Robin Williams’ Stand on Protecting Young Actors in Jumanji
Robin Williams made it clear that people, especially child actors, came first on the set of 'Jumanji', showing his protective side throughout the film’s production.
Back in the mid-90s, Robin Williams was everywhere you looked. For heaps of Aussies growing up then, he was a familiar face, popping up in everything from Mrs Doubtfire to Hook, and of course, the wild ride that was Jumanji. That last one was a massive hit, riding the wave of big adventure flicks that were all the rage at the time. With CGI just starting to take off, filmmakers were suddenly able to dream up all sorts of wild scenarios. The idea of a board game turning your lounge room into a jungle didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore.
But even with all the digital wizardry, Williams always brought a certain warmth to his roles. His comedy could be out there, but there was a real sense of humanity underneath it all. That’s probably why so many punters felt like they knew him. There was a bit of worry, though, that all the special effects in Jumanji might drown out what made him so relatable in the first place.
Williams’ Approach to Filming with Special Effects
Talking about the experience, Williams once said,
I mean, doing this movie with all these special effects, you have to imagine and visualise, I’ll show you a picture and say, this is what you’re looking at. ‘Oh, great, okay!’ And then you have to try and give it some sort of danger or a reality. And it usually involves hallucinating it or trying to visualise it.
He added,
It’s a really strange thing to do. But the thing that makes it, you can get through it is by focusing on the people.
You could tell he wasn’t entirely sold on the idea of acting in a world built on computers and green screens. In fact, he nearly gave the whole thing a miss.
The director, Joe Johnstone, later explained,
The studio said they would make the film if we could get Robin to do it. He had passed on the original script. A bunch of us stayed up all night doing a cut-and-paste job and changed a lot around [the screenplay is credited to Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor and Jim Strain], and Robin liked it enough to say yes.
But for Williams, agreeing to take the part came with a catch: the people involved had to be front and centre, both in the story and on set.
Standing Up for the Young Cast
That promise was put to the test during filming. As the days dragged on and the shoot ran long, the production team started pushing the hours to keep up with the demands of the action-packed story. Williams wasn’t having a bar of it. He lost his cool when he realised the crew had forgotten that there were kids on set, and he made it clear he wouldn’t stick around if the young actors were forced into overtime.
He was dead set on making sure the kids were looked after, not just as a matter of principle, but because he genuinely cared. That sense of responsibility bled into his performance, too. On screen, his character’s protective streak towards the children felt real, grounding the chaos of the film in something honest.
Williams’ Legacy of Care on Set
Williams’ insistence on putting people first wasn’t just talk. It shaped the way the film was made and left a mark on everyone involved. His approach made sure that, even in a world full of stampeding animals and wild effects, the heart of the story was always about the people at its centre. That’s what made his performance stand out, and why so many still remember it fondly today.