• Today's news
  • Reviews and deals
  • Climate change
  • 2024 election
  • My portfolio
  • My watchlist
  • Stock market
  • Biden economy
  • Personal finance
  • Stocks: most actives
  • Stocks: gainers
  • Stocks: losers
  • Trending tickers
  • World indices
  • US Treasury bonds
  • Top mutual funds
  • Highest open interest
  • Highest implied volatility
  • Currency converter
  • Basic materials
  • Communication services
  • Consumer cyclical
  • Consumer defensive
  • Financial services
  • Industrials
  • Real estate
  • Mutual funds
  • Credit card rates
  • Balance transfer credit cards
  • Business credit cards
  • Cash back credit cards
  • Rewards credit cards
  • Travel credit cards
  • Checking accounts
  • Online checking accounts
  • High-yield savings accounts
  • Money market accounts
  • Personal loans
  • Student loans
  • Car insurance
  • Home buying
  • Options pit
  • Investment ideas
  • Research reports
  • Fantasy football
  • Pro Pick 'Em
  • College Pick 'Em
  • Fantasy baseball
  • Fantasy hockey
  • Fantasy basketball
  • Download the app
  • Daily Fantasy
  • Scores and schedules
  • GameChannel
  • World Baseball Classic
  • Premier League
  • CONCACAF League
  • Champions League
  • College football
  • Motorsports
  • Horse racing
  • Newsletters

Entertainment

  • How to watch
  • Fall allergies
  • Health news
  • Mental health
  • Sexual health
  • Family health
  • So mini ways
  • Style and beauty
  • Unapologetically
  • Buying guides

New on Yahoo

  • Privacy Dashboard

Why Disneyland's Jungle Cruise cultural changes aren't just 'woke' — they're necessary

Days before Disneyland's July 17, 1955, opening celebration, TV viewers glimpsed the park and its attractions via a special episode of the weekly "Disneyland" show on ABC. "The Pre-Opening Report From Disneyland," a fascinating historical record that today lives on the company's Disney+ streaming service, included a look at the mechanical hippos and crocodiles of the park's Jungle Cruise ride, as well as the plaster molding of a Black male model, whose "imposing physique" was used "to people our Jungle Cruise with lifelike natives" as white men in formal attire looked on.

Today we cringe at this scene for a ride that went on to develop a reputation for racist depictions of Indigenous people as tourist attractions, attackers or cannibals — tribal caricatures crafted through a colonialist lens.

It's a distinction Disney could no longer afford. Ahead of the July 30 release of a "Jungle Cruise" movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, the ride reopened Friday — a day shy of the park's 66th anniversary — with updates that remove, in Disney's words, “negative depictions of native people.” In their place are slapstick-inspired scenes largely involving chimpanzees and monkeys getting the best of a prior Jungle Cruise expedition.

If we can agree that Disneyland is, unlike a film or a television series, a living environment — a place born of one era but striving to be welcoming to subsequent generations — then the Jungle Cruise ride may be key to understanding theme parks as works of developing art. No other attraction that has stood as long has been under the sort of evolutions that directly speak to the park's past, its present and future.

Or its cultural missteps. The tension modern Disney reckons with is a desire to create a clean, wholesome and inviting Americana while not sanitizing our world to the point of creating false, good-ol'-days nostalgia. Or erasing someone's own.

"We're sitting at 66-plus years of history, right? That's really humbling," says Jeanette Lomboy, the vice president who oversees the Disneyland Resort and Aulani, a resort in Hawaii, for Imagineering, the company's arm devoted to theme park experiences.

"Disneyland, in particular, is one of those places that belongs to everybody," Lomboy says. "It's in their memories. You can't move a bench without touching someone's memory. Maybe that bench was where a kid took their first steps or where someone proposed."

Disneyland has been hustling to do more than just move benches.

The long-overdue course correction for the Jungle Cruise shifts the show to nature, the elements and the peril that awaits man when he tries to tame it — with puns aplenty. Gone are racist scenes of a spear-waving war party or a tribesman who will trade “two of his heads for one of yours.”

These changes are part of a broader attempt by Disney and Imagineering to ensure Disneyland remains a vital part of the cultural conversation rather than a cultural artifact.

As the park edges toward 70, it must take measures to reflect the diversity and the values of its younger audience to maintain pop-culture relevancy. Simply adding superheroes and lightsabers isn't enough.

In 2017, Disneyland at last gave women agency in its Pirates of the Caribbean attraction by removing a bridal auction scene and reimagining a female "wench" as a pirate . Amid the protests and cultural reckoning of 2020 that followed the murder of George Floyd, Disney announced it would strike "Song of the South" references from its Splash Mountain ride and instead feature "The Princess and the Frog," starring the company's first Black princess, Tiana.

Disney stresses that inclusive updates to the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain were in the works before the events of 2020. But the timing, at least concerning Disney's decision to go public with its plans, wasn't a coincidence.

"We are very mindful of the events that are happening around the world that impact people," says Carmen Smith, the executive who heads inclusion strategies for Imagineering. "The murder of George Floyd — the world responded to that in unique ways. From neighborhoods to communities to cities, states, governments and the corporate world, there was an international response. How can we be part of the healing journey of America? How can we be at our best?

"We want to make sure that everyone who comes to our parks is seen," Smith says, "and that they're heard."

That goes for Disney employees as well. Earlier this year , Disney announced that its staff — cast members, in park parlance — would have more freedom in how they appear for work, including the ability to choose gender-inclusive costumes and hairstyles. They also no longer have to hide their body art. Such moves received some pushback from the cultural right, arguing that Disney is getting "woke." Yet Disney's theme parks are simply awakening to their cultural reach.

Slow to change

It wasn't always so. Disneyland has long been a bastion of American comfort and even American conservatism, a place that by the company's own admittance has been slow to change. In 1987, the park hosted an AIDS Project Los Angeles fundraiser as a mea culpa for once banning same-sex dancing. The pre-social media era of Disneyland's 1997 decision to alter the chase scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean by giving women platters of food generated a national hullabaloo over what Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko described as an exhibit that showcased pirates with, "let us not mince words, sexual assault on their minds."

Lomboy recalls that when she started with Disney as a young ride operator in 1995, it was the first year Disney allowed women to front a Jungle Cruise boat. "Women weren't allowed to be Jungle Cruise skippers," she says. "To be honest, that I couldn't be a Jungle Cruise skipper wasn't something I realized when I was little. That, to me, was a shock. ... Women weren't even allowed to work on the Jungle Cruise. But that to me is progressive change, and you move along."

Disney's more modern approach might be traced to the creation of parks and resorts outside Anaheim — namely the opening in 1998 of Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, the 2011 launch of Aulani and the arrival in 2016 of Shanghai Disneyland. All in varying ways respond to the world outside their gates in more overt ways than the traditional "castle parks," a recognition that pure American fantasy and idealization, while not necessarily unimportant, can clash with our increasingly global and chaotic world.

Animal Kingdom and Aulani, in particular, pivot from romanticized pastiches — say, New Orleans Square — to more honestly reflect the art, history and heritage of the places they represent or are situated in. Aulani, turning 10 this year, is as notable for its dedication to local culture as it is to its high-priced hotel rooms. "Typically, when we're in our castle parks, it's what is the most magical, fantastical, amazing, wonderful thing we can tell," says Lomboy, noting that the mission statement for Aulani was "telling the story of a place" rather than a Disney fairy tale.

That approach has gradually influenced other Disney parks. Disney California Adventure has since 2013 doubled down on live entertainment framed through a broad cultural lens. Change began with a mini street parade called ¡Viva Navidad!, which started with the expected Donald Duck-centered Three Caballeros but added mariachi and samba musicians, folklórico and carnaval dancers, and 12-foot-tall mojiganga puppets.

The event was the brainchild of Susana Tubert's live entertainment team, and its success has led to the creation of Lunar New Year celebrations, a broader cultural representation of Christmas performances, and a "Lion King" storytelling show that heightened the African influences of the animated feature with newly arranged music, ancestral costumes and more than a dozen performers and dancers. This summer, at the new Avengers Campus, a short "Black Panther"-inspired show also plays up the real African influences of the fictional Marvel-created world of Wakanda.

"I think ¡Viva Navidad! is what kind of cracked the code," Tubert, also part of the Jungle Cruise team, says of the Three Caballeros show. "The fact that we could take these characters who are so Disney and surround them with authentic performers from cultural backgrounds, that was a big moment for all of us in entertainment."

Of course, it's far more impactful when Disney characters don't have to be surrounded by cultural signposts. With the parks largely limited to intellectual property that the Walt Disney Co. owns or creates, the company's increasingly diverse movies and TV shows have made it easier to more naturally add cultural representation. "Coco," for instance, inspired a Día de los Muertos event in Anaheim, which includes a memory wall for guests to write letters to lost loved ones.

"We wouldn't have the ability to celebrate Día de los Muertos if Pixar hadn't created 'Coco' for us," Tubert says. "So in some ways what's happening, especially at Disney California Adventure Park, is we have been given this library — 'Black Panther' — that are deliberately and intentionally bringing to life different narratives."

Theme parks resonate because they are products of their time. The redesigned Jungle Cruise, which now features a colorful scene in which monkeys wrestle over a Christmas sweater and spin on a Victrola, is now as much a reflection of 2021 as it is 1955. Early Disneyland designer Harper Goff was influenced by Disney’s own nature documentaries and the 1951 film “The African Queen,” which is also a clear influence on "The Jungle Cruise" movie, down to the Humphrey Bogart-style scarf and hat worn by Johnson.

Front of mind today for the Imagineers behind the ride's redesign is the havoc humans wreak on the environment. And while the Jungle Cruise is comedy and fantasy — check out the colorful new snake shrine as well as an elephant sculpture that replaces one formerly steeped in religious iconography — it's also a hopeful spin on the belief that nature will ultimately triumph, one way or another.

“We found a way to get more comedy built into the ride,” Tubert says. “We got to put skippers into unexpected, unprecedented situations, and at the end of the ride the discovery we made was that the animals had the last laugh — not the humans.”

And humans on the reimagined Jungle Cruise are generally making a mess (see the trash floating in the river, or a "lost & found" gift shop full of man-made junk). In the beloved but problematic “trapped safari” scene, in which adventurers scurry up a tree to avoid the horn of a rhinoceros, a white traveler was once at the top while native safari guides were in a more perilous position. Now, tourists — heavily detailed figures each with their own backstory and representing a multitude of nationalities — are simply in over their head instead of in danger of losing theirs.

"My belief is that no one intentionally creates something that is going to make someone feel uncomfortable," says Smith. "A lot of it may have to do with not having the information about the history of a particular experience.

"So," she continues, "when we look at something and realize the content is inappropriate, and may perpetuate a misconception or a stereotype, our intention is to take a look at it critically, and figure out a way to enhance it, to make the necessary changes so it is relevant."

And relevancy will always take precedence over nostalgia. "It's about arming people with knowledge," Smith says. "It's about recognizing the attachment that people have, and understanding the intention was never to make anyone feel uncomfortable. But when we recognize that, we must address it."

Complex priorities

Which, of course, raises a question: How does Disney decide what to prioritize?

Next up for Smith is the high-profile revamp of Splash Mountain, which will bring a "Princess and the Frog" attraction to Disneyland and Walt Disney World. But over the years many of Disney's heritage rides have come under the spotlight. Peter Pan's Flight, for instance, was updated for Disneyland's 60th anniversary, yet the attraction kept its Native American caricatures.

Also questionable are the exaggerated accents in the bird's voices inside the Enchanted Tiki Room. And even the Haunted Mansion has received calls for removal of a hanging scene, noting the association with suicide and lynchings.

"Complex, no doubt," says Smith.

"There are a lot of people involved in terms of how we prioritize what we tackle first," she says. "We spend a lot of quality time with our park presidents, with our regional leaders and with our [Imagineering] leadership on the ground, and we look at what's on our menu and what may have a heightened concern. There are many factors that come and go into how we prioritize, and I wish I could be more specific. At the moment, I can't even say how many projects I am on."

She also can't say too much about the "Princess and the Frog" ride, for which Disney has yet to publicly reveal a timeline. Splash Mountain remains open on both coasts.

"The ride system that people love stays intact," Smith says, "but the journey is going to take them through a sense of wonder. We had a team of people — consultants — to help us to understand New Orleans, looking at both the fantastical and real, and we had an incredible opportunity to take virtual tours of New Orleans. One of our Imagineers lives there so we spent a good five hours walking the streets of New Orleans looking at buildings, textiles and colors. We did a lot of homework. It's a celebration of Tiana."

It's also an understanding that the preservation of the parks, while serving as a history of American popular art, rests on change. Physical environments such as Disneyland are indeed museums of a sort. Throughout Disneyland are references to our history and the past 66 years, be it the globalism of the ’60s that led to It's a Small World or the knowledge that even pirates can learn the meaning of consent.

But as much as Disney's Imagineers talk about the importance of respecting and honoring people's memories, the spaces will survive only if future generations can see themselves and their beliefs reflected. While Disneyland and the theme parks it spawned were once images of Southern California leisure culture and Hollywood, for Disneyland to last another 66 years it has to connect with the same diverse and fragmented audiences of today's films, television and games.

Asked about the importance of theme parks, Lomboy recalls one of her first projects at Walt Disney World's Epcot, for which she hung around the park trying to get a sense of guest opinions.

"I remember walking into the space and seeing three generations of females — a grandmother and a mother and a daughter," says Lomboy. "I could not understand what they were saying because we didn't speak the same language. But they were smiling and laughing and having a great time.

"It hit me," she continues. "I don't have to speak the same language. I don't have to be from the same country. We don't have to be the same age. What we do transcends religion, gender, age — everything."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .

Recommended Stories

Nick saban: the way alabama players reacted after rose bowl loss 'contributed' to decision to retire.

Saban retired Jan. 10 after 17 seasons and six national titles at Alabama.

Russell Wilson's best team fits now that Broncos are moving on

Where might he land?

The Celtics' winning streak is over — and the way it ended is enough to cast some doubt moving forward

The Celtics still own the league’s best record by a country mile, but their duality was on full display Tuesday night.

Rome Odunze put on a show at NFL combine, then did something rarely ever seen

One personnel man noted that he saw Caleb Williams gravitate toward Odunze on more than one occasion this week, a reality that has likely fed into buzz that the Bears could maneuver to pair Odunze with Williams.

Stacy Wakefield, wife of late former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, dies of pancreatic cancer

Tim Wakefield, who died Oct. 1, predeceased his wife after his battle with brain cancer.

So, is it better to wash with a loofah or a washcloth? Here's the expert-approved answer

Both loofah lovers and washcloth fans are going to want to pay attention.

Caitlin Clark joins Taylor Swift, Simone Biles with custom Kristin Juszczyk vest

Clark's vest is the first Juszczyk has made for an athlete celebrating the athlete, rather than for a player's loved one.

NFL combine's biggest loser: Chicago Bears' trade market for Justin Fields

The Combine turned a draft that was top heavy with QBs into one that is also deep with QBs.

Missouri Gov. commutes sentence of ex-Chiefs assistant Britt Reid after DWI severely injured young girl

Britt Reid, the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2022 after a drunk driving incident ahead of Super Bowl LV.

Free Agency Matchmaking: Best landing spots for top QBs, RBs, WRs

No need to wait until next week for free agency to start, we tell you where everyone is going right now. Fantasy expert Tera Roberts joins Matt Harmon for our annual free agency matchmaking show. Harmon and Roberts react to the franchise tag deadline and other major pre-free agency moves that have taken place earlier this week.

The NFL combine solidified 4 first-round QBs alongside the mystery of Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix

Like J.J. McCarthy, Nix and Penix each have very strong differing opinions about them. Unlike McCarthy, they don’t have the elements of age or a forecasted high ceiling working in their favor.

NFL combine: Winners (WRs class, CB Quinyon Mitchell) and losers (Spencer Rattler, combine itself)

Wideouts of all different types and draft projections were able to shine. Meanwhile, Mitchell may wind up as the first cornerback drafted after his impressive workout.

NFL reportedly tinkering with onside kicks, considering bold rules to make kickoffs 'exciting again'

How do you make kickoffs more exciting without significantly increasing the injury rate? NFL special teams coordinators may have found the way.

Broncos end Russell Wilson era, say they will release veteran QB

To nobody's surprise, the Russell Wilson era is over in Denver.

