The late and great Robin Williams brought joy to millions around the world with his energetic comedy and his many fantastic movies, but at Zelda Universe, we will always remember him most as a fellow Zelda fan.
Back in the late ‘80s, Robin and his wife were playing the original Legend of Zelda together while expecting a child, and they loved the game so much that they named their daughter “Zelda.” Robin remained a Zelda fan throughout his remaining years and Ocarina of Time became his favorite game, while Zelda also inherited her father’s passion for the series. The duo contributed greatly to the promotion of the Zelda series, featuring in commercials for Ocarina of Time 3D, Skyward Sword, and Four Swords Anniversary Edition.
Being the massive Nintendo fan that he was, I’m sure Robin Williams would have been thrilled to discover that one of his movies played a major role in naming Majora’s Mask.
In a 2015 issue of Japanese video game magazine Nintendo Dream (translated by Nintendo Everything), Aonuma was questioned on the origin of the name Majora — or more specifically, “Mujura,” the Japanese name. “Imamura, who made the design for Majora’s Mask, invented the word by combining characters from the movie title Jumanji and from his name Imamura.”
The man Aonuma is referring to here is Takaya Imamura, who was the art director on the original Majora’s Mask. Aonuma liked the name as soon as Imamura first presented the idea to him. “I thought Majora might be good from the beginning,” Aonuma says. “However, it was another discussion whether or not to attach the subtitle ‘Majora’s Mask.'”
Aonuma did not elaborate on exactly why Imamura chose the original Jumanji film as a source of inspiration, but since it released in 1995 (only five years before the launch of Majora’s Mask), it may have simply been on his mind while the team worked on the game. Jumanji has a very unique name, much like Mujura, which perhaps drew Imamura to it.
Again, while it’s not clear whether or not the film’s influence runs any deeper than this, it’s worth noting that both Majora’s Mask and the Jumanji board game share supernatural elements, and are forbidden artifacts due to how dangerous they are.
In 1995, Robin Williams told Entertainment Weekly that “jumanji” is a Zulu word meaning ”many effects,” which also works as an accurate descriptor for Majora’s Mask. He also discussed the common mispronunciations of the movie’s title at the time. “Some guy came up to me and said, ‘Jumanji? That’s the movie about the baseball player, isn’t it?’” he said. “It’s amazing how many times it has been mispronounced. I even get ‘You’re doing that bio of Jim Janee. I’ve heard of him.'”
I can’t think of a better way to end this article than with Robin’s signature sense of humor, so here he is explaining how he took the opportunity to toy with his fans. “Now when people ask me what Jumanji means, I tell them it’s an island in the Caribbean. Book your travel there early.”
Be sure to check out the rest of our articles from Majora’s Month, our month-long celebration of Majora’s Mask’s 20th anniversary!
