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NEED TO KNOW
- Jumanji was filmed in Keene, New Hampshire in the summer of 1994
- Residents of the town got to participate as extras, with many enjoying encounters with Robin Williams when he filmed scenes and received the key to the city
- The film was released the following year, on Dec. 15, 1995
One town will never forget what Jumanji meant to them.
The 1995 adventure film Jumanji, which featured Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Neuwirth and David Alan Grier, is officially 30 years old.
Jumanji, based on the 1981 Chris Van Allsburg novel, was filmed in Keene, New Hampshire, stepping in for the fictional town of Brantford. Filming in the area took place in November 1994, an exciting moment for the town of under 35,000 residents.
Finding out about the movie was a moment the then-newly elected city councilor, Randy Filiault, will ever forget.
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“We said, by the way, who’s really starring in this? He goes, ‘Well, we just signed Robin Williams.’ There was silence in the room because, A, we realized this is going to be a big film and, B, it’s like, how the heck are we going to do this,” Filiault recalled in an interview with WMUR.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, 1994, Keene’s then-Mayor William F. Lynch presented Williams with large, gold-plated keys to the city, giving the comedian an opportunity for a laugh.
“The mayor of Munchkinland,” Williams said in a Munchkin voice, referencing how Mayor Lynch stood a bit shorter than himself. Williams was 5’7″, the Keene Sentinel shared in a recent look back at the unusual few days in the town’s history.
He continued to riff off the crowd as he accepted the honor, joking, “If you hear a noise at your door tonight, it’s me. It’s a big key and somewhere there’s a big lock.”
Williams continued to joke and interact with the group for 20 minutes before resuming a more serious demeanor and thanking them for the honor.
That final day of filming got the community involved, with over 150 people from the town chosen to be extras as the animals that escaped the board game chased the now-freed players through the town’s Center Square.
The Parrish Shoes sign from the film still remains in downtown Keene. It was the site where residents came together to remember Williams again following his death in 2014. Residents and visitors brought candles, flowers, balloons and stuffed animals to the memorial, along with handwritten notes remembering how the actor left his signature magic with everyone he met during those short days.
Over the summer, the town found a festive reason to look back, as they enjoyed a celebration of 30 years of the film, which was officially released Dec. 15, 1995.
From June 20-22, interactive exhibits, screenings, and themed activities were available in the area as people remembered how Keene set the scene for a moment in film history.