Fantasy Baseball: Post-hype sleepers offer potential value this draft season

Fred Zinkie examines players who have disappointed fantasy managers in the past, but are worth giving a second chance.

Western Michigan stuns Ball State with a ridiculous tip-in buzzer-beater you’ve never seen before

This is March. And that means buzzer beaters.

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards ‘lost track of time,’ missed opening tipoff in win vs. Trail Blazers

Anthony Edwards missed the start of the Timberwolves’ game Monday night at the Target Center by accident.

DE Darius Robinson, possible first rounder, says NFL combine set up 'is unacceptable'

The Missouri DE said the 21 reps he did during the bench press aren't an accurate reflection of what he can do.

Former NFL player Braylon Edwards helped stop locker room attack on 80-year-old man

Edwards pulled the assailant away from the 80-year-old victim.

How Kyle Shanahan's 49ers lost the Super Bowl after winning the OT coin flip

Shanahan faced a decision never before made in Super Bowl history, thanks to the new playoff overtime rules, and he proceeded to defer an advantage three possessions into the future ... against Patrick Mahomes.

A gay character sparks debate and a reformed Trader Sam emerges in Disney's 'Jungle Cruise'

jungle cruise movie woke

  • British comedian Jack Whitehall plays a gay character in Disney’s “Jungle Cruise.”
  • Whitehall’s MacGregor Houghton “comes out” in a “Jungle Cruise” scene with Dwayne Johnson’s Frank Wolff (never using the word "gay").
  • The film features a rebooted Trader Sam, a character recently removed from the Disney Parks’ Jungle Cruise after criticism over the ride’s racist depiction of Indigenous people.

This  "Jungle Cruise" has some notable passengers. 

While Disney's action-adventure-comedy (now in theaters and Disney+ via Premier Access) revolves around  Dwayne Johnson 's punny Amazon River captain Frank Wolff and Emily Blunt' s pioneering scientist Lily Houghton, two characters of note draw outsized attention in the film based on the famed Disneyland ride.

British comedian Jack Whitehall  plays Lily's brother MacGregor Houghton, who is gay, even coming out in a scene with Wolff (though notably without employing the word "gay").

Meanwhile,   controversial shrunken head dealer Trader Sam, recently removed from the Jungle Cruise ride after criticism for its racist depiction of Indigenous people, reappears onscreen in the reimagined form of Mexican actress Veronica Falcón.

Here's how the characters took their places onboard "Jungle Cruise" which took $90 million in worldwide box office and Disney+ Premiere Access over opening weekend.

The Rock, Emily Blunt:  Reveal that most awkward 'Jungle Cruise' kiss, dirty jokes cut by Disney

MacGregor Houghton subtly comes out to his Jungle Cruise captain

Disney has been criticized for the lack of LGBTQ film representation in movies, and called out for blink-or-you'll-miss-it gay character moments in films such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Onward."  In "Jungle Cruise," Whitehall's MacGregor subtly comes out in a scene with Johnson's Frank.

MacGregor explains how he's turned down three prospective engagements to women in 1917 London society. "My interests happily lie...elsewhere," MacGregor says. Frank hoists his canteen, saying. "Well, to elsewhere." 

The word "gay" is not mentioned in the scene that further explains MacGregor's bond to his sister: audiences learn MacGregor's remaining family, and society, have turned their back on him "all because of who I love." 

Both Blunt and Johnson say the understated scene is their favorite "Jungle Cruise" moment.

"It didn't matter if he said the word 'gay' or not," says Johnson, a producer on the film. "What really mattered was the truth between two people, two human beings, sharing a drink and talking about the things they loved, the people they loved and who they are."

'Beauty and the Beast':  That 'gay moment' may have been much ado about nothing

"We didn't want to come across like we're standing on a soapbox," Johnson adds, noting the scene shows diversity and inclusion were "owned and held in regard" in the film.

Blunt praised screenwriter Michael Green for crafting the scene "with delicacy and simplicity." 

Producer Hiram Garcia says the "Jungle Cruise" filmmakers never set out to include a gay character in the period piece. "We didn’t know this is where it was going, the character naturally progressed that way," says Garcia, who insisted there was no oversight from Disney. "There was no battle to it, they loved the scene as well."

Early reaction to the gay character was mixed, with  one Twitter user stating, "Disney will really do anything to avoid using the word 'gay' in its mainstream content."

"The gay character in JUNGLE CRUISE is cute and is generally right about things," another Twitter user wrote. "Spin him off, give him a travel show."

For critics calling the character's opaque phrasing a cop-out, Garcia says, "It was never about staying away from wording... It just felt elevated and elegant. And the scene is quite touching."

Rebooted Trader Sam returns as a female character

Disney Parks announced in January that it was revamping the original Disneyland attraction after criticism of the ride's portrayal of Indigenous people. Vowing a changed attraction that would "reflect and value the diversity of the world around us," Disney revealed the updated ride at  its California park earlier this month .

The cannibalistic Trader Sam was removed from the attraction, which now ends at Trader Sam's Lost and Found with a sign posted that reads, "Back in 15 minutes, Sam."

But "Jungle Cruise," the movie, shows an entirely new Trader Sam (played by "Ozark" and "Perry Mason" actress Falcón) as a leader of a peaceful tribe who mischievously works a con game with Frank to bilk unsuspecting passengers.

Garcia says Disney had suggested a new Trader Sam from the beginning.  "Disney basically said, 'This (character) is an area we have always been unhappy with. We want to figure out how we can elevate it. What’s the version you want to tell in the film?' And we had a really good time it."

Blunt says the Trader Sam conversations were "deliberate" between the filmmakers, Disney Studios and Disney Parks. 

"We understood that we needed to maintain that whimsy and spirit of the ride with all the nostalgia, but we also need to bring it into this modern era of what's appropriate," says Blunt. "We had to be sensitive to how people want to be represented and respectful of cultures."

As to whether the revamped Trader Sam will return to the parks' attractions, Michele Himmelberg, a spokesperson for Disney Parks says, "there are no further plans for Trader Sam at this time."

  • Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Column on ‘Wokeness’ Ruining Disney World Experience Draws Backlash

In a guest column for The Orlando Sentinel, a Disney fan said he was reconsidering his commitment to the park “because Disney cares more about politics than happy guests.”

jungle cruise movie woke

By Jesus Jiménez

A column complaining that Disney World’s “wokeness” is ruining the fun “because Disney cares more about politics than happy guests” drew a sharp backlash online this week.

The guest column, “I love Disney World, but wokeness is ruining the experience,” was written by Jonathan VanBoskerck and appeared online Friday in The Orlando Sentinel .

In the column, Mr. VanBoskerck, of North Las Vegas, wrote that he was “strongly rethinking” his commitment to the amusement park and the city of Orlando, Fla., home of Disney World.

“The more Disney moves away from the values and vision of Walt Disney, the less Disney World means to me,” Mr. VanBoskerck wrote. “Disney is forgetting that guest immersion is at the core of its business model.”

Disney has made changes to its parks in recent years to make them more “inclusive” and provide an experience that “all of our guests can connect with and be inspired by,” it wrote in a blog post.

Among the changes, Disney announced last year a “retheming” of Splash Mountain, which was previously based on the 1946 Disney film “Song of the South,” in which a former slave recounts African folk tales.

Changes have extended beyond Disney’s parks, such as with the decision not to stream “Song of the South” on Disney+.

Disney World reopened its Pirates of the Caribbean ride in 2018 , replacing a scene that showed pirates selling off women in an auction. The scene now depicts the sale of “townspeople’s most prized possessions and goods,” according to a blog post on the Disney Parks site.

Among other changes, the company announced that it was “building on the story” of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland and Disney World to “include new adventures that stay true to the experience we know and love — more humor, wildlife and skipper heart — and also reflect and value the diversity of the world around us.”

The Jungle Cruise ride includes an Indigenous character named Trader Sam, who sells shrunken heads. The character was recently removed from the ride.

“We are addressing negative depictions of natives in the attraction,” Disney told Attractions Magazine .

In his column, Mr. VanBoskerck said Disney was “taking a woke scalpel” to the Jungle Cruise.

“Every grown-up in the room realizes that Trader Sam is not a representation of reality and is meant as a funny and silly caricature,” Mr. VanBoskerck wrote. “It is no more based in racism than every Disney caricature of an out-of-touch white American dad.”

Mr. VanBoskerck, who described himself as a “Christian and a conservative Republican,” said that he and his family have been Disney customers for decades and that in addition to annual visits to Disney World, the family also takes a Disney cruise “every year or two.”

The Las Vegas Review-Journal and court documents identified Mr. VanBoskerck as Clark County’s chief deputy district attorney. The district attorney’s office and Mr. VanBoskerck did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

“The parks are less fun because immersion and thus the joy is taking a back seat to politics,” Mr. VanBoskerck wrote. “Immersion should not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and appeasing the Twitter mob.”

Then a Twitter mob came for Mr. VanBoskerck, whose comments drew a strong reaction online, including from some politicians.

Representative Val Demings, who represents Florida’s 10th Congressional District where Disney World is, said on Twitter that she supported Disney’s work to be more inclusive.

“I am proud to represent a community that is welcoming, tolerant, and always evolving to offer the best possible experience,” Ms. Demings said.

Florida state lawmaker Anna V. Eskamani took a different approach on Twitter .

“So this adult man from Las Vegas is mad about Disney removing racist characters and animatronic rapists from their rides?” Ms. Eskamani said. “Did I get that right?”

Mr. VanBoskerck criticized other changes Disney has made, such as one announced this month to allow “greater flexibility” for Disney employees regarding “forms of personal expression,” such as nail and hair styles and visible tattoos.

“The problem is, I’m not traveling across the country and paying thousands of dollars to watch someone I do not know express themselves,” he wrote. “I am there for the immersion and the fantasy, not the reality of a stranger’s self-expression. I do not begrudge these people their individuality and I wish them well in their personal lives, but I do not get to express my individuality at my place of business.”

Disney announced in a blog post written by Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks experiences and products, that the change would allow its cast members to “express their cultures and individuality at work,” and for the company to “remain relevant in today’s workplace.”

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

The decision is among many the park is taking “to bring a greater focus to inclusivity and belonging for our cast” after listening to cast members about their ideas for change, Mr. D’Amaro wrote.

Mr. VanBoskerck wrote that the next time he rides the Jungle Cruise or looks at Splash Mountain, he will think about Disney’s political agenda.

“That’s a mood killer,” he wrote.

Jesus Jiménez is a breaking news reporter. More about Jesus Jiménez

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, jungle cruise.

jungle cruise movie woke

Now streaming on:

In the pantheon of Disney movies based on Disney theme park rides, "Jungle Cruise" is pretty good—leagues better than dreck like "Haunted Mansion," though not quite as satisfying as the original "Pirates of the Caribbean." 

The most pleasant surprise is that director Jaume Collet-Serra (" The Shallows ") and a credited team of five, count 'em, writers have largely jettisoned the ride's mid-century American colonial snarkiness and casual racism (a tradition  only recently eliminated ). Setting the revamp squarely in the wheelhouse of blockbuster franchise-starters like " Raiders of the Lost Ark ," " Romancing the Stone " and "The Mummy," and pushing the fantastical elements to the point where the story barely seems to be taking place in our universe, it's a knowingly goofy romp, anchored to the banter between its leads, an English feminist and adventurer played by Emily Blunt and a riverboat captain/adventurer played by  Dwayne Johnson . 

Notably, however, even though the stars' costumes (and a waterfall sequence) evoke the classic "The African Queen"—John Huston's comic romance/action film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn ; worth looking up if you've never watched it—the sexual chemistry between the two is nonexistent, save for a few fleeting moments, like when Frank picks up the heroine‘s hand-cranked silent film camera and captures affectionate images of her. At times the leads seem more like a brother and sister needling each other than a will they/won’t they bantering couple. Lack of sexual heat is often (strangely) a bug, or perhaps a feature, in films starring Johnson, the four-quadrant blockbuster king (though not on Johnson’s HBO drama "Ballers"). Blunt keeps putting out more than enough flinty looks of interest to sell a romance, but her leading man rarely reflects it back at her. Fortunately, the film's tight construction and prolific action scenes carry it, and Blunt and Johnson do the irresistible force/immovable object dynamic well enough, swapping energies as the story demands.

Blunt's character, Lily Houghton, is a well-pedigreed adventurer who gathers up maps belonging to her legendary father and travels to the Amazon circa 1916 to find the Tears of the Moon, petals from a "Tree of Life"-type of fauna that can heal all infirmities. She and her snooty, pampered brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) hire Frank "Skipper" Wolff (Johnson) to bring them to their destination. The only notable concession to the original theme park ride comes here: Wolff's day job is taking tourists upriver and making cheesy jokes in the spirit of "hosts" on Disney Jungle Cruise rides of yore. On the mission, Johnson immediately settles into a cranky but funny old sourpuss vibe, a la John Wayne or Harrison Ford , and inhabits it amiably enough, even though buoyant, almost childlike optimism comes more naturally to him than world-weary gruffness. 

The supporting cast is stacked with overqualified character players. Paul Giamatti plays a gold-toothed, sunburned, cartoonishly “Italian” harbor master who delights at keeping Frank in debt. Edgar Ramirez is creepy and scary as a conquistador whose curse from centuries ago has trapped him in the jungle.  Jesse Plemons plays the main baddie, Prince Joachim, who wants to filch the power of the petals for the Kaiser back in Germany (he's Belloq to the stars' Indy and Marion, trying to swipe the Ark). Unsurprisingly, given his track record, Plemons steals the film right out from under its leads.

Collet-Serra keeps the action moving along, pursuing a more classical style than is commonplace in recent live-action Disney product (by which I mean, the blocking and editing have a bit of elegance, and you always know where characters are in relation to each other). The editing errs on the side of briskness to such an extent that affecting, beautiful, or spectacular images never get to linger long enough to become iconic. The CGI is dicey, particularly on the larger jungle animals—was the production rushed, or were the artists just overworked?—and there are moments when everything seems so rubbery/plasticky that you seem to be watching the first film that was actually shot on location at Disney World.

But the staging and execution of the chases and fights compensates. Derivative of films that were themselves highly derivative, "Jungle Cruise" has the look and feel of a paycheck gig for all involved, but everyone seems to be having a great time, including the filmmakers.

In theaters and on Disney+ for a premium charge starting Friday, July 30th. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Now playing

jungle cruise movie woke

Monica Castillo

jungle cruise movie woke

The Arc of Oblivion

jungle cruise movie woke

Ordinary Angels

jungle cruise movie woke

Peyton Robinson

jungle cruise movie woke

Cristina Escobar

Film credits.

Jungle Cruise movie poster

Jungle Cruise (2021)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence.

127 minutes

Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff

Emily Blunt as Dr. Lily Houghton

Jack Whitehall as McGregor Houghton

Edgar Ramírez as Aguirre

Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim

Paul Giamatti as Nilo

  • Jaume Collet-Serra

Writer (story)

  • Glenn Ficarra
  • Josh Goldstein
  • John Norville

Cinematographer

  • Flavio Martínez Labiano
  • Joel Negron
  • James Newton Howard

Latest blog posts

jungle cruise movie woke

Do You Believe in Magic? In America Twenty Years On

jungle cruise movie woke

Stay Vigilant: Directors Camille Hardman and Gary Lane on Still Working 9 to 5

jungle cruise movie woke

A (Not So) Brief History of Silent Film Influences on Pop Music

jungle cruise movie woke

The Best Legal and Courtroom Dramas

Why ‘Jungle Cruise’ Is More Problematic Than ‘Suicide Squad 2’

  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to Linkedin

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt's 'Jungle Cruise'

The commercial failure of The Suicide Squad stings, but Jungle Cruise was supposed to be Disney's first new successful live-action franchise since National Treasure and Pirates of the Caribbean .

With around $2.8 million on Tuesday (+8% from Monday), Warner Bros.’ The Suicide Squad has earned around $31.64 million in five days of release. That’s obviously a pretty terrible result for the $185 million DC Films super-villain sequel, and it’s not like those 2.8 million reported households who watched the film (so says SambaTV ) in America over its Thurs-Sun HBO Max debut made up the difference in theoretically lost box office. Meanwhile, Disney’s Jungle Cruise earned around $1.8 million yesterday (+28% from Monday) for a $69 million 12-day domestic cume. Both films are relative theatrical disappointments, with both using non-theatrical exhibition as a glorified excuse/caveat for their softer-than-hoped earnings.

