Jungle Cruise: a refreshing nostalgia trip
Undoubtedly I was late to the game when it came to watching Disney’s Jungle Cruise released in the summer last year, but it was always one I was intending to find the time to watch. It’s just a shame I didn’t have the time until very recently.
Set in two years into the first World War, it follows an ambitious young scientist and her brother as they join up with a captain of a riverboat to find the Tears of the Moon, flowers that are said to cure any alignment. They race against the clock as a group of cursed conquistadors and an expedition of German soldiers from them into the Amazon also seeking the power of the petals.
From this, the first thing to note about the film is there wasn’t anything surprising about it. It gave what the synopsis promised, taking heavy inspiration from the likes of the Indiana Jones franchise and arguably from the success of the Jumanji reboot. The film was predictable, even with its character twist for the Skipper Frank (Dwayne Johnson), but that’s not to say there wasn’t an element of enjoyment in watching this action-packed nostalgia trip.
It is no secret that the film was based on a theme park attraction which shares the same name. The Jungle Cruise, previously the Jungle River Cruise, has been a staple in various parks after making its debut at Disneyland in 1955. It was also a staple whenever I visited Disneyworld, Orlando, when I was a kid. It is an attraction I remember fondly, from the beautiful scenery and animatronics to the performances of the skippers who took you around the ride, dramatising the adventure to make every set piece feel real. It was something that those memories and gave me the sense of nostalgia when watching Jungle Cruise as, right down to the insufferable jokes, Dwayne Johnson’s character was just one of the skippers from the attraction. He was a showman through and through, with the whole film encouraging you to suspend your disbelief and believe in the con.
The cast and its representation are the highlight of the film. Each character allows you to have that sense of nostalgia for the old adventure films whilst bringing them to the attention of modern audiences. Having already mentioned Frank, I will instead look to the Houghton siblings – Lily, the scientist, played by Emily Blunt, and MacGregor, the sidekick, played by Jack Whitehall. Lily takes on the traditional role of the scientist/archaeologist, the one who starts the grand adventure in the hopes of proving the Royal Society wrong and revolutionising the medical world by proving the existence of the Tears of the Moon. She is a fun character who embodies the traits of the ‘Indiana Jones’ character, a subversion of a traditionally male role that becomes a running gag throughout the film as she gains the nickname ‘Pants’. Likewise, her brother isn’t quite who he seems, adding to the notion of perspective that runs through the film’s narrative. Initially a snobbish rich boy, MacGregor is almost insufferable as he wishes that his sister would just give up on her endeavours and go home. However, he develops into a strong character who grows attached to the sense of adventure as well as learning to have the confidence to be who he is and not just what people see him to be. Come the film’s climax, he is even able to dispatch Prince Joachim, the leader of the German expedition, though in truly comical fashion the German’s actual demise was more of an accident. Both are admirable icons, with the casting of Blunt and Whitehall adding the perfect balance between the leading lady and her bumbling brother.
Overall, the film performed adequately at the Box Office, managing to earn back a little over its total budget with contributions from its release on Disney Plus, Premier Access. But in comparison, the most recent instalment in the Jumanji series, Jumanji: The Next Level, released two years prior which also stars Dwayne Johnson in its leading role, managed to eightfold its budget in the Box Office. The two films are pretty much encompassed that feeling of nostalgia but unlike Jungle Cruise, the Jumanji films don’t rely on it. They have created something new for a generation who never saw the original whilst having just enough for those who remember it. Jungle Cruise, on the other hand, is just another adventure film that has some good jokes and dynamic sets.
I must admit it certainly was nice to see something different from the studio, but I don’t know if this is the start of anything else that could be considered different as they are set to release their next nostalgic take in 2023 with The Little Mermaid. And whilst, for myself, it was nice to feel like I was back on another adventure through the Amazon with my trusty skipper, but for my partner, who has never experienced the attraction or even knew it really existed, Jungle Cruise was just a bit of fun that could distract him from a disconnected plot.
