Cinematic Hawai’i: From Jurassic Park to Lilo & Stitch, these movies were all shot in the Aloha State

With its awe-inspiring scenery and show-stopping sunsets, Hawai’i has long been a source of inspiration for creatives, from poets and songwriters to filmmakers.

While many movies are explicitly set in the Aloha State, the dramatic landscapes have also served as a backdrop for epic adventure movies and sci-fis over the years.

Here’s a selection of our favourite movies filmed in Hawai’i…

The first clue that the Jurassic Park was filmed on Hawai’i? Dennis Nedry’s epic Hawaiian shirt collection. The second? That scenery, of course. Both the 1993 original and Jurassic World (2014) were filmed at Kualoa Ranch on the island of O’ahu, and you can actually visit the setting for the fictional Isla Nublar for yourself on a guided tour. The 1,600+ hectare property has served as a beef cattle ranch since 1850, and has gone on to be the backdrop for more than 200 movies since it first appeared on the silver screen in 1955.

More information: kualoa.com

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Among the 200 plus movies shot at Kualoa Ranch are Godzilla (1998) and Kong: Skull Island (2017), and tours of the ranch include the sets for both. You’ll be able to see a giant footprint in the mud left over from the 1998 production, as well as the boneyard from Kong: Skull Island. 

Read next: Embracing aloha: 6 top tips for exploring Hawai‘i respectfully

The island of Kaua’i served as a stand-in for the titular jungle in Brendan Fraser’s 1997 comedy, which is set in Burundi in East Africa. While most of the film was shot in California, Olokele Valley was used for all of the movie’s wide angle shots. Today, you can see Olokele Valley on a helicopter tour.

More information: gohawaii.com

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The 2017 sequel to the beloved 1995 Jumanji with the late Robin Williams sees four high school students sucked inside a video game, transforming them into adult avatars played by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan. Various locations across Hawai’i were used as the jungle they find themselves in, including Kawela Bay, the Judd Trail and Waimea Valley on O’ahu. Oh, and Kualoa Ranch. Because you can’t shoot a movie without making use of the ‘backlot of Hawai’i’.

The Peruvian jungle in the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)? Not Peruvian at all as the film was actually shot on Kaua’i. The Kalalea Mountain is visible in the opening shot, and many of the other jungle scenes were shot in the Huleia National Wildlife Refuge. You can recreate the iconic Indiana Jones shot with the Kalalea Mountain in the background, but the wildlife refuge is closed to the public to protect threatened and endangered birds.

The beaches of Hawai’i were featured in not one, but two films in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. In the third movie, Pohaku Mauliuli Beach was where Elizabeth and Will said goodbye before he took up his mantle as captain of The Flying Dutchman, doomed to return to sure just once a decade, and Honopu Beach is the setting in On Stranger Tides where Jack Sparrow discovers the Santiago. The latter is a sacred place as the burial place of Hawaiian chiefs, so you’ll have to admire it from a boat offshore or on a helicopter tour.

While the Karate Kid II is set in Okinawa, the Japanese island where karate originated, the movie was actually shot on O’ahu. You won’t be able to visit Mr Miyagi’s dojo, as the scenes were filmed at a private residence, but you can explore the wider island to visit spots like the Ihi’ihilauakea Bridge and the Lanai Lookout, and just get a general feel for the Okinawa of the Karate Kid universe.

Lilo & Stitch (2002) left a whole generation dreaming of visiting Hawai’i, and that was only an animated version of the islands. The 2025 live action version will do the same thing to a new generation, but this time, you can visit the actual filming locations. These include Diamond Head State Monument, the town of Haleiwa and Waikiki Beach.