I’m not hugely surprised that Jungle Cruise has continued to earn decent Disney+ transactional business even after opening weekend ( as much as $45 million in America and at least $15 million overseas , if the math came out right). Dwayne Johnson’s Jumanji: The Next Level was a big VOD/DVD hit in the earlier days of the pandemic. Heck, my youngest son got briefly hooked on Rampage in mid-2020. The Brad Peyton-directed flick is still the best video game movie ever made. Oh, and Naomie Harris remains an underrated blockbuster utility player. Family-friendly “The Rock in the jungle” movies are prime four-quadrant comfort watches, even if I maintain Jungle Cruise isn’t among the better entries.

There was never any grand logic in spending $185 million to make an R-rated sequel to a $175 million, PG-13 Will Smith movie without Will Smith. A second Suicide Squad movie without the above-noted elements was always a commercial time bomb, which is part of why I haven’t been that sympathetic to Covid-related variables. But nor was there logic, years of development costs notwithstanding, in spending $200 million on a Dwayne Johnson/Emily Blunt Jungle Cruise movie. The last two Jumanji movies cost $210 million combined, while the comparatively “bang for your buck” Rampage cost $120 million and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island cost $80 million. That’s, by the way, $2.527 billion worldwide in global theatrical box office on a combined $410 million budget.

Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl'

While The Suicide Squad and Jungle Cruise are both theatrical disasters, and I cannot say that either of them would have been hits in normal times, the stakes are comparatively lower for the James Gunn-directed superhero sequel. The rave reviews help the overall post-Snyder DC Films franchise narrative, and its commercial reception won’t negatively impact The Batman or Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom . However, Jungle Cruise was A) a movie that looked like a more likely hit in pre-Covid times and B) Disney’s best chance at crafting a new theatrically live-action franchise. Both films, save for a theoretically face-saving run in China, may struggle to top $200 million worldwide. But only one was trying to end a 16-year losing streak.

With a popular theme park ride, big kid-friendly movie stars and a template that combined The Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean and Romancing the Stone into a presumably crowd-pleasing stew, Jungle Cruise was pegged to be Disney’s first breakout newbie since National Treasure in 2004 and Pirates of the Caribbean in 2003. While Bob Iger’s reign at Disney was unquestionably successful in terms of generated revenue and pop culture domination (Disney flicks earned $12 billion worldwide in 2019), most of that success came from acquisitions. Disney bought Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012 and Fox in 2019. One area where Disney has been a failure over the last decade-and-a-half is in making new live-action theatrical franchises.

Among the dead: Tron: Legacy ($400 million worldwide on a $170 million budget) , Prince of Persia ($336 million/$200 million) , The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ($215 million/$150 million) , John Carter ($284 million/$250 million) , The Lone Ranger ($260 million/$215 million), A Wrinkle in Time ($133 million/$103 million) and Artemis Fowl (which went to Disney+ for a reason) . Disney’s pull is due to their animated output, exploiting that library for live-action reimaginings, Star Wars and Marvel. However, the commercially bankable non-sequel animated film, think Coco and Moana, could be a relic of the past. With Onward bombing and both Soul and Luca going the Disney+ route where applicable (opening in China August 20), the future for the animated original may be as grim as for the live-action original.

The Lone Ranger

There’s only so many Disney animated classics that can justify the blockbuster reimagined treatment, and most of them have been checked off the list. There’s a difference between Dumbo ($350 million) and Aladdin ($1.053 billion). After Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ($485 million) and Alice Through the Looking Glass ($299 million) , there’s no guarantee that even the blockbusters can justify sequels. Throw in Star Wars uncertainty after the disappointing conclusion of “The Skywalker Saga,” and the sheer hope that Avatar 2 can repeat the impossible. You now have a Disney empire that is now almost entirely predicated on the (sure to be comparatively smaller after the end of “The Infinity Saga”) MCU. Bob Chapek needs new live-action franchises.

Jungle Cruise was supposed to be a new template going forward, and by “new” I mean “the theme park thing again.” Scarlett Johansson, lawsuits over box office-specific bonuses notwithstanding, is supposed to make a Tower of Terror movie and there’s a new Haunted Mansion starring Lakeith Stanfield and Tiffany Haddish in the works . While it’s tempting, and perhaps even accurate, to blame a severe Covid curve on the comparatively soft theatrical earnings, a $35 million debut was right in line with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Central Intelligence and Rampage . Would it have opened in better times closer to the $55-$59 million likes of San Andreas, Jumanji: The Next Level and Hobbs in Shaw ? Maybe, but maybe not.

Maybe Jungle Cruise would have notched Pirates of the Caribbean ($654 million/$130 million in 2003)-level grosses under pre-Covid circumstances. Maybe it merely would have played like Prince of Persia ($336 million/$200 million) , Battleship ($303 million/$209 million) and Robin Hood ($322 million/$200 million). DC Films can afford to take the hit with The Suicide Squad. I’d argue the HBO Max sacrifice of Wonder Woman 1984 did more damage in that realm. But Disney really needed Jungle Cruise to give them something other than the Avengers to smile about. That it didn’t break out, partially due to Covid circumstances worsening between early summer and late summer, means that Disney’s “new live-action theatrical franchise” batting average remains 0.00 since 2004.

Scott Mendelson

  • Editorial Standards
  • Reprints & Permissions

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Rotten Tomatoes Newsletter

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

  • Upcoming Movies and TV shows
  • Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
  • Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

  • What's the Tomatometer®?
  • Login/signup

jungle cruise movie woke

Movies in theaters

  • Opening this week
  • Top box office
  • Coming soon to theaters
  • Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

  • Netflix streaming
  • Amazon prime
  • Most popular streaming movies
  • What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

  • Dune: Part Two Link to Dune: Part Two
  • Stopmotion Link to Stopmotion
  • Orion and the Dark Link to Orion and the Dark

New TV Tonight

  • The Regime: Season 1
  • The Gentlemen: Season 1
  • The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy: Season 2
  • Queens: Season 1
  • Blown Away: Season 4
  • Animal Control: Season 2
  • The Cleaning Lady: Season 3
  • Alert: Missing Persons Unit: Season 2
  • Hot Wheels: Let's Race: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

  • Shōgun: Season 1
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 1
  • The Tourist: Season 2
  • One Day: Season 1
  • American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders: Season 1
  • House of Ninjas: Season 1
  • The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: Season 1
  • Constellation: Season 1
  • The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin: Season 1
  • Best TV Shows
  • Most Popular TV
  • TV & Streaming News
  • Prime Video

Certified fresh pick

  • Elsbeth: Season 1 Link to Elsbeth: Season 1
  • All-Time Lists
  • Binge Guide
  • Comics on TV
  • Five Favorite Films
  • Video Interviews
  • Weekend Box Office
  • Weekly Ketchup
  • What to Watch

Box Office 2024: Top 10 Movies of the Year

Best Movies of 2024: Best New Movies to Watch Now

Women’s History

Awards Tour

Rotten Tomatoes Predicts the 2024 Oscars

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

  • Trending on RT
  • Play Movie Trivia
  • Dune: Part Two

Jungle Cruise

2021, Adventure/Action, 2h 7m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Its craft isn't quite as sturdy as some of the classic adventures it's indebted to, but Jungle Cruise remains a fun, family-friendly voyage. Read critic reviews

Audience Says

Funny, full of action, and an all-around good time, Jungle Cruise is a ride well worth taking. Read audience reviews

You might also like

Where to watch jungle cruise.

Watch Jungle Cruise with a subscription on Disney+, rent on Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, or buy on Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video.

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)

You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified..

AMCTheatres.com or AMC App New

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

Theater box office or somewhere else

By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

Jungle cruise videos, jungle cruise   photos.

Join fan favorites Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt for the adventure of a lifetime on Disney's JUNGLE CRUISE, a rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton. Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank's questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila--his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities--possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate--and mankind's--hangs in the balance.

Rating: PG-13 (Adventure Violence)

Genre: Adventure, Action, Comedy, Fantasy

Original Language: English

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Producer: John Davis , John Fox , Beau Flynn , Dwayne Johnson , Dany Garcia , Hiram Garcia

Writer: Michael Green , Glenn Ficarra , John Requa

Release Date (Theaters): Jul 30, 2021  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Aug 31, 2021

Box Office (Gross USA): $117.0M

Runtime: 2h 7m

Distributor: Walt Disney

Production Co: Flynn Picture Company, Walt Disney Pictures, Seven Bucks Productions, Davis Entertainment, TSG Entertainment

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Dwayne Johnson

Frank Wolff

Emily Blunt

Lily Houghton

Edgar Ramírez

Jack Whitehall

McGregor Houghton

Jesse Plemons

Prince Joachim

Paul Giamatti

Verónica Falcón

Dani Rovira

Quim Gutiérrez

Sir James Hobbs-Coddington

Jaume Collet-Serra

Michael Green

Screenwriter

Glenn Ficarra

Dany Garcia

Hiram Garcia

Scott Sheldon

Executive Producer

Douglas C. Merrifield

Flavio Labiano

Cinematographer

Joel Negron

Film Editing

James Newton Howard

Original Music

Jean-Vincent Puzos

Production Design

Chris Hansen

Art Director

Set Decoration

Paco Delgado

Costume Design

Marisol Roncali

News & Interviews for Jungle Cruise

All Upcoming Disney Movies: New Disney Live-Action, Animation, Pixar, Marvel, 20th Century, And Searchlight

The 88 Most Anticipated Movies of 2021

Weekend Box Office Results: Jungle Cruise Sails Past Expectations With $34.2 Million Debut

Critic Reviews for Jungle Cruise

Audience reviews for jungle cruise.

Silly but enjoyable. Sort of dual remake of both "The Mummy" (1999) and the first "Pirates of the Caribbean".

jungle cruise movie woke

Disney film that is enough to watch with the family and friends, but offers little return value. Between all the remakes of animated classics, Disney lacks a focus on new and fresh ideas. Jungle Cruise may not be the step in the right direction but it demonstrates they are still willing to take a risk. Blunt is well cast and she is rarely miscast, but it's Johnson who feels out of his element. The film is a mess of special effects mixed together with Pirates of the Caribbean. It's an odd choice the filmmaker and writers made for this mega budgeted film. I just don't understand why they make these films so massive and risk not turning a profit. This should've been a more character focused film with a splash of big adventure. I have heard they are planning a sequel, but I thought they closed this off well enough to avoid a sequel.

A great adventure film and while it is reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Mummy, it has some original twists and the humor makes the film. Blunt and Johnson are great and Plemmons looks like he is seventh heaven chewing up the scenery!. Well Directed and written. Enjoyable from beginning to end. 09-06-2021

Disney turned a theme park ride that mostly involved sitting into a billion-dollar supernatural adventure franchise, so why not try another swing at reshaping its existing park properties into would-be blockbuster tentpoles? Jungle Cruise owes a lot to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and actually owes a little too much for its own good. For the first half of the movie, it coasts on the charms of stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt and some light-footed visual misadventures. Then the second half turn involves a significant personal revelation, and that's where the movie felt like it was being folded and crushed into form to closely resemble the Pirates franchise. It gets quite convoluted and littered with lackluster villains, too many and too stock to ever establish as intriguing or memorable (one of them is a man made of honey, so that's a thing). I found myself also pulling away in the second half because of the inevitable romance. Their screwball combative banter between Johnson and Blunt gave me some smiles and entertainment and then, as they warm to one another, it sadly dissipated, as did my interest. The comedy is really labored at points. Johnson keeps referring to Blunt as "Pants" because she's a woman and she wears pants in the twentieth century. It was not funny the first time and it's not funny or endearing after the 80th rendition. The supernatural elements and curses feel extraneous and tacked on. With the Pirates films, at least the good ones, there are a lot of plot elements they need to keep in the air and you assume they're be able to land them as needed. The competing character goals were so well established and developed in those movies and served as an anchor even amid the chaos of plot complications and double and triple crosses. With Jungle Cruise, it feels like a lot of effort but also a lot of dropped or mishandled story and thematic elements. This feels more creatively by committee and the heavily green screen action is harder to fully immerse with. As a wacky adventure serial, there may be enough to keep a viewer casually entertained, but Jungle Cruise feels too beholden to the Pirates formula without bringing anything exciting or fresh on its own imagination merits. Nate's Grade: C

Movie & TV guides

Play Daily Tomato Movie Trivia

Discover What to Watch

Rotten Tomatoes Podcasts

15 Things to Know About 'Jungle Cruise' From Our Visit to the Disney Adventure Movie Set

Who's ready for an adventure?

In Disney's Jungle Cruise , Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt take the helm for a rip-roaring river adventure that goes beyond the banks of a Brazilian port town and into the heart of the Amazon to unearth secrets borne of ancient myth and legend. If that doesn't get you excited, perhaps our report from the Hawaii-based set of the soon-to-open movie will. We've got interviews with the leads, as well as supporting characters played by Jack Whitehall and Paul Giamatti coming your way this week, but to get you all comfy-cozy for your river cruise, we've put all the highlights together in one convenient location for you before the movie opens in theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on July 30th.

Check out the official synopsis to get acquainted, and then dive in to 15 Things to Know about Disney's Jungle Cruise :

Inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride, Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” is an adventure-filled, rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton. Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank’s questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila—his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities—possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate—and mankind’s—hangs in the balance.

RELATED: Here’s What’s New on Disney+ in July 2021

jungle-cruise-emily-blunt

  • Jungle Cruise takes inspiration from the famous Disney Parks' attraction in the same way that Pirates of the Caribbean did, and Disney is hoping for the same level of success with this potentially franchise-launching first movie.
  • Part world-tripping adventure, part action-packed quest for the truth behind ancient secrets and legends, Jungle Cruise really starts steaming once Johnson's rough-and-tumble skipper Frank Wolff and Blunt's progressive and independent explorer Lily Houghton meet up in a Brazilian port town.
  • The core of the narrative here is definitely the adventure along the Amazon river (and beyond) but the heart of the story is the relationship between the leads.
  • Romancing the Stone , Pirates of the Caribbean , and The African Queen were often cited as inspiration for Jungle Cruise .
  • Complicating Wolff and Houghton's journey into the unknown is the local businessman Nilo ( Paul Giamatti ) who wants to run Wolff out of business to control everything in the town, as well as the more worldly antagonist Prince Joachim ( Jesse Plemons ), who is as well-connected as he is devious and deceitful.

jungle-cruise-set-photo

  • Wolff and Houghton aren't alone in their journey; they'll have the somewhat stuffy but charming McGregor Houghton ( Jack Whitehall ), Lily's brother, by their side, along with some unexpected allies.
  • McGregor, a very proper British gentleman, has quite the wardrobe in this movie. Whitehall has somewhere on the order of 10 costume changes, which is more befitting a leading lady in classic Hollywood productions than a supporting male character. (He had a team tasked with following him around to keep his all-white three-piece suit crisp and clean in between takes on the muddy jungle set.) Jungle Cruise plays this up quite comedically, especially when McGregor and Wolff first meet aboard the skipper's rickety steamer ship, La Quila. As Whitehall himself said of the character, "McGregor might just be the worst person that you could have in this environment."
  • McGregor also acts as the voice of reason, a counterpoint to his headstrong sister Lily.
  • Whitehall's mother, Hilary Gish , read lines with him for his audition tape, playing the part of both Blunt and Johnson's characters. We're told the footage of this exists somewhere, but we have yet to see it (and would love to.) Meanwhile, Whitehall and his father Michael can be seen together in Netflix's Travels With My Father .
  • During our set visit, Whitehall had to act opposite an actor in a leotard performing as a jaguar which was terrorizing the tavern. Whitehall has worked opposite real animals before, such as some rather rude horses in The Nutcracker , but on this occasion he remarked, "It's so good that this is not a real jaguar."

jungle cruise movie woke

  • The early villain of the piece, Nilo, is a well-appointed but severely sunburned businessman, played with plenty of personality by Giamatti, who had quite a bit of latitude when it came to shaping his character.
  • The "really wacky" script, as Giamatti said, called for Nilo to have an animal friend in the movie. Originally this was intended to be a monkey, which can be found throughout the port town's market, but eventually they went with a cockatoo named Lover -- named Rosita in the film itself -- for the final shoot. Giamatti's rapport with Lover ended up getting the bird more time in the spotlight and even a few more lines in the script.
  • While Nilo will antagonize our heroes in the first section of the movie, he's not the Big Bad of Jungle Cruise . Knowing that, Giamatti wanted to make him a little goofier, a little funnier, and a little more cartoonish.
  • Johnson in particular did a lot of research into the iconic ride for this movie, including spending time with the Imagineers in the Disney Vault. He and the whole team are quite proud of the movie, especially since the adventure ride was so important to Walt Disney, who was the attraction's first skipper when Walt Disney World first opened.
  • Roughly the first half hour of Jungle Cruise takes place on the Hawaii-based stand-in set for the Brazilian port town, where our set visit took place. The hotel, the market, the tavern, and all the boats and boathouses along the docks were practical creations for the set, and they're all phenomenal. If they had been left standing, they would have been quite the adventurous attraction for tourists to explore. Sadly, these sets were dismantled when the production moved to Atlanta in order to explore more of the magic and mythology (and "Adventureland" Easter eggs) that can be found in the remainder of Jungle Cruise .

