Famous actor and comedian Robin Williams, original ‘Jumanji’ is a real classic of modern cinema and is one of the best family movies ever made. With the newly re-released movie series starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan taking a blockbuster rating for commercial success and popular appeal, it’s easy to underestimate the role of the first 1995 film that says it all started.
Released nearly half a century ago now, ‘Jumanji’ is a fairy tale directed by ‘Jurassic Park III’ filmmaker Joe Johnston and star Robin Williams as Alan Parrish, a young boy accidentally trapped inside a supernatural board game called “Jumanji” ”.
Twenty-six years later, a young boy named Peter and his older sister Judy moved into Alan’s now-abandoned home and began playing Jumanji themselves, unknowingly releasing a board game in the real world with the very old Alan Parrish and them. Now, in order to escape their nightmare and get the world back to normal, Peter and Judy must ask for the help of an experienced Alan to win a board game and release Alan from his decades-long imprisonment.
Jumanji’s star of ‘Good Will Hunting’ Robin Williams as Alan Parrish, Kirsten Dunst as Judith “Judy” Shepherd, Bradley Pierce as Peter Shepherd, Bonnie Hunt as Sarah Whittle, and Jonathan Hyde as Van Pelt as part of the cast.
Jumanji Movie Filming Locations
‘Jumanji’ begins in 1969 in the small fictional town of Brantford, New Hampshire where a young man named Alan Parrish finds a Jumanji board game at a construction site. Decades later, the brothers Peter and Judy found a board game in Alan’s old home nearby and started playing it. As they began to play, they began to experience Jumanji’s land, dotted with dense forests, lush vegetation, and all the wildlife and bedbugs that inhabit the area.
The actual recording of these scenes took place in various parts of British Columbia in Canada, Maine, and New Hampshire. The main recording began in October 1994 and was wrapped up about three months later in January 1995.
Bridge Studios, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
The main production and filming of ‘Jumanji’ was based at The Bridge Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The studio is known for working with large-scale outputs in North America with a total of eight sections, each measuring in size from 4,600 square feet to 40,000 square feet. The front of Parish’s mansion was built on a nearby vacant lot for filming, where the real house now stands.
North Berwick, Maine
The scene depicting Parish Shoe Factory where Alan met Carl Bentley was filmed in the cozy little town of North Berwick in York County, Maine. North Berwick is known for its beautiful beaches and coastal areas, as well as its wild-winged gardens and flower shows.
Keene, New Hampshire
Scenes showing the fictional town of Brantford, New Hampshire ‘Jumanji’ were actually filmed in the real city of Keene, New Hampshire. The beautiful city of Keene is famous for its annual Keene Pumpkin Festival and Keene Music Festival. The thrilling scenes at a movie theater where many animals walk the streets of Brantford are filmed here.
Other visual films and TV shows featured in Keene include ‘The Parent Trap’ and ‘Derrick J’s Victimless Crime Spree’.
Other Places
Apart from the above-mentioned areas, ‘Jumanji’ was also recorded in limited volume across British Columbia and New Hampshire. These include the Tsawwassen beach area in Delta, British Columbia; Maple Ridge Water Park in Maple Ridge, British Columbia; Swanzey in New Hampshire, and the Jaffrey Center in New Hampshire.
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