to cancel their upcoming ski trip, averting their deaths. Meanwhile, two young girls hear drumbeats while walking on a beach. Jumanji is seen lying partially buried in the sand. Cast Robin Williams as Alan Parrish Kirsten Dunst as Judy Shepherd David Alan Grier as Carl "The Sole-man" Bentley Adam Hann-Byrd as young Alan Parrish Bonnie Hunt as Sarah Whittle Jonathan Hyde as Sam Parrish Hyde also portrays Van Pelt, a big-game hunter who resides in Jumanji. Bebe Neuwirth as Nora Shepherd Bradley Pierce as Peter Shepherd James Handy as the Exterminator Patricia Clarkson as Carol Parrish Laura Bell Bundy as young Sarah Whittle Production While Peter Guber was visiting Boston, he invited author Chris Van Allsburg, who lives in Providence, Rhode Island, to option his book. Van Allsburg wrote one of the screenplay's drafts, which he described as "sort of trying to imbue the story with a quality of mystery and surrealism". Van Allsburg added that the studio nearly abandoned the project if not for his film treatment, which earned him a story credit given it added story material that was not from the book. TriStar Pictures agreed to finance the film on the condition that Robin Williams plays the starring role. However, Williams turned down the role based on the first script he was given. Only after director Joe Johnston and screenwriters Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor and Jim Strain undertook extensive rewrites did Williams accept. Johnston had reservations over casting Williams because of the actor's reputation for improvisation, fearing that he wouldn't adhere to the script. However, Williams understood that it was "a tightly structured story" and filmed the scenes as outlined in the script, often filming duplicate scenes afterwards where he was allowed to improvise with Bonnie Hunt. Tom Hanks was the first choice to play Alan Parrish but turned it down due to his commitments to Apollo 13. Other stars were considered, including: Dan Aykroyd, Bruce Willis, Michael Keaton, Kevin Kline, Chevy Chase, Sean Penn, Kevin Costner, Richard Dreyfuss, Michael Douglas, Rupert Everett, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Bill Paxton, Bryan Cranston, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Alec Baldwin. Willis was unavailable because he was working on Die Hard with a Vengeance. Kirstie Alley was considered for Sarah Whittle while Scarlett Johansson auditioned for Judy Shepherd. Shooting took place in various New England locales, mainly Keene, New Hampshire, which represented the story's fictional town of Brantford, New Hampshire, and North