Jungle Cruise opens in theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on July 30th.

KEEP READING: New Trailer for Disney's 'Jungle Cruise' Has Strong 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Vibes

clock This article was published more than  2 years ago

‘Jungle Cruise’ invites you to turn off your mind, relax and float downstream

jungle cruise movie woke

Jungle Cruise — the theme park ride, not the new Disney movie it has inspired — is notable for the groan-worthy humor of its “skippers,” the tour guides who provide Borscht-Belt-style entertainment for passengers on the minutes-long trip down a lazy (fake) river lined with animatronic animals. The shtick is bad, and leans on wordplay and dad jokes that often have nothing to do with the tropical rainforest setting, along the lines of: “I used to work in an orange juice factory, but I got canned . My boss said I couldn’t concentrate .” (Pause for laughter.)

That esprit of the unapologetically cheese ball, the ersatz and the at-times downright inexplicable — however lovable some fans of Disney’s theme parks might call those qualities — permeates and weighs down the new movie. That movie stars Dwayne Johnson as an effervescent Amazon riverboat skipper named Frank, who utters some version of that same, field-tested orange-juice bit during the film’s early moments. He is no more convincing in the role than a guy in a Mickey Mouse costume waving to you from behind the touch-point entrance stanchions of Typhoon Lagoon.

The plot of “Jungle Cruise”is generally more straightforward than the river itself: Frank gets hired by a British plant scientist named Lily (Emily Blunt), who, along with her reluctant brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall), is searching the Brazilian jungle for a legendary tree. Its petals, known as Tears of the Moon, are said to possess miraculous healing powers — and, for no extra charge, the ability to break curses.

Did someone say curses? Hold that thought.

Yes, along with the lush (CGI-enhanced) natural scenery, and the historical backdrop of World War I — which somehow allows for a German villain (Jesse Plemons, with an overripe accent and a U-boat armed with torpedoes) to wander around the world unimpeded in search of the same tree — there is also an element of the supernatural. Edgar Ramírez plays an undead, moth-eaten conquistador, and there are mechanical stone apparatuses reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie. For all its disparate influences and cinematic borrowings, a better title for this movie might have been “Jungle Pirates of the Lost Ark.”

Still, over a running time of more than two hours, packed more tightly than the Rock’s bulging shirt with slapstick violence and implausible peril, Johnson manages to carry the film to a (more or less) satisfying conclusion — assuming you’re a small child in need of constant distraction. For older teens, adults or anyone with higher storytelling standards, there’s a romantic subplot involving Lily and Frank, and a sprinkling of naughty double-entendres. At one point, MacGregor asks Frank, after the skipper has been injured, whether he’d like to bite down on MacGregor’s stick. Much has already been reported about MacGregor’s sexuality , which has nothing to do with anything, really, but is refreshing to see in a Disney film.

Other amazing sights you’ll see on this “Cruise”: Frank wrassling with a jaguar; river dolphins; a bad guy who can converse with snakes and bees; dangerous rapids; people eating piranhas, and not the other way around; and a scene in which Frank emerges from the river, soaking wet, only to put on a dry shirt for some reason — over his already waterlogged one.

You’ll also meet the character of Trader Sam (Veronica Falcón), the Indigenous shrunken-head dealer who, although removed by Disney from its Jungle Cruise rides earlier this year because of racial insensitivity, is back, albeit in a more woke version. She refers, sarcastically, to dropping the “ooga-booga” stuff. Again, good for Disney.

This is an untaxing, big-budget summer popcorn movie for the whole family. Like the ride itself, it requires no more mental engagement than you would devote to any theme park visit (excluding the thrill rides, which actually raise a pulse.) At many points, you might find yourself asking, like MacGregor, “Are we there yet?”

PG-13. At area theaters; also available on Disney Plus with Premier Access. Contains sequences of adventure violence and some racy humor. 127 minutes.

jungle cruise movie woke

  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews

Jungle Cruise

Paul Giamatti, Dwayne Johnson, Jesse Plemons, Edgar Ramírez, Emily Blunt, and Jack Whitehall in Jungle Cruise (2021)

Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element. Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element. Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element.

  • Jaume Collet-Serra
  • Michael Green
  • Glenn Ficarra
  • Dwayne Johnson
  • Emily Blunt
  • Edgar Ramírez
  • 1.2K User reviews
  • 296 Critic reviews
  • 50 Metascore
  • 5 wins & 9 nominations

Skipper Frank Trailer

  • Frank Wolff

Emily Blunt

  • Lily Houghton

Edgar Ramírez

  • MacGregor Houghton

Jesse Plemons

  • Prince Joachim

Paul Giamatti

  • (as Quim Gutierrez)

Dan Dargan Carter

  • Sir James Hobbs-Coddington

Raphael Alejandro

  • Chief's Daughter

Sebastian Blunt

  • Society Guard

Mark Ashworth

  • Society Member

Allan Poppleton

  • Society Worker
  • All cast & crew
  • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Dwayne Johnson & Emily Blunt Answer Burning Questions

Editorial Image

More like this

Red Notice

Did you know

  • Trivia Many of the puns Frank uses are taken directly from the Disney Parks attraction on which the movie is based. These "so bad they're good" jokes are one of the reasons why Jungle Cruise skippers are so important to the ride experience.
  • Goofs Prince Joachim knows where the trapped Spanish are located. There was no record of this because only Skipper knew where he trapped them.

Frank Wolff : If you're lucky enough to have one person in this life to care about, then that's world enough for me.

  • Crazy credits The bay in the Disney logo is seen to have the water glowing purple, and after the Disney logo fully appears the camera dives into the water and leads to the Tree of Life, which opens the film.
  • Connections Featured in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: D23 Expo 2019 Extravaganza (2019)
  • Soundtracks Nothing Else Matters Reimagined by Metallica and James Newton Howard With featured performances by James Hetfield , Lars Ulrich , Kirk Hammett , Robert Trujillo Written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich Associate Producer and Engineer Greg Fidelman

User reviews 1.2K

  • moviematthewh-60783
  • Jul 30, 2021
  • How long is Jungle Cruise? Powered by Alexa
  • Will 'Weird Al' Yankovic's song 'Skipper Dan' about Disney's Jungle Cruise ride be featured in this movie?
  • July 30, 2021 (United States)
  • United States
  • New Zealand
  • United Kingdom
  • Czech Republic
  • Official Facebook
  • Thám Hiểm Rừng Xanh
  • Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA
  • Davis Entertainment
  • Flynn Picture Company
  • Seven Bucks Productions
  • See more company credits at IMDbPro
  • $200,000,000 (estimated)
  • $116,987,516
  • $35,018,731
  • Aug 1, 2021
  • $220,889,446

Technical specs

  • Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
  • Dolby Atmos
  • IMAX 6-Track

Related news

Contribute to this page.

  • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
  • Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Production art

Recently viewed

Cookie banner

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy . Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use , which became effective December 20, 2019.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies.

Follow The Ringer online:

  • Follow The Ringer on Twitter
  • Follow The Ringer on Instagram
  • Follow The Ringer on Youtube

Site search

  • Dune: Part Two
  • What to Watch
  • Bill Simmons Podcast
  • 24 Question Party People
  • 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s
  • Against All Odds
  • Bachelor Party
  • The Bakari Sellers Podcast
  • Beyond the Arc
  • The Big Picture
  • Black Girl Songbook
  • Book of Basketball 2.0
  • Boom/Bust: HQ Trivia
  • Counter Pressed
  • The Dave Chang Show
  • East Coast Bias
  • Every Single Album: Taylor Swift
  • Extra Point Taken
  • Fairway Rollin’
  • Fantasy Football Show
  • The Fozcast
  • The Full Go
  • Gambling Show
  • Gene and Roger
  • Higher Learning
  • The Hottest Take
  • Jam Session
  • Just Like Us
  • Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air
  • Last Song Standing
  • The Local Angle
  • Masked Man Show
  • The Mismatch
  • Mint Edition
  • Morally Corrupt Bravo Show
  • New York, New York
  • Off the Pike
  • One Shining Podcast
  • Philly Special
  • Plain English
  • The Pod Has Spoken
  • The Press Box
  • The Prestige TV Podcast
  • Recipe Club
  • The Rewatchables
  • Ringer Dish
  • The Ringer-Verse
  • The Ripple Effect
  • The Rugby Pod
  • The Ryen Russillo Podcast
  • Sports Cards Nonsense
  • Slow News Day
  • Speidi’s 16th Minute
  • Somebody’s Gotta Win
  • Sports Card Nonsense
  • This Blew Up
  • Trial by Content
  • Wednesday Worldwide
  • What If? The Len Bias Story
  • Wrighty’s House
  • Wrestling Show
  • Latest Episodes
  • All Podcasts

Filed under:

  • Pop Culture

A Ride on the Lazy River

Jaume Collet-Serra does his best to inject some weird electricity into ‘Jungle Cruise,’ but even a B-movie virtuoso like him can get swallowed up in Disney’s waters

Share this story

  • Share this on Facebook
  • Share this on Twitter
  • Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: A Ride on the Lazy River

jungle cruise movie woke

There’s a wry bit of staging early on in Jungle Cruise diagramming the brutal, bottom-line realities of the food chain; bugs, fish, and birds of different sizes keep consuming one another until the last one gets picked off by a hawk. No matter how deadly something may be, there are bigger predators hovering somewhere up above.

For fans of the Spanish B-movie virtuoso Jaume Collet-Serra— and I am one of them —this little bit of CGI choreography could read as the coded admission of a genre specialist about the nature of his latest job-for-hire. “I like to work within certain limitations and find creative solutions to the problems I’ve been given,” Collet-Serra told me in 2016. The problem posed by taking on a $200 million family franchise movie is a unique one: how to keep from completely disappearing in the belly of the beast.

Typically, Collet-Serra’s thrillers effectively hinge on the logistics of emancipation or escape, whether it’s Liam Neeson stuck on an airplane in Non-Stop , Liam Neeson stuck on a train in The Commuter , Liam Neeson stuck at Madison Square Garden in Run All Night , or (best of all) Blake Lively stuck on a rock in the ocean, trying to evade a ravenous great white shark. The Shallows ’ Jaws- meets- Gravity riff—with a little bit of Frogger thrown in—was a surprise summer hit and deservedly so: It’s a primal scare machine infused with serene, aquamarine beauty. (When Lively encounters a school of glowing jellyfish just before the climax, it’s a close encounter with a sort of Spielbergian sublimity.) Even a nasty, tasteless little throwaway like 2009’s Orphan has its ingenious aspects, including a hidden-in-plain-sight twist executed in a way that would make M. Night Shyamalan himself grin.

Jungle Cruise is not ingenious, or nasty—no nuns take a claw hammer to the skull in this one—and there’s no universe in which something this ostentatiously expensive could reasonably be called a B-movie. Like Pirates of the Caribbean before it , it’s a corporate exercise in intellectual property renovation, and in order to work, it doesn’t require artistry; if anything, too much independent vision could be a liability. But even working in mercenary mode, a bit of Collet-Serra’s trademark wit bleeds through. An early sequence shows curmudgeonly riverboat helmer Frank (Dwayne Johnson, whose muscles do not look like they belong in the year 1916) scamming a gaggle of tourists with an array of clunky, prefab mechanical gimmicks he’s rigged along his usual route—a veteran’s tricks of the trade. Over and over again, Frank’s passengers willingly fork out wads of cash for the pleasure of being taken advantage of; without ever officially breaking the fourth wall, the scene simultaneously celebrates and lambasts the movie’s roots as an old-school theme park ride.

The original Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise, which wound its way through 1,900 feet of artificially murky water in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, was conceived of as an experiential cousin to the studio’s 1950s True-Life Adventures documentary series—exotic travelogues aimed at family audiences, featuring on-location footage narrated with pedagogical stiffness. The ride has gone through multiple upgrades over the years, but the theatrical release of Jungle Cruise dovetails with Disney’s PR-driven decision to refurbish the attraction on an intellectual level: the newly unveiled versions will excise “negative depictions of native people,” and curb the underlying British-imperialist pastiche.

The contradiction between an old-school adventure serial tone à la Raiders of the Lost Ark and cautiously progressive politics can be uneasy, and Jungle Cruise struggles when it downshifts into PC point-scoring mode. It’s considerably more successful when it leans into its retro textures and acknowledges the sources it’s so brazenly stealing from. In addition to the True-Life Adventures docs, designer Bill Evans based Jungle Cruise on John Huston’s classic romance The African Queen , and Johnson’s rumpled Humphrey Bogart cosplay as Frank is one of several nostalgic touches that show Collet-Serra and his screenwriting team goofing sweetly on movie history.

For instance: Having secured Frank’s services for a trip down the Amazon in search of the mythical Tree of Life—specifically in hopes of procuring an enchanted petal that could be used to cure all of the world’s sicknesses—indomitable British botanist Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) brings aboard a hand-cranked camera that she uses to capture twitchy, pixelated black-and-white footage of the skipper. These interludes must be the first time (notwithstanding any wrestling promos) that the Rock has ever been shot in black and white, and the effect is unexpected and charming. Meanwhile, as an evil German aristocrat trying to outpace Lily to the Tree (and use its powers to swing World War I to the Fatherland), Jesse Plemons seems to be impersonating Werner Herzog circa the cursed, jungle-set making of the documentary Burden of Dreams —a suspicion heightened by the equally maligned presence of a supernaturally reanimated 16th century conquistador named Aguirre (Edgar Ramírez), whose wrath poses its own threat to our heroes.

That these references are likely to go over the heads of the film’s intended audience of children (and most of their parental guardians) is a strictly no-harm, no-foul proposition; where a movie like Space Jam: A New Legacy is fully dependent on its pop-cultural allusions, Jungle Cruise is aiming for the kind of broad, crowd-pleasing tone that Stephen Sommers achieved in 1999’s The Mummy (the franchise that turned Johnson into a movie star in the first place). What made The Mummy enjoyable was a dopey charm distinct from actual stupidity, and which had a lot to do with the performances of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Johnson and Blunt have a similar dynamic: her graceful slapstick physicality bounces humorously off his granite-like presence, as do her deadpan line readings. The back-and-forth banter isn’t at the level of The African Queen but the rhythm they work up isn’t too bad, and it suits Collet-Serra’s on-the-fly sensibility—his gift for keeping even the most clichéd material moving fluidly from left-to-right.

Where Jungle Cruise slows down—and gets stuck—is in its elaborate mythology (which also scuttled the Pirates series) and those aforementioned attempts at political correctness, the most widely publicized of which involves the character of Lily’s brother McGregor (Jack Whitehall). In the wake of Avengers: Endgame offering up a blink-or-miss-it bit involving a gay member of a support group and Josh Gad taking credit for supposedly queering his goofy sidekick role in Beauty and the Beast —neither exactly a cause for celebration— Jungle Cruise is being proudly touted by its studio as a third-time’s-the-charm breakthrough. During a bit of downtime in between action scenes, McGregor explains to Frank that he puts up with Lily’s globe-trotting antics because his sister stood by him at a moment of familial ostracization because his romantic interests “lay elsewhere.” “To elsewhere,” Frank toasts, all but winking at the screen, a live-and-let-live benediction from the People’s Champ.

