avatars between the two films.

In Jumanji: The Next Level, Spencer returns in a brand-new avatar with a weakness to what?

Pollen is the weak spot of the avatar Spencer lands in when he slips back into the game alone, hoping to feel like his heroic old self again.

Which child star of Little Man Tate plays the young Alan Parrish in the 1995 film Jumanji?

Adam Hann-Byrd turned 13 during the shoot, and he later gave up acting to work as a screenwriter.