FAQ

The word "Jumanji" does not have a specific meaning in any language. It was actually invented by Chris Van Allsburg, the author of the book "Jumanji" on which the 1995 movie is based. Van Allsburg has stated that he invented the word because he wanted a unique and mysterious-sounding name for the board game in his story. Since the release of the book and subsequent movie, the name "Jumanji" has become well-known and associated with the adventure and chaos that the game brings to the characters in the story.

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No, Brantford is a fictional town in the state of New Hampshire.

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Twelve-year old Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) finds a game called "Jumanji" buried in a construction site. Later that day, he shows it to his friend, Sarah Whittle (Laura Bell Bundy), and they begin to set up the board to play. Suddenly, the board comes to life and begins to move the tokens on its own as well as tricking Sarah and Alan into rolling the dice. On his first roll of the dice, Alan is sucked into the Jumanji jungle, and Sarah is scared off by a flock of bats. Twenty-six years later, Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) Shepherd find the game. Judy and Peter try their hand at playing it but are scared off when they are attacked by giant mosquitoes, mischievous monkeys, and a hungry lion. When Peter rolls a "5", Alan reappears, now a grown man (Robin Williams). Judy reads the rules of the game and learns that, for the effects of the game to cease, the game must be played until someone reaches the finish line. However, it's Sarah's turn, so Alan goes looking for her so that they can resume the game. While the jungle animals cause trouble all around the town, Alan, Sarah (Bonnie Hunt), Judy, and Peter are forced to resume the game and hope to reverse all the damage.

Jumanji is based on a 1981 children's illustrated book by the American author Chris Van Allsburg. The book was adapted for the movie by screenwriters Greg Taylor and Jonathan Blair Hensleigh.

The whereabouts of the Jumanji jungle are never revealed. Some viewers suggest that it is an island somewhere on Earth, perhaps in Africa or South America; other viewers assume that it exists in another dimension. In the novel it is revealed that the jungle is inside the game itself and anyone inside it can look out and see the outside world.

Sarah rolls 6. "At night they fly, you better run, these winged things are not much fun." - bats

Alan rolls 5. "In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight." - Alan is trapped inside the game

[26 years pass]

Judy rolls 6. "A tiny bite can make you itch, make you sneeze, make you twitch." - giant mosquitoes

Peter rolls 2. "This will not be an easy mission, monkeys slow the expedition." - monkeys

Peter gets to move again, because he got doubles. He rolls 5, releasing Alan. "His fangs are sharp. He likes your taste. Your party better move poste haste." [sic] - lion

Judy rolls 7, but nothing happens because it is not her turn.

Judy rolls 4, and again nothing happens.

Sarah rolls 7. "They grow much faster than bamboo, take care or they'll come after you." - giant plants

Alan rolls [?]. "A hunter from the darkest wild makes you feel just like a child." - Van Pelt

Judy rolls 6. "Don't be fooled, it isn't thunder. Staying put would be a blunder." - stampede of elephants, rhinos, and other jungle animals

Peter needs a 10 to win. He cheats to roll a 12, and his counter does not advance. "A law of Jumanji having been broken, you will slip back even more than your token." - Peter is transformed into a part-monkey. In the novel his token goes back to the start

Sarah needs a 12 to win. She rolls 3. "Every month at the quarter moon, there'll be a monsoon in your lagoon." - monsoon rain and crocodile

Alan rolls a 7. "Beware the floor on which you stand, the ground is quicker than the sand." - the floor turns into quicksand

Judy rolls a 7. "There is a lesson you will learn; sometimes you must go back a turn." - the quicksand turns back into the floor, trapping Alan and Sarah in it

Peter rolls a 4. " Need a hand while you just wait? We'll help you out, we each have eight." - giant spiders

Sarah rolls a [?]. "You're almost there with much at stake; now the ground begins to quake." - earthquake

Alan rolls a 3 and wins. "JUMANJI" - the effects of the game are reversed

Just as Alan is about to roll the dice, Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde) shows up, gun in hand. He forces Alan to drop the dice, which roll a 3, just what Alan needs to win the game. Van Pelt fires a shot at Alan, but before the bullet can reach him, the game starts sucking everything back inside of itself. Suddenly, it is 1969 again, and young Alan and Sarah are seated in the Parrish living room, having just completed playing the game. Alan's dad (Jonathan Hyde) comes back into the house, having forgotten his speech notes. Alan rushes to his father, hugs him, apologizes, and admits that it was he who put the shoe on the conveyor belt, not Carl (David Alan Grier). His dad hugs him back and agrees to discuss, father to son, Alan's going away to school. Alan and Sarah promptly toss the Jumanji game into a river. Cut ahead to 1995. Alan and Sarah are adults and married to each other. They are throwing a Christmas party for employees of the Parrish Shoe Company and have invited their newest employee, Jim Shepherd (Malcolm Stewart), his wife, and their two children, Judy and Peter, to the party. Alan and Sarah still remember Judy and Peter, but Judy and Peter do not remember them. When Jim mentions that he would like to take his family on a holiday trip to the Canadian Rockies before starting his new job, Alan and Sarah both scream, "No!" and stress the importance of getting the marketing program started right away. Secretly, they are remembering that it was on that trip that Judy and Peter's parents were killed in the car crash. Meanwhile, on a beach somewhere in France, two girls are walking along and see the game of Jumanji sticking out of the sand.

Yes and no. In the 1995 Jumanji timeline, Judy is hit by a poisonous dart from one of the purple flowers and dies. However, when the timeline reverts back to 1969, she has not yet been born. So, when 1995 comes rolling around again, both Judy and Peter are alive and well.

One explanation that's been offered for the fact that both Van Pelt and Alan's father are played by the same actor is that the Jumanji game draws its characters from the minds of the players. Along with spiders, bats, crocodiles, etc., one of the most fearsome things in Alan's mind was his own father, who always seemed to be "gunning" for him. Therefore, it was his father's image who became Van Pelt. It may also be inspired by Peter Pan. In the play and other adaptations, the actor who plays the father, Mr Darling, also plays the lead villain, Captain Hook.

OTHER: It's happened in other movies, even adventures, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, which broke the director into the business, and the same actor plays one of the guides and then the monkey man on the motorcycle later on. Also, for this movie, the actor, who is very formidable looking and memorable from early on, would be wasted in such a small role.