All of which is nice enough, but there’s a crucial difference between having a major character just casually be gay and hinging his development on closeted frustration. The early 20th century setting becomes justification for a deceptively double-edged kind of representation—an exchange that scans more like a lesson in tolerance than genuine narrative or emotional development. (Jungle Cruise gets to have its gay-panicky innuendo “fun”moments later anyway, when McGregor asks Frank about sticking something into him.) A bolder movie might have had Johnson meet him face to face, or at least given Whitehall a more desirable comedy-duo partner than an animated jaguar. But then it would be more difficult to neatly excise the moment in order to appease conservative foreign censors. (Compare the calculated coyness of the McGregor subplot with the centering of a queer teenage girl in Netflix’s recent and acclaimed animated comedy The Mitchells vs. the Machines .)

There’s a similar self-consciousness in the way Jungle Cruise revises the retrograde (and Disney-driven) trope of indigenous cannibals, turning the mid-film appearance of an Amazon tribe into another joke about expectations and fakery—one that lands with a thud. By the time Collet-Serra cuts to an upper gallery of women applauding Lily’s stinging, public rebuke of boys’ club sexism, the pandering has become as much of a lazy cliché as the the magic totems and sunken civilizations stitching the story together—line items getting ticked off methodically in the service of broad, cross-demographic appeal. The nicest thing that you can say about Jungle Cruise is that it’s well-made, with florid colors, intricate production design, and a moody musical score by James Newton Howard that sounds weirdly like Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.” But it’s a fine line between craftsmanship and engineering, and between being an artist and following a blueprint. At one point, Lily looks over an ancient river map and concludes that the cartographer must have been a “minor genius,” which could be another inside joke about authorship. Hopefully, as far as Collet-Serra and his minor moviemaking genius are concerned, he follows his own path out of the theme park toward somewhere grittier.

Adam Nayman is a film critic, teacher, and author based in Toronto; his book The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together is available now from Abrams.

Next Up In Movies

  • The Money and Power Behind the Oscars Red Carpet
  • Expanding the ‘Dune’ Universe
  • A Celtics Flop, Best Oscar Story Lines, Planning the Olympics, and the Fall of College Sports With Matthew Belloni and Casey Wasserman
  • The 2024 Alternative Oscars, a.k.a. the Big Picks!
  • ‘Dune: Part Two’ and Denis Villeneuve’s World-Building. Plus, Mailbag Questions.
  • ‘Road House’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Kyle Brandt

Sign up for the The Ringer Newsletter

Thanks for signing up.

Check your inbox for a welcome email.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

Real Sociedad v Paris Saint-Germain: Round of 16 Second Leg - UEFA Champions League 2023/24

Stone-Cold Kylian

Musa and Ryan discuss Kylian Mbappé’s brace ending Real Sociedad’s brilliant debut campaign

jungle cruise movie woke

Winners and Losers of the NFL’s Franchise Tag Deadline

Nine NFL players received a franchise tag by Tuesday’s deadline. What do those moves mean for free agency? Which untagged players might now cash in? And could the running back market crater once again?

AminoLean x Alix Earle Launch Party For New Berry Alixir Flavor Collab

Speidi Keys With Juliette Porter

‌Heidi and Spencer also dish on Kristen Cavallari’s new beau and the Cyrus family love triangle

jungle cruise movie woke

Did ‘Twin Peaks’ Stick the Landing?

Andy Greenwald is joined by Joanna Robinson to discuss "Beyond Life and Death," the series finale of ‘Twin Peaks’

Ireland Rugby Squad Training and Media Conference

Lost Vegas, England Vs. Ireland Preview, Rumors Flying, and Leicester’s Dan McKellar

With one of the biggest games of the season coming up this weekend, the lads give some insight into the England camp ahead of their showdown with Ireland in Twickenham

NFC Divisional Playoffs - Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Detroit Lions

Franchise Tag Deadline and Oscar Comps

Nora, Steven, and Lindsay run through the top players who got the franchise tag and compare some free agents to Oscar-nominated films

  • Contributors
  • Newsletters

1 Trending: Trump Sweeps Texas With Double Biden’s Votes, Days After Dueling Border Visits

2 trending: democrats, not trump or his supporters, are the real extremists, 3 trending: criminal attacks on american churches up 800 percent in last six years, 4 trending: va axes secret plan to hide iconic v-j day photo over lack of ‘inclusivity’, ‘jungle cruise’ proves disney doesn’t actually mind offensive stereotypes.

jungle cruise movie woke

  • Share Article on Facebook
  • Share Article on Twitter
  • Share Article on Truth Social
  • Copy Article Link
  • Share Article via Email

There have been few corporate “awokenings” as indicative of America’s leftward cultural shift as that of the Walt Disney Company. Disney’s embrace of identity politics is shamefully on display whether the company is hocking LGBT merchandise, coercing employees to attend critical race theory training, or turning muppets into transexuals. One of the most recognizable American brands worldwide has invested an alarming amount of its resources into appeasing the left’s cultural revolution.

This investment is clearly cynical. Disney does not take the standards of the new cultural overlords seriously; it just expects everyone else to adhere to them. This double standard is on full display in Disney Studios’ recent summer blockbuster, “Jungle Cruise.” The film disparages both indigenous peoples and LGBT people.

The ‘Noble Savage’ Stereotype

Throughout the film, Frank Wolff — portrayed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — maintains a relationship with the fictitious Puka Michuna tribe in the Amazon River valley. They are introduced to the audience as lovable-scamp accomplices to Wolff as he runs a jump-scare river cruise scam to rip off tourists from Europe.

Later, they help Wolff stage a kidnapping by tranquilizing him and his counterparts. When Wolff and his travel companions awaken, they face a ritual tribunal of sorts in which tribe members have donned extravagant and ostensibly spiritual garb, speak in their native tongue, and threaten to cannibalize the sailors for their transgressions.

When Wolff’s scheme falls apart, Trader Sam — the tribe’s chieftain — says, “Seriously, Frank. Next time I’m going to charge you more for this ‘booga-booga’ nonsense.” She subsequently takes Wolff’s aggrieved compatriots into her encampment and explains the nuances of her tribe’s religion.

“Jungle Cruise” caricatures the indigenous peoples of South America as “ noble savages ” so they might serve as both a cheap punch line and a convenient apparatus to move the plot along. The film even turned Trader Sam into a major character although his inspiration was deemed racist enough to remove from the film’s eponymous theme park attraction.

MacGregor Houghton, Walking LGBT Stereotype

The film even stereotypes homosexual men in the form of MacGregor Houghton . In fact, MacGregor is something like Disney’s seventh “first openly gay character .”

MacGregor’s sexual orientation was such an important attribute to his character that the film made him a walking stereotype . He brings entirely too many suitcases onto Wolff’s minuscule vessel (which the uber-masculine everyman character portrayed by The Rock mockingly tosses overboard), wears inopportune outfits for the sake of making a fashion statement, and is steadfastly effeminate in his interactions with all things outdoors.

MacGregor eventually comes out of the closet to Wolff, divulging that he has refused to marry several eligible young women in Europe because his “interests happily lay elsewhere.” Shortly after that, MacGregor offers Johnson’s character the opportunity to “bite down” on his “stick,” debuting Disney’s first-ever cinematic homoerotic fellatio joke.

MacGregor provides comic relief throughout the film, but he’s portrayed as a gay man’s caricature more concerned with skincare and fashion despite his alleged depth of character.

Calling Out Old Stereotypes While Creating New Ones

Thus, “Jungle Cruise” portrays indigenous people and LGBT people as walking stereotypes. The film shows the natives of South America as hooting and hollering savages for much of their on-screen presence and treats the sole gay character in the film as an uptight dandy. At the same time, the Walt Disney Company has the audacity to gloat about their intersectional awareness and ram it down your throat.

Disney might be cyclically peddling woke identity politics to appease social trends, but that doesn’t mean their actions are without consequence. In spring 2021, Disney restricted children’s access to some of their classic films like “Peter Pan,” “The Aristocats,” and the live-action “Swiss Family Robinson,” claiming these films depict various demographics in insensitive ways.

The change came alongside Disney’s “ Stories Matter ” initiative. This represented applying their “ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion” to their film catalog by “reviewing our library and adding advisories to content that includes negative depictions or mistreatment of people or cultures.”

This advisory reads, “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.” There should be no doubt if Disney should include these disclaimers on recent content. They won’t.

“Jungle Cruise” cost an estimated $200 million to produce and hasn’t broken even at the time of this writing. Its stereotyping of indigenous and homosexual people will likely remain uninhibited since they’re trying to make their money back. Why would they put a “bigotry” disclaimer on one of their newest summer blockbusters?

Disney only cares about labeling things as “wrong” when it suits their agenda. There is no true moral conviction behind their leftward march. If there was, then “Jungle Cruise” would be a vastly different movie. But since there isn’t, the Walt Disney Company will continue to peddle woke talking points while disparaging the people they claim to champion when it can make them a quick buck.

Author Samuel Mangold-Lenett profile

  • entertainment
  • Jungle Cruise
  • stereotypes
  • Walt Disney Company

women wearing federalist swag

More from Movies

jungle cruise movie woke

Prepare To Be Exhilarated By The Contemplative Spectacle Of ‘Dune: Part Two’

jungle cruise movie woke

Superhero Flicks Like ‘Madame Web’ Stink Because They’re About Other Movies Instead Of Real Life

jungle cruise movie woke

People Abandoned Disney Over Terrible Storytelling, Not Primarily Politics

jungle cruise movie woke

This Forgotten ’90s Movie Eerily Predicted The Current Immigration Standoff

jungle cruise movie woke

MSNBC Darlings Jen Psaki, Rachel Maddow Mock Voters For Noticing Biden’s Border Invasion

jungle cruise movie woke

Nearly 1 In 5 Minnesota Democrats Voted ‘Uncommitted’ To Protest Biden

jungle cruise movie woke

Watch How Ranked-Choice Voting Complicates Elections And Disenfranchises Voters

jungle cruise movie woke

Trump’s Super Tuesday Triumph Is ‘Ultimate Revenge’ For Hounded Former President

Introducing

The Federalist Community

Join now to unlock comments, browse ad-free, and access exclusive content from your favorite FDRLST writers

Start your FREE TRIAL

How the ‘Jungle Cruise’ movie helped bring change to Disneyland’s ride

Photographers take pictures of a woman, left, and man under a "Jungle Cruise World Premiere" sign.

  • Show more sharing options
  • Copy Link URL Copied!

A single Instagram post in 2017 caused a momentary panic in the Disney community.

Dwayne Johnson, standing in front of a Herb Ryman-drawn map of the initial proposal for Disneyland, stated that he and his production company were partnering with Walt Disney Imagineering — the secretive division of the company responsible for theme park experiences — to “reengineer and redesign” the Jungle Cruise ride, one of Disneyland’s opening-day attractions.

Updates to the ride were, of course, long overdue, as numerous scenes contained offensive tribal caricatures crafted through a colonialist lens . Johnson’s Jungle Cruise vision was unknown, and while the attraction, overseen by Walt Disney, had undergone numerous changes over six decades — most designed to add more humor and creatures — would a robotic Rock be on the horizon?

Not quite. Or at least not yet, as the combined box office and Disney+ grosses of the Johnson and Emily Blunt-starring film “Jungle Cruise” will likely determine the audio-animatronic possibilities at Disney’s parks around the world. For now, at least, nods to the action-focused blockbuster-hopeful with a mystical, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”-influenced tone remain subtle and of the more hidden, “Easter egg” variety in the Disneyland original.

Anaheim, CA - July 09: A view of an expedition's wrecked boat that was taken over by chimpanzees during the Jungle Cruise ride at Adventureland, Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, July 9, 2021. The official reopening of Jungle Cruise will be on July 16, 2021, with new adventures, an expanded storyline and more humor as skippers take guests on a tongue-in-cheek journey along some of the most remote rivers around the world at Disneyland. What's new: The expanded backstory centers around Alberta Falls, the granddaughter of the world-renowned Dr. Albert Falls, who is now proprietor of the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. New scenes include: A safari of explorers from around the world finds itself up a tree after the journey goes awry. Chimpanzees have taken over the expedition's wrecked boat. A Lost & Found location has turned into a Gift Shop run by Alberta's longtime friend, Trader Sam. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Entertainment & Arts

Why Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise cultural changes aren’t just ‘woke’ — they’re necessary

The new Jungle Cruise shows Disney wants to be in the cultural conversation rather than an artifact or, worse, a representation of the ‘good ole days.’

July 18, 2021

“When you meet these behind-the-scenes heroes, it’s an extraordinary experience,” says Johnson of his time at Imagineering, before offering an ever-so-slight tease that more tweaks could be on the horizon. “Hopefully, there’s parts of our movie that might influence the ride just a little bit going forward.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise has taken inspiration from cinema. The original attraction was sprung from Disney’s own nature documentaries as well as the 1951 classic “The African Queen,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, which is also a clear influence on the big-screen “Jungle Cruise.” Starting Friday in theaters and on Disney+ premier access, audiences can see for themselves what a Johnson Jungle Cruise looks like in the Jaume Collet-Serra-directed film. If the ride is a leisurely, throwback antidote to modern thrill and special effects-laden attractions, the film aims to be exactly the opposite.

And this 2021 take on “Jungle Cruise” — rooted in the chemistry, bickering and exaggerated contradictions between Johnson’s cynical skipper Frank and Blunt’s idealistic botanist Lily — did present an opportunity to bring modern sensibilities to the Disneyland original.

A man in suspenders and a cap, left, and a woman on a boat in a dark river

The action-comedy adventure, filmed in Hawaii but located in a fictionalized Amazon, set out to course-correct some of the Jungle Cruise ride’s more uncomfortable aspects. Gone are implications of Westerners as superior colonizers, as well as grotesque depictions of Indigenous people as tourist attractions, attackers or cannibals. The villains here include an army of undead Spanish conquistadors who tried and failed to wield the jungle to their needs — namely, an attempt to raid a tree with healing powers.

“What we wanted to represent about the ride was that joy and nostalgia,” says Blunt. “It pierces your heart directly. But ... we want to represent it sensitively and respectfully.”

Over the last decade, Disney has been more aggressive about removing cultural stereotypes from its attractions. In 2017, Disneyland gave women agency in its Pirates of the Caribbean attraction by removing a bridal auction scene and reimagining a female “wench” as a pirate , and last year the company pledged to remake the “Song of the South”-referencing Splash Mountain into an attraction inspired by “The Princess and the Frog,” which stars the company’s first Black princess, Tiana.

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in "The Jungle Cruise."

Review: Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are fun, but not enough to make ‘Jungle Cruise’ see-worthy

You can’t see the jungle for the CGI in this action-adventure inspired by the long-running Disney theme-park attraction.

July 27, 2021

With a major Jungle Cruise-inspired film on the horizon, the timing was right to rethink the Disneyland original — known best for its animal vignettes, much of them crafted by Disney’s master animator-turned-Imagineer Marc Davis. The reimagined ride largely doubles down on slapstick-inspired scenes involving chimpanzees and monkeys getting the best of a prior Jungle Cruise expedition.

“From our talks with the Imagineers, what was so interesting is that they’ve been wanting to redo the ride for a long time,” says Beau Flynn, a producer on the film. “But it’s the most revered, and the most nostalgic, and no one would let them. Every generation wanted the same experience. So the Imagineers were like, ‘Thank God for this movie, because it gives the opportunity to make changes we’ve wanted to make.’”

The film has some clever solutions for some of the ride’s outmoded — and now removed — imagery. Spear-brandishing headhunters, for instance, are turned into a sly joke that plays with Western stereotypes. Screenwriter Michael Green (“Logan,” “Blade Runner 2049”), who joined the project in late 2017, said the filmmakers wanted to reframe some of the ride’s unsavory aspects, a benefit of cinema that one doesn’t get via the pure environmental storytelling in a theme park attraction.

The film’s natives are in a businesses partnership with Frank, and they too think their costumes are silly. “What we were able to do is poke fun at the tourist perception of a what a native is supposed to be, and then you realize the joke is on them,” Green says. “They’re more sophisticated and dignified than they were being credited for. There’s moments that played to that. They’re in on the scam.”

The film makes a number of additional progressive tweaks.

The character of Trader Sam, the tribesman who will trade “two of his heads for one of yours” was removed from the ride but lives on in “Jungle Cruise,” portrayed as a mysterious, entrepreneurial figure by Veronica Falcón.

And, in a moment sure to further the debate on how Disney handles its LGBTQ characters, the film contains a coming-out scene for Lily’s brother, MacGregor (Jack Whitehall), in conversation with Frank.

People participate in a tribal ceremony, dressed in ceremonial garb and surrounded by fire torches

While not exactly subtle, the moment is not specifically direct either, as MacGregor notes that he was ostracized from much of his family for his romantic interests leaning “elsewhere.”

