Under the Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story

Shooting footage of special edition sets

The Story

A classic board game that has been played by over a billion people in the last 75 years, MONOPOLY® is a worldwide cultural phenomenon. 'Under the Boardwalk' is a feature-length documentary that captures fascinating stories about the game and those who play it. Zachary Levi, star of NBC's Chuck and the upcoming Disney animated film Tangled, provides the narration for the film.

Few people realize that the game began as an anti-capitalist political platform thirty years before it evolved into a game about getting rich and took the world by storm in the depths of the Great Depression. This documentary looks at how MONOPOLY was transformed and why it has become so popular. The game is now sold in over 110 countries around the world in 40 languages.

The filmmakers investigate the psychology of the game, and game experts let viewers in on the best strategies for winning.

As a cultural phenomenon, MONOPOLY has a colorful history of secretly helping WWII POWs escape, influencing movies and television since 1936, and being part of all kinds of interesting world records and trivia. (The longest underwater game is over 72 hours, and the longest continuous game lasted 70 straight days.) Quirky collectors of all things MONOPOLY complete the cultural survey.

The film also features footage of MONOPOLY national and world championships from all over the world, starting with the first World Championship in 1973 and leading up to the exciting coronation of a new champion at the most recent World Championship in Las Vegas in 2009.

MONOPOLY began by bringing friends and families together, and now, through its universal language and World Championships, helps bring the whole world together. Filming locations included the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Norway, Japan, Singapore and Australia. Anchoring the film is Phil Orbanes, a former Sr. VP of Research & Development at Parker Brothers and current Chief MONOPOLY Judge.

Under the Boardwalk plans to release the film in Fall 2010.

Background photos in the header are used under a CC license from Mark Strozier. HASBRO, PARKER BROTHERS, the MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment. © 2010 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.