Disney's Jungle Cruise Movie Brings The Nostalgia! ⋆ Brite and Bubbly

Disney’s Jungle Cruise Movie Brings The Nostalgia!

By: Vanessa Diaz | 0 comments

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Excited about Disney’s lated live action movie The Jungle Cruise? Well check out our movie review!

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Disney’s The Jungle Cruise is the latest film adaptation inspired by a classic ride from Disneyland. This new adventure is brought to the screen by director Jaume Collet-Serra, who is best known for his horror films The Shallows and Orphan. A horror filmmaker directing a jungle adventure should not seem odd in the least. If you recall, before directing Pirates of the Caribbean, Gore Verbinski was best known as the director of the hit horror film The Ring, the 2002 American version. And The Jungle Cruise, being a period piece supernatural adventure, is very much in the same category as the aforementioned Pirates of the Caribbean.

In the tradition of Disneyland ride to film adaptations, The Jungle Cruise takes the premise of a jungle cruise, incorporates aspects from the ride in a fun way, but also finds a way to use supernatural elements to engage the adventure. The film begins with a story of a conquistador entering the jungle in search of a tree whose pedals hold magical healing abilities. As happens with stories like this, something goes horribly wrong and the conquistador and his men are cursed. This prologue provides the perfect and simple entryway into the adventure as Doctor Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) steals an ancient artifact to begin her expedition to find this otherworldly tree that could change the face of medicine forever.

The Jungle Cruise stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Hobbs & Shaw, Jumanji) as Frank Wolf, the skipper of the Jungle Cruise who has a pun for every situation but also a mysterious past. Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns, A Quiet Place) is Lily Houghton, the real leader of the expedition with a strong moral compass and is almost not afraid of anything. Jack Whitehall (BBC’s Bad Education) is MacGregor Houghton, Lily’s loyal, albeit pampered brother whose reason for dutifully accompanying his sister anywhere is one of my favorite character moments in the film. Edgar Ramirez (Bright, 2015’s Point Break) is the supernaturally cursed Conquistador Aguirre, whose tragic backstory makes him yet another in a long line of sympathetic Disney “villains.” Jesse Plemons (Judas and the Black Messiah, Game Night) plays the true villain of the story as the German aristocrat Prince Joachim, someone who has less than altruistic plans for the magical pedals. And the always fun Paul Giamatti (Sideways) plays Nilo, a shrewd businessman who runs the jungle river boat company that employs skipper Frank Wolf.

Above all, The Jungle Cruise is an adventure. I previously made the comparison to Pirates of the Caribbean and while that is a fair comparison, I think The Jungle Cruise might have a closer relation to the 1999 summer blockbuster The Mummy (the one starring Brendan Frasier and Rachel Weisz). The character dynamics of the three main heroes are a perfect match; an intelligent and daring female heroine, her loyal but put out brother, and a charming world weary scoundrel to guide them. But regardless of the character dynamics, if you are a fan of fun supernatural adventures (more emphasis on the fun adventure) like either 2004’s Pirates of the Caribbean or 1999’s The Mummy, then 2021’s The Jungle Cruise is exactly the kind of fun you are looking for this summer.

Disney’s The Jungle Cruise is rated PG-13 for the exact same reasons that The Mummy and Pirates of the Caribbean were rated PG-13. The cursed character Aguirre and his men have a very eerie and abnormal appearance. It is definitely something you would not want to encounter in real life, but the look and feel are very similar to the cursed characters of Barbosa and Davey Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Very young children may be disturbed at the site of computer generated decayed skin and snakes coming out of hands, but I think for mature enough youngsters, the vibe and effects may come off as more fun than terrifying. There is mild violence, but again this is a fun adventure and nothing comes off as graphic or gratuitous. With fun adventure and charming likeable characters, The Jungle Cruise is really this is just the perfect family fun adventure for the whole family. It also brings a great nostalgia for the ride!

We can’t wait to ride the Jungle Cruise again at Disneyland after seeing this film!

Jungle Cruise releases simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access this coming Friday, July 30, 2021. Highly recommend you make it a family movie night!