“I suggested a bunch of things,” Green says, “and one of them was, ‘What if Lily’s brother is with her, and what if he’s gay?’ Everyone said, ‘That sounds interesting. Let’s see where that takes us.’ It was in every draft of the script, and every cut, where MacGregor tells Frank that the reason he’s so dedicated to Lily is because she’s the one who stood by him when he came out, and for that he would follow her into a volcano. It’s one of the things I’m very proud of. I don’t consider it an oblique reference.

“There’s no question about it,” Green continues. “If he has a romantic interest in a hopeful sequel, it will be with a man. If we’re lucky enough to get to make another one, we’d all like to see MacGregor have a romance.”

If characters in “Jungle Cruise” are broadly drawn, that’s very much by design.

Blunt’s Lily, for instance, is presented as a hardened adventurer, and the mysteries of Johnson’s Frank are played down until a surprise reveal late in the film. In the modern era of filmmaking, where every detail tends to be overly explained, those working on “Jungle Cruise” say there are lessons to be learned from theme park attractions, where audiences are escorted from scene to scene and fill in the blanks via our imagination.

“We wanted to make sure we were honoring the ride, making sure it wasn’t too dark, but making sure it was humorous,” says producer Dany Garcia. “It’s very similar to the history of the Haunted Mansion [attraction], where you have multiple points of view. It was the same way for us.”

More to Read

A woman with long blond hair wearing a dark dress and multiple necklaces posing against a dark background

Who’s Rebecca Ferguson’s ‘idiot’ co-star? Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt clear their names

Feb. 29, 2024

A lamp looks ready to bounce on a ball in the lobby of the Pixar Place Hotel.

At Disneyland’s Pixar Place Hotel, hang out with Bing Bong and fall in love with animation

Feb. 2, 2024

Dubbed DisneylandForward, the plan is not specific about what exactly Disneyland plans to build, but it asks Anaheim to relax zoning rules and give Disney flexibility to construct new rides, hotels and stores alongside one another.

Disneyland’s new vision includes up to $2.5-billion investment and a plan to take over city streets

Jan. 27, 2024

Only good movies

Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

jungle cruise movie woke

Todd Martens joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007 and covers a mix of interactive entertainment (video games) and pop music. Previously, Martens reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine. He has contributed to numerous books, including “The Big Lebowski: An Illustrated, Annotated History of the Greatest Cult Film of All Time.” He continues to torture himself by rooting for the Chicago Cubs and, while he likes dogs, he is more of a cat person.

More From the Los Angeles Times

ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015: A view of the star Tours entrance during the media preview of Star Wars Season of The Force at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., on Nov. 12, 2015. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Ahsoka, Andor and the Mandalorian are coming to Disneyland’s Star Tours

March 5, 2024

Los Angeles, CA - February 13: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, left, and Dallas Liu, right, who portray exiled Fire Nation prince Zuko and his uncle Iroh (respectively) in the live-action "Avatar: The Last Airbender," pose for a portrait at The London West Hollywood on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

For ‘Avatar’s’ Dallas Liu and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Zuko and Iroh’s relationship ‘was the most important thing’

Feb. 23, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 10: Lady Gaga performs onstage during The Chromatica Ball Tour at Dodger Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Live Nation)

Marry the ‘Fortnite’: Lady Gaga finally sets Epic Games entry as ‘Festival’ headliner

Feb. 21, 2024

A CGI person in a military uniform wielding a gun while running through wreckage in a still from a video game

Company Town

‘Call of Duty’ champions file $680-million antitrust lawsuit against Activision Blizzard

Feb. 16, 2024

Read the Latest on Page Six

  • Entertainment
  • Celebrities
  • Promoted: What to Watch on Prime Video

Recommended

Johnny Oleksinski

Johnny Oleksinski

‘jungle cruise’ review: dwayne ‘the rock’ johnson’s amazon river movie is not amazin’.

  • View Author Archive
  • Get author RSS feed

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

Disney is running out of steam, so it’s turned to a steam ship.

That’s the titular vessel in the new movie “Jungle Cruise,” in which the studio has taken another of its theme park rides and churned out a bland, quasi-pleasant, extremely derivative film based on it. 

Truth be told, it’s a wobbly base to begin with. The “Jungle Cruise” attraction at Disney World doesn’t have much of an arc to speak of; you hop aboard a boat and stare at old mechanical animals while a skipper makes wisecracks. 

jungle cruise

Running time: 127 minutes. Rated PG-13 (sequences of adventure violence). In theaters and on Disney+ for an extra charge.

To bulk up the thin material, the film steals from countless other, better adventure movies to create an altogether less satisfying combo plate that costs $30 to rent on Disney+ .

Take the main character, Lily ( Emily Blunt ). She is indistinguishable from Evie in “The Mummy” series, played by Rachel Weisz in the aughts. Like Evie, Lily is an obsessive British researcher in the early 20th century hellbent on finding an ancient mythological land. Men are appalled she wears pants, and that fact is brought up constantly for the entire movie.

In the beginning of “Jungle Cruise,” Lily sneaks into a snobby London historical society to steal an arrowhead that is an important key to finding the Tears of the Moon, a lost Brazilian tree whose petals can heal any ailment. The scene, which sees her balance on a ladder as she damages precious artifacts, is a dead-ringer for Weisz’s mischief at the British Museum in “The Mummy.”

Jack Whitehall and Emily Blunt are all smiles before they go on their treacherous journey on the Amazon River in "Jungle Cruise."

Lily also has an effete brother, MacGregor (Jack Whitehall), who’s just like Evie’s upper-crust sibling Jonathan from “The Mummy,” except now he’s a self-righteous prop to make Disney look progressive.

Stereotypical MacGregor comes out as gay in the middle of the movie for no reason other than for the studio to score some street cred with the Huffington Post . Although he punches a few bad guys — everybody is shocked by this — the prim dresser mostly just whines about how he misses his face creams and the fabulous hotel. Disney: Humanitarians of the Year!

And the ripoffs keep on rolling. The pair head to Brazil and hire a cocky skipper named Frank ( Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson channelling Brendan Fraser in “The Mummy” and Harrison Ford in “Star Wars”) at a ramshackle, dangerous port bar (Like the Mos Eisley Cantina) to ferry them through the jungle in his rickety old boat he says is the best in the business. She’s faster than she looks. Yada yada.

Our heroes also must contend with a swashbuckling curse. The first conquistadors who discovered the tree hundreds of years ago were trapped by magic to live near the Amazon river for all eternity, which — yo ho! yo ho! — sounds a lot like the crew of the Black Pearl in Disney’s most successful ride-based franchise “The Pirates of the Caribbean.”  

Jack Whitehall, Emily Blunt and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson go on the hunt for an ancient miracle cure in Disney's "Jungle Cruise."

But isn’t repetition inevitable in storytelling? There are many thousands of movies out there. And aren’t we told that good artists borrow but the best artists steal? Yes, but then they put their own spin on whatever they pickpocketed.

What director Jaume Collet-Serra needed to do was find what’s unique and special about his movie. That it-factor is almost Blunt and Johnson , who are extremely likable and have cracking chemistry. Trouble is they give off BFF vibes when there’s romance a-brewin’. They’re a good time, but you do not for one second believe that the Rock and Mary Poppins are gonna make out. Ever.

Jesse Plemons , cinema’s favorite creep, is funny as a bumbling German villain named Price Joachim, and there’s a decent twist midway through the movie. But on the whole, “Jungle Cruise” is as exciting and inspired as those creaky robot elephants at Disney World.

Share this article:

jungle cruise movie woke

Arkhaven Site

  • Castalia House
  • Infogalactic
  • FANDOM PULSE
  • Arkhaven Forum Castalia Direct Bookstore

Disney’s Jungle Cruise Power of Woke (Part Two)

  • Uncategorized

jungle cruise movie woke

Ah, the Jungle.

 Greenery so dense you can’t see a foot beyond your eyes. The air is thick, hot, redolent, and sultry, it reeks of wet mold and rotted vegetation.  Anything that brushes up against your leg sends a spidery tingle of alarm over your entire body.  You don’t need to see the eyes to know that you are being watched, you can feel them all over you.  The sounds are…well believe or not they, are exactly what you heard in the old jungle movies to include the “ooh-ooh-eeh-eeh-ah-ah” thing.

The truth is old Hollywood got a lot that stuff right.  

Around the turn of the last century, a number of archeological discoveries were being made in Central America.  The ancient Mayan capital of Tikal was found for the first time (by whites anyway the natives had viewed it as “that old junk” for some time) in the 19 th  century. 

jungle cruise movie woke

Machu Pichhu was rediscovered right before the Great War.  These new finds by explorers leant themselves to the old tales of the golden city of El Dorado. 

jungle cruise movie woke

The real-life exploits of Sir Richards Francis Burton mixed with the tales of H. Rider Haggard to create a common setting in the minds of men who were becoming enslaved by the cities they lived in. The jungle was a place where you could vanish into the bush and only emerge about once a year to sell your ivory and buy supplies. It appealed to the desperate need of the early 20th-century man, for the primal. 

Although it was also a place of primitive horror.  It was cannibal natives (still a thing), mega-predators, and rogue white men. It was the Heart of Darkness.  Yet it was also Kipling’s Jungle Book and Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan.

In the early twentieth the Jungle fired the imagination. It was a place of danger, mystery and adventure where anything seemed possible.

Although, some things were less likely than others.

jungle cruise movie woke

That picture brings us neatly to the topic of the Jungle Movies.  They started up in the silent era and were ground out like sausages during the 1920s.  They varied wildly in quality and budget, but the plots weren’t usually too different from each other. The expedition goes deep into the bush and finds some anomaly that is a horror in the eyes of Man and God.  The apex of this era was the original King Kong.  Jungle movies were still a popular genre in the 1930s with the Tarzan movies being a good referent for the tropes of that period.

The Jungle Movies slammed to a halt in 1942.  If an American movie character was in the jungle during those years, he was not looking for treasure and excitement.   Although, excitement had no trouble finding him.

After Hiroshima, the jungle movies kind of came back but the genre was more mature.  African Queen starring Bogart and Hepburn came out in 1951.  The genre still gets its visitors now and then; Apocalypse Now (1979), Predator (1986), Congo (1995), The Green Inferno (2013), just off the top of my head but there are plenty of others.

In the 1940s ecology was a Right-wing thing. Lefties for their part were quite enthusiastic about raping the Earth. So, Walt Disney, being a good Republican started a series of nature documentaries called the True Life Adventures.  And they were a huge hit.  Perhaps too big.  I strongly suspect the True Life documentaries were the birthplace of the Leftwing Environmentalist movement.

When Walt decided to get into the amusement park business one of the things he felt a need to incorporate was the True Life Adventures. On Disneyland’s opening day, one of the few rides that were actually operating day was the Jungle Cruise. Admittedly, in rather a different form than it is today.  

At first, the ride was played straight.  It was a trip deep into the jungle. Unknown perils were ahead, with beasts and natives awaiting the guests. The Captain of the boat being the guide and lead actor.  The Captain is the one part of the ride that has stayed more or less the same; the success or failure of the individual ride is very much dependent upon his performance. 

The Jungle Cruise was the first ride to incorporate animatronics, (largely because live animals would be at best unreliable performers and at worst an active menace to the guests).  Gradually comedy began to filter its way into the ride and its more iconic scenes began to be added.

The Imagineers began to fill in an extremely elaborate backstory for the jungle cruise.

Here is a backstory of just one of the stars of the Jungle Cruise ride: Trader Sam.  This is the kind of history that the old-school Imagineers would create for a single freaking robot. You can skip the italicized text and just go to the next part.  This is only to give you an idea of the care the guys that were laid off or forcibly retired this year would put into the backstory of a minor animatronic.

Sam is a (presumed) South American indigenous man who has a long history of affiliations with Disney characters, having an extended (if not outright immortal) lifespan. He was the grandson of one Billamongawonga AKA Trader Bill, a trader of shrunken heads which seemingly lead to Sam becoming part of the family business. Sam’s family was also cannibalistic and largely composed of warriors. Sam himself had an interest in travelling the world to search for enchanted items and different recipes for beverages.

The earliest references to Sam chronologically places him as having been a grown man during the golden age of piracy in the 18th century. Sam supposedly ran a pub frequented by pirates where he traded for a spyglass from the historic pirate  Blackbeard  while having held attraction to his daughter  Angelica . Through unknown means around this time, Sam obtained a  locket  which had belonged to either the sea deity  Davy Jones or  Calypso . Another trophy of Sam’s from this era was a ship-in-a-bottle of  The Wicked Wench , a notorious pirate ship best known for their sacking of the cursed island of  Isla Tesoro .

Sam’s pub was frequented by the  mother  of pirate  Captain Jack Sparrow , both of whom he befriended. Sam and Sparrow had even spent time together on  Isla de Pelegestos  when Jack convinced the  Pelegestos people  that he was their chief. Following Jack’s mother’s demise, her head was transformed into a shrunken-head which passed ownership from Jack’s father  Edward Teague  to Jack himself. Jack left his mother’s head in Sam’s possession to honour how much she loved the pub and Sam would honour this wish by bringing it with him whenever he established a new bar location.

In the early 19th century, Sam befriended the Swiss Robinson family of  New Switzerland  in the East Indies. Around the mid 1800s he also befriended one  Lincoln Costain , a cowboy from Texas who got shanghaied onto the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. Sam kept in contact with both the Robinsons and Costain via letters which they exchanged via bottles at sea.

Throughout the 19th century, Sam also began working as an early scuba-diver and became good friends with Canadian harpooner,  Ned Land . Sam seemingly accompanied Ned in  San Francisco  around 1868 when Ned was one of many sailors recruited to hunt an alleged, “ Sea-monster ” which was destroying ships. The two were separated when Ned’s ship was attacked by the monster though Ned survived and later sent Sam a harpoon as a gift while recanting the  story which transpired between their last meetings .

Sam had some apparent familiarity with the infamous eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia which occurred the  August 26  of 1883. One of Sam’s drinks would be inspired by the eruption and named the, “Krakatoa Punch”. Sam also was familiar with  Prof. Archimedes Porter and his daughter  Jane , obtaining or having taken a photograph of them during the beginning of their expedition to the Congo. Another close friend of Sam’s around this time was a drunkard lighthouse-keeper named  Lampie  in the seaside American town of  Passamaquoddy . Lampie sent neurotic letters to Sam when  a dragon  came to Passamaquoddy but no-one believed him.

Around the 1890s, Sam also befriended military  Colonel Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt  who he would frequently go on adventures with. Through his friendship with Roosevelt, in the early 20th century Sam befriended an organization known as the  Adventurers Club ; a splinter-faction of the  Society of Explorers and Adventurers  which was founded by S.E.A.-member  Merriweather Adam Pleasure . Sam would retain close affiliations with the Adventurers Club and its members for decades to come.

One expedition of Sam’s took him to the East-African port of  Harambe  where he travelled with the Kilimanjaro Safariscompany on elephant-back. At some point prior to 1912 he saved the life of one Anna Mary Jones and became close with her family the Jones’, even becoming a frequent contact of her son  Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. . On the  November 6 of 1912, Sam was contacted by one Vanessa Capshaw of the New York City Preservation Society in  New York City , NY. Capshaw sent Sam a portrait of his supposed grandfather Trader Bill which was recovered from the  Hotel Hightower  as Trader Bill had been the right-hand-man to one  Harrison Hightower III  prior to Hightower’s 1899 death.

In  1911 , the Jungle Navigation Company was founded by S.E.A. member  Dr. Albert Falls  with the company becoming close to Sam and his cousin  Chief Nah-mee . Sam was seemingly close with Dr. Falls and knew how to brew his favourite drink the, “Schweitzer Falls”. Sam also became close to a Jungle Cruise skipper known as Cap’n Kevin who he was seemingly romantically involved with and the two spent nights together in Kevin’s hut. Sam was also close with riverboat salesman Charlie Allnut who offered Sam transport alongside advice in dealing with certain Jungle Navigation Company boats and employees.

In  1913 , Sam joined forces with Teddy Roosevelt and Brazilian explorer Colonel Cândido Rondon to plan an expedition through the Amazon Rainforest. This mission was to map out the River of Doubt but also for Roosevelt to try and reclaim his youth following disappointment at having lost the last presidential election. The mission lasted from 1913 to the April of 1914 and while it was successful, it resulted in Roosevelt contracting illnesses which slowly killed him leading to his  1919  death.

