Where Was George Of The Jungle Filmed?

The Short Answer

The 1997 film was mainly filmed in Hawaii for jungle exteriors and San Francisco for city scenes. Kaua'i and Maui stood in for the fictional African jungle, while San Francisco locations included the Bay Bridge, the Fairmont Hotel, and a Pacific Heights apartment. Additional studio work occurred in Los Angeles, California, at a former Howard Hughes hangar in Playa del Rey.

George of the Jungle, released in 1997, sends its hero swinging from a fictional African jungle to the streets of San Francisco. The production, however, never set foot in Africa. Instead, the crew combined Hawaiian rainforest exteriors with Bay Area city blocks and one enormous indoor set in California.

Filming ran from September 30, 1996 to January 27, 1997. The production moved an elephant named Tai to Hawaii via UPS to play Shep, and gorilla characters were performed by suit actors with animatronic heads built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Lions were trained by Charlie Sammut of Monterey Zoo.

Every Location At A Glance

Location	Where	What was filmed	Access
Filoli Historic House & Garden	Woodside	Ursula’s parents’ home	Ticketed
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge	San Francisco	Bridge scenes	Free to see
1201 Greenwich Street #500	San Francisco	Ursula’s apartment	Private property
550 Montgomery Street	San Francisco	Stanhope Bank	Outside only
Fairmont Hotel	San Francisco	Hotel scenes	Free to see
1166 Clay Street	San Francisco	Additional San Francisco scenes	Outside only
Kaua'i	Kaua'i	Jungle scenes	Free to see
Maui	Maui	Jungle scenes	Free to see

Filming Locations Map

8 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Location By Location

This historic estate in Woodside, California served as Ursula's parents' home. Today Filoli is open to the public for tours of its house and landscaped gardens, making it one of the easiest locations from the film to visit properly rather than just glimpse from the street. Tickets are required, and visitors should check filoli.org for current hours before planning a trip, as opening times vary seasonally.

The Bay Bridge appears in the film's bridge scenes. It remains one of the most accessible filming locations anywhere in the production, since it is public infrastructure you can drive across or walk along certain sections. Views of the span from the San Francisco waterfront also make for an easy photo stop on any visit to the city, with no ticket or special arrangement needed.

This Pacific Heights address played Ursula's apartment in the film. It is a residential building, so access is limited to exterior views only from the sidewalk. Fans of the movie can recognize the facade and imagine the interiors that were likely shot elsewhere, while enjoying one of San Francisco's classic hillside neighborhoods full of Victorian and Edwardian architecture nearby.

The Stanhope Bank scenes were filmed at this commercial building in San Francisco's Financial District. As an active office building, it can only be viewed from the street, but the ornate exterior gives a good sense of why the production chose it to double as a bank. It sits in a walkable part of the city, close to several other filming locations from the movie.

The Fairmont Hotel supplied the film's hotel scenes, and it remains one of the grandest places to visit among all the locations. The luxury hotel's lobby and common areas are accessible to guests and visitors, so unlike most filming sites from this production, you can actually step inside the setting. It sits atop Nob Hill, convenient to downtown San Francisco and the cable car lines.

Additional San Francisco scenes were shot around 1166 Clay Street, in an area mixing residential and commercial buildings. Like several other city locations from the film, it offers street views only, since these are working buildings rather than attractions. The surrounding Nob Hill and Chinatown edges make it an easy add-on when walking between the Fairmont Hotel and other sites from the movie.

The Hawaiian island of Kaua'i provided jungle scenes for the film. Many of the island's natural areas are public, with trails and beaches open to visitors, so travelers can walk through landscapes that read convincingly as deep jungle on screen. Kaua'i's lush interior and dramatic coastline have made it a favorite production location, and George of the Jungle is one of many films to use it.

Maui also supplied jungle scenes, taking advantage of the island's remarkably diverse landscapes. Public parks and roads put those environments within reach of ordinary travelers, from rainforest stretches to volcanic terrain. Visitors chasing the film's tropical backdrops will find Maui well set up for independent exploration by car, and the island's variety means several different-looking jungle settings sit within a single day's drive.

Where It Is Set Versus Where It Was Filmed

The story is set in a fictional African jungle called Bukuvu, in Burundi, and in San Francisco. In reality, nothing was shot in Africa. The jungle sequences were filmed in Hawaii, on Kaua'i and Maui, while the city scenes were genuinely shot in San Francisco and studio work happened in the Los Angeles area of California.

The Studio Side

The massive jungle set was built inside a former Howard Hughes aircraft hangar in Playa del Rey, measuring 750 feet long. This soundstage is not visitable today, but it solved a real production problem: it let the crew control a jungle environment that no outdoor location could offer, complete with room for the animatronic gorilla performances staged with Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Tours That Visit These Locations

Travelers who want a guided route to screen locations can book a movie filming locations bus tour in San Francisco, which includes stops tied to scenes from George of the Jungle among many other films shot in the city.

San Francisco Film Bus Tour

San Francisco: Movie Filming Locations Bus Tour

This bus tour covers San Francisco movie locations, including scenes from George of the Jungle, alongside stops from other productions, with 414 reviews to date.

414 reviews