Sam’s personal businesses began booming thanks to the JNC following  1931  due to then JNC president  Alberta Falls beginning the, “Jungle Cruise” riverboat tours as it brought many tourists,  Hollywood  filmmakers and new businesses to Sam’s domain. Around this time, Sam developed a reputation for being the, “Jungle’s Head Salesman” and took in a pet baby Indian elephant named, “Ellie”. Sam also ran a shop known as Tropical Imports which was involved in aiding the many denizens of the, “ Adventureland ” locales. By 1938, Sam would have written at least five books under the pen-name of, “T.S.” all of which were featured in the library of the Jungle Navigation Company’s headquarters, these books being: “Friends for Dinner”, “What’s in a name”, “Top Hats and Umbrellas”, “Banana Trade” and “The Missing Mask”.

Throughout the 1930s, Sam also frequently accompanied and assisted a now adult archeologist Indiana Jones on his adventures, having also been close with Sam’s contacts Marcus Brody,  Marion Ravenwood  and  Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir . C.1931 Sam travelled to the Lost River Delta of Cusco, Peru where Indiana Jones excavated the Temple of the  Crystal Skull . Circa  1935 , Sam assisted Indiana Jones in the containment of three, “Voodoo” dolls made by the mad priest Mola Ram which depicted Indiana and his accomplices Willie and Short-Round. This same year Sam assisted Sallah and the Lost Delta Archaeological Expedition in the Lost Delta of Cambodia with their excavation of the Temple of  Mara . When Jones disappeared in the temple, Sallah reached out to Sam to have him aid in bringing tourists to the temple for additional funds.

Around the mid 1930s he opened up a new bar in the Polynesian isles known as, “The Enchanted Tiki Bar” though he would kill his opening day crew and use their heads for decoration. The bar was also decorated with totems of Māori deities while also seemingly having connections to the Enchanted Tiki Room where he was a friend with the sentient bird Rosita. When the, “Adventureland” region(s) hosted the Adventure Trading Company, staff of the Tiki Bar became involved with giving new company members the, “Tiki Mask Juju” in return for assistance after they lost the recipe for Sam’s drink the Juju Juice. In the ’30s, Sam also visited the South Seas Club of Hollywood, LA which he kept several mementos of.

Following 1937, Adventurers Club members such as Pamelia Perkins, Otis T. Wren, Emil Bleehall, Jr. Samantha Sterling, Hathaway Browne, Prof. Fletcher Hodges and Colonel Suchbench began sending Sam memorabilia from their old headquarters on Pleasure Island, Florida to decorate the Enchanted Tiki Bar. Amongst the possessions were a ventriloquist’s dummy called, “Slappy” left by the colonel to be in Sam’s caretaking while the Adventurers Club went on an expedition. In  1939 , Sam attended a seaside trinket convention where he sold a multitude of seashells.

In 1941, Sam was hired by one Walt Disney to give him a tour of South America. Sam and Walt began quite close with Disney going on to become the Enchanted Tiki Bar’s best customer. Throughout the 1940s, Sam also used his brewing abilities to assist Adventurers Club resident aviator Hathaway Browne. During World War 2, Sam travelled to Casablanca, Morocco where he befriended cafe owner and fellow bartender Rick Blaine. By the 1950s, other pieces of decor included within the bar were a Lamp which once belonged to a powerful Arabian genie of Agrabah, a doll of Donald Duck, figure of the Florida Orange Bird, and yeti mask from the kingdom of Anandapur.

Sam’s manager in the bar was a former J.N.C. skipper by the name of Skip Documentary who in the 1950s assisted Trader Sam in opening a new bar location known as the Grog Grotto. This Grog Grotto was located in a different Polynesian locale within a village overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon which held many of the same tiki gods as the Enchanted Tiki Room, most notably being Maui whose likeness was very frequently used in the Grog Grotto. In this village, Sam became something of a womanizer who had multiple hula-dancer girlfriends. Sam became quite fond of Hawaiin popular music such as Annette Funicello’s  Hawaiiannette (1960) and the works of Elvis Presley. 

Between around 1950 and 1960, Sam also seemingly became acquainted with the Fredricksens, Carl and Ellie whom he took the habit of collecting coins to travel to Paradise Falls, Venezuela for. A notable customer of the Grog Grotto was on J. Thaddeus Toad who Sam had to confiscate the car-keys of due to a combination of the Toad’s wild driving skills with alcohol having the potential to be disastrous. In 1955, Sam travelled to the tropical Blustery Bay aboard a shrimping-vessel known as the Miss Tilly only for the bay to have been hit by a massive hurricane. The storm impaled the ship atop the volcanic Mount Mayday in the colony of Placid Palms, later renamed to Typhoon Lagoon. In the 1960s, Sam befriended one Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. and the two stayed in contact while Crusoe was marooned on a Polynesian island. The Grog Grotto would continue its operations into the 1970s with paraphernalia being featured within such as a necklace depicting one Colonel Nedley Lostmore and a life-preserver from the Norwegian company Vest Gruppen. 

And now he’s gone! 

The SJWs at the Stories Matter group felt that Trader Sam was nowhere near victim enough for their liking.  Sure, they declared him to be a racist caricature but if you think that’s case go back and actually read the biography. Or travel to a third-world jungle because I guarantee you won’t have any trouble finding someone who looks just like him.

2021 is year Zero at Disney Parks, * and history is being frantically rewritten. 

The old owner of the Jungle Navigation company was Albert Falls.  “On your left is Schweitzer Falls, named after Doctor Albert Falls.” 

The  new  owner of the company is Alberta Falls:  Alberta was born in 1911. Her mother, Sneh, was a world-renowned artist from India and her British father, Albert Falls Jr., was an art scholar.  Young Alberta was always considered a rambunctious “free spirit” who was most at home during the family’s summer visits to grandma and grandpa Falls in Adventureland. She climbed trees, swam in the river, and enjoyed a special bond with her explorer grandfather and her “adopted family” of skippers who enjoyed the fearless little girl’s adventurous nature.

Yes, she’s a half Desi business girl in a colonial world that doesn’t need any man! But that’s just the start.

jungle cruise movie woke

One of the main attractions has always been the five safari members who have been treed by an angry Rhino.   This has now been turned into a Totem Pole of Woke Bingo.

jungle cruise movie woke

Closest to the rhino is Felix Pechman XIII ( AKA the Hapless White Guy ) who recently left his home in Silver Springs, Florida, and landed a position as a skipper with the Jungle Navigation Company Ltd. In an unexpected turn of events, Alberta had no choice but to ask him to lead his very first boat tour with her VIP guests. Unfortunately, Pechman’s trademark bad luck has followed him to the jungle.

jungle cruise movie woke

Above Skipper Felix is Dr. Leonard Moss, an acclaimed Canadian botanist. Having successfully photographed and cataloged every plant in the frigid Nova Scotia peninsula, Dr. Moss decided that his next photo excursion should be to a warmer climate

jungle cruise movie woke

Above him is the celebrated Mexican artist, Rosa Soto Dominguez ( Are you kidding me?).  Known in the art world as La Rosa, she was on her way back to Mexico City from her latest gallery opening in Paris when she received a special invitation from her very close friend, Alberta.  Rosa looked forward to their reunion in Adventureland when she would also get to paint some of the exotic wildlife, especially given her fascination with rhinos. As luck would have it, she ended up a little too close and personal with one.

jungle cruise movie woke

Next is Japan’s preeminent entomologist and a member of the famed Society of Explorers and Adventurers, Dr. Kon Chunosuke ( Sure, Why not? ). He traveled to the jungle on a mission to find new specimens for his world-class collection of insects.  As an admirer of Dr. Falls’ legacy, Chunosuke was hopeful that this younger Falls would be able to lead the way to the legendary Myrmecoleon, also referred to as the “lion of ants.”. Unfortunately, he has only been able to find butterflies, mosquitos, and a rhino.

jungle cruise movie woke

Up top is Siobhan “Puffin” Murphy   (Oh for fuck’s sake!! ), who traveled all the way from the small island of Dingle, Ireland, to pay a surprise visit to her distant cousin twice removed on her father’s side, Alberta. Siobahn was nicknamed “Puffin” because of her love for the puffin birds that nest in the rocks of her seaside hometown. Many believe that it was Puffin’s love of exotic birds that drove Skipper Felix to get a little too close to an oxpecker perched on a particularly grumpy hippo.

This is the most ludicrously diverse totem pole in history. There were no checkboxes in the colonial world.

A lot of you are wondering, why all the fuss about the backstory?  You go to the park and you ride the ride, who cares about the made-up bullshit story surrounding a few moving statues?

Here’s the big thing.

The isn’t important that the audience knows the backstory, but it is vital that the Imagineers did, because  stories are the prism through which we view the world.

They are the foundation of our reality as we know it.  Because every story you have ever heard influences the way you view reality and all of the ways you react to it.

“ Suppose an emperor was persuaded to wear a new suit of clothes whose material was so fine that, to the common eye, the clothes weren’t there. 

And suppose a little boy pointed out this fact in a loud clear voice . . . 

Then you have The Story Of The Emperor Who Had No Clothes. 

But if you knew a bit more, it would be The Story Of The Boy Who Got A Well-Deserved Thrashing From His Dad For Being Rude To Royalty, And Was Locked Up. 

Or The Story Of The Whole Crowd That Was Rounded Up By The Guards And Told “This Didn’t Happen, Okay? Does Anyone Want To Argue?” 

Or it could be a story of how a whole kingdom suddenly saw the benefits of the “new clothes,” and developed an enthusiasm for healthy sports* in a lively and refreshing atmosphere that gets many new adherents every year, which led to a recession caused by the collapse of the conventional clothing industry. It could even be a story about The Great Pneumonia Epidemic of ’09.” **

How you see these things all depends on the stories that you have been told.  And much more importantly, the stories you have  NOT  been told.

That is the whole point of the Stories Matter group,  to control the stories through which you see the world.

When this starts to fail as it must, there will be no one who can step in and fix the disaster that will be Disney Parks.

Disney Parks were absolutely dependent on Walt Disney’s Imagineers.  There is no one who will take their place. 

Because top shelf talent will not work for a Woke company.

Okay, I’m done here.

*(or at least the American Parks, the Japanese have told the SJWs, “suck a fart, we aren’t changing anything.”)

**(Pratchett, Terry. Thief of Time: A Novel of Discworld (pp. 3-4). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.)

Share this post

' src=

The Dark Herald

Related Posts

The wolves are circling disney .

I am in the process of writing a book on the decline of the Disney empire. Except I may be... read more

Why Is the Market Excited by Disney All of a Sudden? 

ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR!!! Yesterday, Disney’s stock price almost broke the $90 barrier, it might still be sometime today.... read more

Hats Off to the Guys at Bounding Into Comics

I'm impressed by my editor. One of the comics I mentioned on my Arktoons Roundup was Chuck Dixon Presents -... read more

Top 7 Earth Trek Shows of the Seventies

Somewhere in the 1970s… Old-Timey TV Exec:  This sci-fi crap is going to be huge I tells ya, HUGE!  This new generation of... read more

Humpday Trailer Dump – The Death by Snu-Snu Edition

FIRST SHE HULK WANT SNU-SNU!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gim2kprjL50 It’s Hulkey McBeal carrying off the guy that takes the stupidity to the next level.   And when the... read more

Chapek’s Hostage Video

That is exactly what it freaking looks like. I was half expecting him to say, "i am treated well. i am... read more

Amazon’s LOTR Is On A Roll

Revenge! Revenge! The King under the Mountain is dead and where are his kin that dare seek revenge? Girion Lord... read more

Disney Accomplished This Feat

Wow, this is bad. This article from Deadline is pretending that Guardians of the Galaxy was an amazing stellar... read more

Gina Carano Has Been Politically Rehabilitated

Or at least I assume she has been. The former Star Wars actress and political exile appears to have been restored... read more

The Dark Herald Recommends Dune II

“Unadaptable” is the word that was most frequently used to describe Frank Herbert’s Dune and not without good reason.  People... read more

  • Top Navigation

9 More Hilarious Jungle Cruise Jokes We Need To Hear In The Movie

Dwayne Johnson in Jungle Cruise

The original Jungle Cruise was a day one attraction at Disneyland when the park opened in 1955, and ever since it's been one of the more popular rides in the park. There are now five different versions of the Jungle Cruise at different Disney parks around the world.

Originally, the Jungle Cruise was designed to be a vaguely educational sort of attraction, with guests learning about the different major rivers of the world and the animals that inhabit them. However, since the early 1960s, the attraction has evolved , and today it's much better known for the jokes spouted by the various skippers.

With the new Jungle Cruise movie set to debut next summer, it was almost guaranteed that some of those jokes would be immortalized in film. That was confirmed with the release of the first trailer, as Dwayne Johnson dropped the one joke that no Jungle Cruise skipper worth their hat would ever forget, " the back side of water ."

Dwayne Johnson's character looks to have a bit more in common with your average Jungle Cruise skipper than we might have guessed, and while hopefully the movie doesn't take 12 minutes of screen time for a full run through of the attraction, as fans of the Jungle Cruise's fantastically awful jokes, here's hoping a few more will make it into the movie. Here are a few more Jungle Cruise classics we hope to here when we board the Amazon Belle next year.

Ginger Snaps

Those who have not been on the Jungle Cruise often may not realize that many of the animatronic animals actually have names. One of the nile crocodile's is a lovely little thing named Ginger, but don't get too close, as your skipper will tell you.

In the water right there is Ginger. Careful though, Ginger snaps. She’s one tough cookie. I know, I know…it’s a ‘crumby’ joke, but I milk it for all I can

This joke goes a bit too heavy into the puns, so unless the movie as a whole is full of them, I doubt we'll get the entire joke in the movie. We probably shouldn't. Still a crocodile named Ginger would be funny enough by itself as it's something that fans would certainly get.

One of the more popular characters on the Jungle Cruise is Trader Sam. He even has his own bar at the Disneyland Hotel. He's a headhunter, though, not the sort that tries to find you a better job.

Here’s Trader Sam. He’s our head salesman in the jungle. He’s got a pretty good deal for you guys today…two of his heads for just one of yours. Either way you slice it, you’ll always come out ahead. That’s a killer deal.

We've seen something of native characters, or possibly fake native characters, in the trailer for Jungle Cruise . I'd put money down right now that the one in charge is named Sam.

Sleeping Zebras

The jungle is a dangerous place to be sure, but Disneyland is a family friendly place that's supposed to be suitable for all ages. There are a few times when these two ideas can run into conflict with each other. One is when a pride of lions is discovered having their lunch in the middle of the Jungle Cruise. The skipper's job is to joke this sequence off to make it feel a bit less gruesome.

Don't worry kids! That zebra is just sleeping. Those lions are his friends! The Lions are protecting the sleeping zebra.

There's at least one kid in the Jungle Cruise trailer that has gone on Dwayne Johnson 's chartered adventure based on the trailer, so an interaction like this could be pretty funny. Though the kid in question doesn't look like she'd be shaken by watching lions eat a zebra.

Botanist Skipper

While the animatronic animals are certainly designed to be the focus of the entertainment on board the Jungle Cruise, there's still a lot more to be seen. There's some pretty interesting plant life on display as well, which your skipper will be happy to show you.

I’d like to point out some of my favorite plants here in the jungle.

He's happy to show you, but he won't tell you about them. The follow-up to this line is usually the skipper pointing at random plants without saying a word. Not all the Jungle Cruise jokes are groan-inducing puns. To be clear, they're all groan-inducing, they're just not all puns.

Tiger Jumps

Lions aren't the only dangerous cats you'll find on the Jungle Cruise. Tigers are also on the prowl, and the one you'll find on the attraction looks like he's about ready to have the boat full of guests for lunch. The good news, according to the skipper, is that everybody is perfectly safe.

That’s no house cat over there. Bengal Tigers can jump over 20 feet, and we must be at least, well… 19 feet away! Don’t worry, he’ll jump right over us

If Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt find themselves face-to-face with a Bengal Tiger at some point, one can certainly imagine an exchange like this taking place.

The classic "back side of water" joke comes in the latter portion of the attraction as the boat goes behind a waterfall that the guests traveled by earlier in the ride. When going by the front of the waterfall there's an equally classic joke, even if it is a pretty terrible one.

And now, we’re approaching the beautiful Schweitzer Falls, named after that famous African explorer, Dr. Albert Falls.

Here's hoping that Dr. Albert Falls is a character who at least gets a passing reference in Jungle Cruise . The man discovered a waterfall, so he deserves some credit.

My Name Is...

Some of the best Jungle Cruise jokes are saved for last. There are too many for a single skipper to fit in most of the time, so you'll likely need to ride multiple times to get all the good ones. Still, you can imagine Dwayne Johnson's character delivering something like this to his guests at the end of their ride...

If you enjoyed yourself, my name is [name] and this has been the world famous Jungle Cruise. If you didn’t, then my name is Kevin and this has been [another attraction].

Since The Rock's Jungle Cruise isn't taking place in a theme park, this one would require some reworking to get a line like this to fit, but I'm sure it can be done.

Watch Your Mouth

Since the Jungle Cruise is a real boat ride, entering and exiting can be a little tricky. The possibility of actually falling in the water is a real concern. At the same time, while watching your feet, you also want to watch your head.

Please watch your head when you leave the boat, and if you can’t watch your head, then watch your mouth.

Disneyland and Walt Disney World are family locations of course, and so nobody wants an errant explative to come out of anybody's mouth if they hit their head. At the same time, Jungle Cruise will likely be rated PG-13, so there isn't a lot of room for foul language there either.

And once it's time for everybody to disembark, seriously, just get the hell out.

Now get out! I’m sorry, that was rude. Please get out.

Many of these jokes could certainly be delivered during the actual Jungle Cruise that we see in the trailers, but some could be dropped in as easter eggs for fans of the classic attraction to enjoy. Similar things were done with the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, so you can be almost certain that the real life attraction will make its way into the fictional movie in a number of different ways.

We'll get to see them all when Jungle Cruise hits theaters next summer.

Images Courtesy WDWNews.com/DisneylandNews.com

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

Dirk Libbey

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.

32 Great Pieces Of Giles Wisdom From Buffy The Vampire Slayer

32 Quotes From The Twilight Movies That Are Surprisingly Funny

Fans Have Learned Netflix Axed Another First Season Series With The Brothers Sun, And They Are Really Bummed

Most Popular

By Mick Joest March 04, 2024

By Carly Levy March 04, 2024

By Corey Chichizola March 04, 2024

By Erik Swann March 04, 2024

By Dirk Libbey March 04, 2024

By Caroline Young March 04, 2024

By Nick Venable March 04, 2024

By Connie Lee March 04, 2024

By Mick Joest March 03, 2024

  • 2 How To Watch Celebrity Big Brother UK 2024 Online And Live Stream Season 23 Episodes From Anywhere
  • 3 Following The Dwayne Johnson-Zac Efron Movie, Baywatch Is Making Another Comeback
  • 4 Josh Brolin Reveals His ‘Favorite Moment’ Filming Avengers, And It Involves Mark Ruffalo
  • 5 Beyoncé's Dad Defends Kelly Rowland After She Allegedly Walked Off Today Because She Hated Her Dressing Room

CinemaBlend

Jungle Cruise 2 Is Still Up In The Air, But Looks Like Dwayne Johnson And Emily Blunt Will Reunite For Another Movie

B ack in 2021, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt successfully fronted the latest adaptation of a classic Disney theme park ride with Jungle Cruise . After the adventurous film brought the two Hollywood actors together as co-leads, they are reportedly working out details on their next project, but no, it’s still not Disney’s Jungle Cruise 2 . 

Emily Blunt is reportedly currently in discussions to be part of A24’s The Smashing Machine , which is set to have Dwayne Johnson portray MMA and UFC champion Mark Kerr. Per Variety , Blunt is in talks to play Kerr’s wife Dawn Staples, who faces a great deal of difficulty finding her place in Mark Kerr’s “chaotic and contradictory world” during the film. The Smashing Machine will take place in the year 2000, which had Kerr both at the height of his career and dealing with his addiction to painkillers. 

The Smashing Machine was officially announced back in December, with Uncut Gems ’ Benny Safdie set to write and direct the biopic. Should Emily Blunt join the movie, it will not only bring her back together with her Jungle Cruise co-star, but with a member of her Oppenheimer cast since Safdie was in Christopher Nolan’s sprawling array of talents. 

Per the source, before Emily Blunt was approached to play Mark Kerr’s wife, she actually heavily encouraged The Rock to make the movie. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Benny Safdie had originally started working on the project back in 2019, but the pandemic placed it on pause. However, once Blunt heard about the project from Johnson and watched the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr , she suggested that he “must” make the biopic. 

Following Jungle Cruise ’s runaway success back in 2021, Disney quickly greenlit a sequel, but almost three years later, we’ve yet to hear about much movement on it. Instead, we’ve heard about multiple other projects for which Johnson and Blunt have been trying to reunite. Back in 2022, it was reported that the pair were signing up for a movie called Ball And Chain , where they’d play a married couple who get superpowers amidst plans to divorce. 

Then this past October, it was reported they were both working on a movie with Amazon Studios and their Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra called Kate Warne . The movie will reportedly see Blunt playing the titular woman, who is known as the United States’ first female detective. Of all the projects we’ve heard about in the past few years regarding Blunt and Johnson, The Smashing Pumpkin seems to be picking up steam the quickest, especially considering it’s reportedly going to begin shooting this summer. 

Clearly Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson enjoyed working together, and while nothing seems to be official just yet, we definitely expect to see them reunite on the big screen again. Check out what other upcoming A24 movies are in the works here on CinemaBlend. 

 Jungle Cruise 2 Is Still Up In The Air, But Looks Like Dwayne Johnson And Emily Blunt Will Reunite For Another Movie

  • Account Settings
  • The Disney Bundle
  • Parks & Travel
  • Walt Disney World
  • Disney Cruise Line
  • All Parks & Travel
  • Movies Anywhere
  • Disney Movie Insiders
  • 20th Century Studios
  • Accessories
  • Disney News
  • Disney on Broadway
  • Disney on Ice
  • Disney Live!
  • Walt Disney World Resort
  • Disneyland Resort
  • Aulani - A Disney Resort and Spa
  • Adventures by Disney
  • Disney Vacation Club
  • D23: The Official Disney Fan Club

Disney

EARN POINTS AND UNLOCK REWARDS FOR MOVIE PURCHASES WITH DISNEY MOVIE INSIDERS

Jungle Cruise Hero

Jungle Cruise

July 30, 2021

Action, Adventure, Comedy

Join fan favorites Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt for the adventure of a lifetime on Disney’s Jungle Cruise, a rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton. Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank’s questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila—his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities—possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate—and mankind’s—hangs in the balance.

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 2h 7min Release Date: July 30, 2021

Directed By

Produced by.

PG-13

  • motionpictures.org
  • filmratings.com

Now Streaming | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Disney+

Now Streaming | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Disney+

The Cast of Disney's Jungle Cruise and Behind the Attraction | What's Up, Disney+

The Cast of Disney's Jungle Cruise and Behind the Attraction | What's Up, Disney+

Mystery Crate Featurette | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

Mystery Crate Featurette | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

Cast Camaraderie Featurette | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

Cast Camaraderie Featurette | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

Arrow | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

Arrow | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

Listen Up | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

Listen Up | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience it July 30

“How Nice of You to Join Us” Clip | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

“How Nice of You to Join Us” Clip | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

Action Side by Side | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

Action Side by Side | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

Get Tickets and Pre-Order Now | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

Get Tickets and Pre-Order Now | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

Imagine | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience It July 30

Imagine | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience It July 30

Hang On | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience It July 30

Hang On | Disney’s Jungle Cruise | Experience It July 30

Big Adventure Featurette | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

Big Adventure Featurette | Disney’s Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise | Dr. Lily Houghton Trailer | July 30

Jungle Cruise | Dr. Lily Houghton Trailer | July 30

Jungle Cruise | Skipper Frank Trailer | July 30

Jungle Cruise | Skipper Frank Trailer | July 30

Jungle Cruise Trailer | In Theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access July 30

Jungle Cruise Trailer | In Theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access July 30

Disney’s Jungle Cruise – New Trailer

Disney’s Jungle Cruise – New Trailer

Disney's Jungle Cruise - In Theaters July 24, 2020

Disney's Jungle Cruise - In Theaters July 24, 2020

Related articles, news disney jun 30, interviews on the set of disney’s jungle cruise with the cast and crew.

June 30, 2021

News Disney Aug 26

We can't wait to go on an adventure with emily blunt and dwayne johnson in jungle cruise.

August 26, 2019

Dwayne Johnson | Disney | Jungle Cruise | In theaters July 30 or order it on Disney+ Premier Access. Additional fee required. | poster

Join fan favorites Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt for the adventure of a lifetime on Disney’s JUNGLE CRUISE, a rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton.

Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) and Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) from the Disney movie "Jungle Cruise".

Recommended Movies

Big changes. New emotions. | Disney•Pixar | Inside Out 2 | Only in theaters June 2024 | movie poster

Inside Out 2

Disney • Pixar | Elemental | Rated PG | Now streaming | Disney+ | movie poster

Marvel Studios' Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | Now streaming | Disney+ | movie poster

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Marvel Studios | Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3 | movie poster

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Disney Haunted Mansion | Now streaming | Disney+ | movie poster

Haunted Mansion

Marvel Studios | The Marvels | Now streaming | Disney+ | movie poster

The Marvels

Disney•Pixar | Lightyear

Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Marvel Studios | Thor: Love and Thunder | movie poster

Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder

Marvel Studios | Black Widow movie poster

Black Widow

Disney•Pixar | Luca | movie poster

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings

Disney | Cruella movie poster

Marvel Studios' Eternals

Disney | Encanto | Image of Mirabel and her extended family in front of a house | movie poster

Artemis Fowl

Disney•Pixar | Onward movie poster

Explore Georgia:

Visit the Georgia Film Site

IMAGES

  1. 'Jungle Cruise' Sails Down Woke River

    jungle cruise movie woke

  2. 'Jungle Cruise' Sails Down Woke River

    jungle cruise movie woke

  3. Jungle Cruise (2021)

    jungle cruise movie woke

  4. Jungle Cruise Imdb Review

    jungle cruise movie woke

  5. Poster zum Film Jungle Cruise

    jungle cruise movie woke

  6. Woke panel from NPR comment on the new Disney film The Jungle Cruise

    jungle cruise movie woke

VIDEO

  1. Jungle Cruise Movie explained in Hindi/Urdu

  2. the jungle Cruise movie in Hindi dubbed

COMMENTS

  1. 'Jungle Cruise' Sails Down Woke River

    Jungle Cruise | Official Trailer 2. Emily Blunt stars as Dr. Lily Houghton, the kind of screen heroine who could only exist in the 21st century. She's tougher than most men, headstrong to a fault and she refuses to wear what proper women of her era don. In between escaping Rube Goldberg-style traps she tells strangers that their animals ...

  2. Disneyland's Jungle Cruise changes: 'woke' or necessary?

    It's a distinction Disney could no longer afford. Ahead of the July 30 release of a "Jungle Cruise" movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, the ride reopened Friday — a day shy of ...

  3. Why Disneyland's Jungle Cruise cultural changes aren't just 'woke

    Ahead of the July 30 release of a "Jungle Cruise" movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, the ride reopened Friday — a day shy of the park's 66th anniversary — with updates that remove, in Disney's words, "negative depictions of native people.". In their place are slapstick-inspired scenes largely involving chimpanzees and ...

  4. How Disney's Wokeness Makes 'Jungle Cruise' Stale

    Woke movies are different, though. The new film bylaws offer a fresh round of surprise-free storytelling. Social justice scribes shape their screenplays in very particular ways, and it doesn't take Columbo to suss them out. You won't find a better example than Disney's "Jungle Cruise." Story spoilers ahead:

  5. Disney's 'woke' moves spark a conservative backlash

    More recently, the company announced updates to the classic Jungle Cruise ride to remove "negative depictions of 'natives'" and add new elements, just in time for a new movie out this summer.

  6. 'Jungle Cruise': Gay character sparks debate, new Trader Sam debuts

    But "Jungle Cruise," the movie, shows an entirely new Trader Sam (played by "Ozark" and "Perry Mason" actress Falcón) as a leader of a peaceful tribe who mischievously works a con game with Frank ...

  7. Column on 'Wokeness' Ruining Disney World Experience Draws Backlash

    The Jungle Cruise ride includes an Indigenous character named Trader Sam, who sells shrunken heads. The character was recently removed from the ride. "We are addressing negative depictions of ...

  8. Jungle Cruise movie review: raiders of the recent swashbucklers

    Jungle Cruise movie review: raiders of the recent swashbucklers. MaryAnn's quick take: Wonderfully escapist, dripping with magnificently congenial charm thanks to the comic chemistry of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. Plus it's sure to enrage people who use "woke" as an insult. Yay!

  9. Jungle Cruise movie review & film summary (2021)

    But the staging and execution of the chases and fights compensates. Derivative of films that were themselves highly derivative, "Jungle Cruise" has the look and feel of a paycheck gig for all involved, but everyone seems to be having a great time, including the filmmakers. In theaters and on Disney+ for a premium charge starting Friday, July 30th.

  10. Jungle Cruise (film)

    Jungle Cruise is a 2021 American fantasy adventure film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay written by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, and Michael Green.It is based on Walt Disney's eponymous theme park attraction.Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti.

  11. Why 'Jungle Cruise' Is More Problematic Than 'Suicide Squad 2'

    However, Jungle Cruise was A) a movie that looked like a more likely hit in pre-Covid times and B) Disney's best chance at crafting a new theatrically live-action franchise. Both films, save for ...

  12. Jungle Cruise

    Movie Info. Join fan favorites Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt for the adventure of a lifetime on Disney's JUNGLE CRUISE, a rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank ...

  13. What's Jungle Cruise About? Dwayne Johnson & More Explain ...

    Image via Disney. In Disney's Jungle Cruise, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt take the helm for a rip-roaring river adventure that goes beyond the banks of a Brazilian port town and into the heart ...

  14. 'Jungle Cruise' movie review: Action-heavy Disney film requires no

    Jungle Cruise — the theme park ride, not the new Disney movie it has inspired — is notable for the groan-worthy humor of its "skippers," the tour guides who provide Borscht-Belt-style ...

  15. Jungle Cruise (2021)

    Jungle Cruise: Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. With Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall. Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element.

  16. 'Jungle Cruise' Really Wants to Be Weird

    Jaume Collet-Serra does his best to inject some weird electricity into 'Jungle Cruise,' but even a B-movie virtuoso like him can get swallowed up in Disney's waters By Adam Nayman Jul 30 ...

  17. 'Jungle Cruise' Proves Disney Doesn't Actually Mind Offensive Stereotypes

    "Jungle Cruise" cost an estimated $200 million to produce and hasn't broken even at the time of this writing. Its stereotyping of indigenous and homosexual people will likely remain ...

  18. How the 'Jungle Cruise' movie and Disneyland ride connect

    And this 2021 take on "Jungle Cruise" — rooted in the chemistry, bickering and exaggerated contradictions between Johnson's cynical skipper Frank and Blunt's idealistic botanist Lily ...

  19. 'Jungle Cruise' review: The Rock's latest derivative movie

    The "Jungle Cruise" attraction at Disney World doesn't have much of an arc to speak of; you hop aboard a boat and stare at old mechanical animals while a skipper makes wisecracks. To bulk up ...

  20. Disney's Jungle Cruise Power of Woke (Part Two)

    The Jungle Movies slammed to a halt in 1942. If an American movie character was in the jungle during those years, he was not looking for treasure and excitement. Although, excitement had no trouble finding him. After Hiroshima, the jungle movies kind of came back but the genre was more mature. African Queen starring Bogart and Hepburn came out ...

  21. 9 More Hilarious Jungle Cruise Jokes We Need To Hear In The Movie

    Dr. Falls. The classic "back side of water" joke comes in the latter portion of the attraction as the boat goes behind a waterfall that the guests traveled by earlier in the ride. When going by ...

  22. Jungle Cruise 2 Is Still Up In The Air, But Looks Like Dwayne ...

    B ack in 2021, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt successfully fronted the latest adaptation of a classic Disney theme park ride with Jungle Cruise.After the adventurous film brought the two Hollywood ...

  23. Jungle Cruise

    Rating: PG-13. Runtime: 2h 7min. Release Date: July 30, 2021. Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy. Join fan favorites Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt for the adventure of a lifetime on Disney's Jungle Cruise, a rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton.