Jungle Cruise (film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Jungle Cruise'' is a 2021 American
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...
directed by
Jaume Collet-Serra Jaume Collet-Serra (; born 23 March 1974) is a Spanish-American film director and producer. He directed the horror films '' House of Wax'' (2005), '' Orphan'' (2009), and '' The Shallows'' (2016), as well as the Liam Neeson-led thriller films '' ...
from a screenplay written by
Glenn Ficarra Glenn Ficarra (born May 27, 1969) is an American filmmaker and actor. He frequently collaborated with John Requa. Life and career Ficarra met John Requa at Pratt Institute, where both were studying film. After college they went to work in ani ...
,
John Requa John Requa (born January 1, 1967) is an American screenwriter (with Glenn Ficarra) of ''Cats & Dogs'', ''Bad Santa'' and the 2005 remake '' Bad News Bears''. The DVD commentary for '' Bad News Bears'' revealed that Requa was to have had a bit ro ...
, and Michael Green. It is based on
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's eponymous theme park attraction. Produced by
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...
, the film stars
Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
,
Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards. ...
,
Édgar Ramírez Édgar Filiberto Ramírez Arellano (, born 25 March 1977) is a Venezuelan actor. Ramírez studied communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University. He then worked in media and considered becoming a diplomat. When Guillermo Arriaga prai ...
,
Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series ''Bad Educat ...
, Jesse Plemons, and
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
. It tells the
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
of the captain of a small riverboat who takes a scientist and her brother through a jungle in search of the
Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
while competing against a German expedition and cursed conquistadors. Plans for a feature film based on the Jungle Cruise ride began in 2004. The project lay dormant until 2011. The original version fell through and Johnson joined in 2015. Blunt and the rest of the cast joined in 2018 in a revamped version, with filming taking place in Hawaii and Georgia, from May through September that year. The score was composed by
James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...
. Following a year of post-production and a year of further delay due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, ''Jungle Cruise'' was finally released in the United States on July 30, 2021, simultaneously in theaters and digitally through
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
with Premier Access. The film received mixed reviews from film critics and grossed $221 million worldwide against a production budget of $200 million, in addition to this it also grossed $66 million in its first 30 days Premier Access run making its overall box office revenue a little above 300 million. A sequel is in development, with Johnson and Blunt set to reprise their roles.


Plot

In 1556, Don Aguirre leads
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
s to South America to search for the Lágrimas de Cristal Tree, whose flowers cure illness, heal injuries, and lift curses. After many conquistadors die, the Puka Michuna tribe heals the sickened survivors with the Tree's flowers. When the tribal chief refuses to reveal the Tree's location, Aguirre stabs him and burns the village. The dying chief curses the conquistadors, making them
immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...
and unable to leave sight of the
Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...
without being dragged back by the
jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...
itself. In 1916
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Dr. Lily Houghton's Tears of the Moon research is presented by her brother MacGregor to the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
. The Houghtons, hoping to revolutionize both medicine and the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
War Effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...
, request access to a recently acquired
arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
artifact, but the request is denied as the Tree is considered a myth and female scientists are disfavored. However, believing the arrowhead and her old Amazon map are the key to finding the Tree, Lily steals it, narrowly evading Prince Joachim, who is equally intent on finding the Tree for
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Arriving in
Brasil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...
, Lily and MacGregor search for a guide to navigate the Amazon River. They hire skipper Frank Wolff who offers jungle cruises embellished with faked theatrical dangers and corny
pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
s. He initially declines, citing the dangers of the river and jungle, but reconsiders upon seeing the arrowhead. Frank steals back his repossessed boat engine from the harbormaster Nilo and the trio departs after escaping from Joachim's
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
. In Frank's cabin, Lily finds photos and sketches of modern inventions as well as research on the Tears of the Moon. She accuses him of seeking the Tree, but he insists he gave up long ago. They are captured by the Puka Michuna tribe, disguised as
cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...
s, but quickly release as they were hired by Frank. Angered, Lily begins to doubt Frank. The tribal chief Trader Sam translates the symbols on the arrowhead, revealing the Tree's location and that it only blooms under a blood moon. Meanwhile, Joachim has located the conquistadors
petrified In geology, petrifaction or petrification () is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals. Petrified wood typifies this proce ...
inside a cave. He makes Aguirre agree to find the arrowhead for him in exchange for flowers. Joachim diverts the river to free them as Aguirre and his conquistadors are reanimated while fused with rainforest elements. The conquistadors track down and attack the tribe where Frank is stabbed through the heart by Aguirre. Lily flees with the artifact, but vines pull the conquistadors away when they unknowingly lose sight of the river while pursuing her. To the Houghtons' amazement, Frank reappears alive. He reveals he is one of the cursed conquistadors, who once wanted to help find the Tears to save Aguirre's paralyzed daughter. However, he sided with the tribe against Aguirre's brutality. After years of endless fighting, he trapped his vengeful comrades away from the river's view, petrifying them. Failing to find the Tree, Frank became a tour guide and built a village. Lily and Frank continue to La Luna Rota Waterfall and uncover a submerged
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. Meanwhile, Joachim has captured MacGregor and forces him to reveal Lily's location. Frank, the Houghtons, the Germans, and the conquistadors all converge at the Tree when La Luna Rota's water is partially drained. Discovering the arrowhead is a locket with a red gem inside, Lily places the two pieces into carvings in the bark and the Tree briefly blooms under the blood moon. As a fight ensues, Lily recovers one flower. The German soldiers drown, Joachim is crushed by a falling rock, and Frank crashes his boat to block the river, petrifying himself and the rest of the conquistadors to save Lily. Realizing her true feelings for Frank, Lily sacrifices the flower to lift Frank's curse and restore his mortality, and he decides to leave the Amazon to be with her. The moon's last beam blooms a single flower, which Lily takes for research. Returning to the port, Frank sells his business to Nilo. Upon their successful return to Britain, Lily becomes a full professor at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. MacGregor rejects an invitation to membership from the Royal Society. Lily and Frank then explore London together as Lily teaches Frank how to drive a car.


Cast

*
Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
as Frank Wolff / Francisco Lopez de Heredia:
A shrewd and cynical but ultimately noble
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
skipper who reluctantly agrees to guide two explorers on their quest for the mythical Tree. He eventually reveals his true name and identity as Aguirre's adopted brother and one of the cursed conquistadors, forever trapped by the Amazon River. He is a trained
cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
who has spent centuries searching for the Tree to break the curse that made him immortal so he can die peacefully. Meanwhile, he has built a town, and a boat he christened "La Quila" for his business under "Jungle Navigation Company" while owning a number of tamed exotic cats as a pet, each one named "Proxima". *
Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards. ...
as Dr. Lily Houghton:
An eccentric, adventurous and virtuous
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
working in a male-dominated field, who hopes to find the Tree in order to harness its power for modern medicine. Possessing an ancient arrowhead and one of Frank's old maps of the Amazon, she proves she is resourceful and capable in
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
and
lock picking Lock picking is the practice of unlocking a lock by manipulating the components of the lock device without the original key. Although lock-picking can be associated with criminal intent, it is an essential skill for the legitimate professi ...
skills, despite the fact that she cannot swim until Frank helps her out with it at La Luna Rota. She wants to prove herself equal to her
chauvinistic Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...
peers but gains some notoriety for wearing
trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...
. *
Édgar Ramírez Édgar Filiberto Ramírez Arellano (, born 25 March 1977) is a Venezuelan actor. Ramírez studied communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University. He then worked in media and considered becoming a diplomat. When Guillermo Arriaga prai ...
as Aguirre:
A
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
who once sought the Tree's power to save his ill daughter, only to be cursed with immortality for his cruelty towards its guardians. Temporarily freed by German explorers, he sets out to take revenge on his adopted brother, Frank, for turning on him. His partially-decomposed body is now composed of an infestation of
snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s and as such, he possesses the ability to convert part or all of his body into snakes. *
Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series ''Bad Educat ...
as MacGregor Houghton:
Lily's younger brother who works as her assistant. He later confesses to Frank that the rest of their family all but disowned him after he was outed as being gay when he refused to marry a woman, prompting Lily to hire him so he could support himself and he has been loyal to her ever since. As a somewhat foppish snob who adheres to proper etiquette and prefers wearing
three-piece suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead ...
s, he seems ill-suited to jungle life, but gradually develops into a more confident, rugged man by the end of the expedition. * Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim:
A deranged and ambitious German royal who finances and leads a military expedition with
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
to claim the Tree of Life, both to aid Germany's war effort and achieve immortality. He receives aid from the cursed conquistadors after he frees them for his own interest, and communicates with them through their bees and snakes. *
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
as Nilo Nemolato:
The
harbormaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct opera ...
at Nilo's River Adventure,
Porto Velho Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin, and a Catholic Metropolitan Archbishopric. The population is 548,952 people (as of the IBGE 2021 estimation). Located on the border ...
, where Frank moors his boat. Nilo owns a
Moluccan cockatoo The salmon-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua moluccensis''), also known as the Moluccan cockatoo, is a cockatoo endemic to the Seram archipelago in eastern Indonesia. At a height of up to and weight of up to , it is among the largest of the white co ...
named "Rosita". He is also a business rival, and confiscates Frank's boat engine when Frank is unable to repay him a loan with Rosita constantly quoting "Frank owes me money". This leads Frank to wreck Nilo's prize boats in return. Additionally,
Verónica Falcón Verónica Falcón (born August 8, 1966) is a Mexican actress and choreographer. When it comes to her English-speaking roles, she is best known for playing Camila Vargas in three seasons of '' Queen of the South'' and Lupe Gibbs in the 2020 HBO ...
plays Trader Sam, the female chief of the Puka Michuna tribe in 1916, who is a longtime friend of Frank's and knows about the curse. The Puka Michuna tribe has a centuries-long history of guarding the Tree, but Sam does not know the exact location herself until Lily shows her the arrowhead. Dan Dargan Carter,
Dani Rovira Daniel Rovira de Rivas (born 1 November 1980) is a Spanish comedian and actor. Career Early career After graduating in Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Granada, he started touring with Paramount Comedy, performin ...
, and
Quim Gutiérrez Joaquim "Quim" Gutiérrez Ylla (; born 27 March 1981) is a Spanish actor. He won the 2006 Goya Award for Best New Actor for his performance in ''Dark Blue Almost Black''. Life and career Joaquim Gutiérrez Ylla was born in Barcelona on 27 Ma ...
play Aguirre's fellow conquistadors, as, respectively: Gonzalo, whose partially-decomposed body is composed of
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
parts; Sancho, whose is composed of
honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...
s and the colonies of
honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmo ...
s that ride on him; and Melchor, whose is composed of
mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...
and the
poison dart frog Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are ...
s that ride on him. All the conquistadors have the ability to dissolve into their constituent parts to rapidly move through the jungle, as well as maintain telepathic control of the creatures inhabiting their bodies.
Andy Nyman Andrew Nyman (born 13 April 1966) is an English actor, director, writer and magician. Early life and career Nyman was born on 13 April 1966 in Leicester, Leicestershire. His first noteworthy performance was in 2000 as Keith Whitehead in '' Dead ...
plays Sir James Hobbs-Coddington, the Royal Society's artifact handler who briefly helps Prince Joachim; while Raphael Alejandro plays Zaqueu, Frank's young assistant. Other characters include the chief of the Puka Michuna tribe in 1556, played by Pedro Lopez, who cursed the conquistadors; and his daughter, played by Sulem Calderon, who protects the artifact away from the jungle. Also, stunt-actor Ben Jenkin was on set for the motion-capture of Proxima, Frank's devoted pet
jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
. She is one of a series of exotic cats rescued and trained by Frank that were all named Proxima (Spanish for "Next") in Frank's life. Out of fear and later affectionately, MacGregor nicknames her "Murder Cat".


References to the ride

Frank's puns are derived from the skipper's lines on the original theme park ride. Lily's personality is inspired by
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
. The boat is named after
Mama Killa Mama Quilla ( Quechua ''mama'' mother, ''killa'' moon, "Mother Moon", hispanicized spelling ''Mama Quilla''), in Inca mythology and religion, was the third power and goddess of the moon. She was the older sister and wife of Inti, daughter of Vi ...
. The cockatoo — whose real name is "Lover Girl" — is named after the singing bird "Rosita" at Disneyland in the movie. The film has several elements referencing Dr. Albert Falls, a fictional character at Disneyland who has discovered Schweitzer Falls and has founded the Jungle Navigation Company.


Production


Early versions

In December 2004, it was announced that ''Jungle Cruise'' would be developed for
Mandeville Films Mandeville Films is an American film production company headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1995 by film producer David Hoberman, the company re-formed as Mandeville Films and Television in 2002 after a short hiatus for three years, ...
, with a script by Josh Goldstein and John Norville. Following the success of ''
Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with th ...
'', the film was announced to take place within the twentieth century and was loosely inspired by the theme park attraction of the same name which featured prominently in Disneyland's grand opening in 1955. In 2006,
Alfred Gough Alfred Gough (born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He is best known as co-creator of The WB/The CW's Superman prequel series ''Smallville'' and Netflix's ''Addams Family'' spin-off series ''Wednesday''. Al ...
and
Miles Millar Miles Millar (born 1967) is an Australian-British screenwriter, showrunner, producer and director. He is known for co-creating the long-running Superman prequel television series ''Smallville'' and the Tim Burton Netflix ''Addams Family'' spin- ...
were in talks to write the film. In February 2011, it was announced that
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
and
Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/Fo ...
, who had previously worked together in the ''Toy Story'' franchise, would star in the long-gestating film, with a script to be written by
Roger S. H. Schulman Roger S. H. Schulman is an American film and television screenwriter and producer. He co-wrote the animated feature ''Shrek'', for which he won the British Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing ...
.


Pre-production

In August 2015, it was announced that Walt Disney Pictures was revamping the film adaptation to star Dwayne Johnson. The previous script originally written by Goldstein and Norville would be rewritten by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra with the intention to harken back to its period roots. John Davis and John Fox signed in as producers. Johnson, who did a lot of research before getting into the role, announced in April 2017 that he would co-produce the film under his Seven Bucks Productions, and he expressed his interest in having
Patty Jenkins Patricia Lea Jenkins (born July 24, 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She has directed the feature films ''Monster'' (2003), ''Wonder Woman'' (2017), and ''Wonder Woman 1984'' (2020). For the film ''Monster'', she w ...
helm the project. However, in July 2017, Jaume Collet-Serra was announced as the director of the film. In January 2018, Michael Green was reported to have rewritten the script, previously worked on by Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne. Also Emily Blunt signed on, as Johnson wanted her to be his co-star.


Casting

In March 2018, an open casting call was made for the other characters in the film, including men and women of all ethnicities between ages 17 to 90 and children between 6 and 14 years old. In the same month, Jack Whitehall was cast as the brother of Blunt's character. Six months later, it was reported that he would have a
coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
scene in the film with Johnson. This would be the second incidence of a gay character in a live-action Disney film, the first being Le Fou, portrayed by
Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...
, in the 2017 adaptation of ''
Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
''. There was some backlash over the report, with some persons online expressing anger over a straight man being cast as a "camp" gay character. In April 2018, Édgar Ramírez and Jesse Plemons were added to the cast as villains with the former being "a man with a conquistador background". In May, Paul Giamatti was cast to portray a "crusty harbormaster." In June, Quim Gutiérrez joined the cast to portray one of the villains. In July, it was announced that Veronica Falcón, Dani Rovira, and Andy Nyman had joined the cast. Before Falcón was cast as Trader Sam, a role inspired by a male character at the theme park, it was discussed whether the role would be a male or a female character in the film.


Filming

The first span of the shoot began on May 16, 2018, in Hawaii, where a port town was set up at Kapaia Reservoir, Kauai, near Wailua Falls. The set took one month to scout, two months to design, and four months to build, dress, and landscape while being challenged by the flood rains. Other shoot locations include the town of
Lihue Lihue or Līhue is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 2010 ...
, the Kauai Plantation Railway, and Huleia Stream. After seven weeks, the shoot then moved for a major course at Blackhall Studios, Atlanta, where a pool was set up in a large tank like the river, as well as the jungle in it. Some scenes were also filmed at the
Oxford College of Emory University Oxford College of Emory University (Oxford College) is a residential college of Emory University, a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Oxford college is located in Oxford and specializes in the foundations of liberal arts educat ...
. Two boats of length "39 feet" were built for easy logistics in filming at both the locations, revealed production designer Jean-Vincent Puzos. Paco Delgado said that while some of the suits are original from the twentieth century, the costumes for the main characters and the tribals were specially made for the film, for which he researched the cultures of different tribes in the Amazon. He said that
Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...
was the inspiration for Blunt's costume.
Joel Harlow Joel Harlow (born February 2, 1968) is an American make-up artist. He works steadily in many high-profile films. Harlow won an Academy Award for his work in the successful film '' Star Trek'' (2009), subsequently receiving another two nomination ...
did make-up for 400 background characters to detail their appearance whether with a sunburn or an insect bite, also he made tattoo designs for 65 tribal characters. Tanoai Reed and Myles Humphus were Johnson's
stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
s while Lauren Shaw was Blunt's. The film cinematographer Flavio Martínez Labiano revealed that the blue screen technology was used. Magenta-tinted lights were used for a sequence of the tree. He also wanted to show colorful "London in the summer" unlike many other films which depict London in winter when "it's foggy and it's blue".
Arri Alexa The Arri Alexa (stylised as ΛLEXΛ) is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. First introduced in April 2010, the camera was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography after previous efforts such as the Arr ...
SXT Plus cameras were used, with specially designed
Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during ...
C-Series
anamorphic lens Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorte ...
es. To shoot the underwater sequence, a puzzle set was built in the second tank, and then it was filled with water. Underwater cinematographer Ian Seabrook said that it took about two weeks to shoot simultaneously while the main cast was also busy shooting in the first tank, so the stunt doubles had to be present there too. He said that while Johnson was a strong swimmer, Blunt showed no fear despite being a novice in acting underwater. (In any case, the water tank had emergency exits for her to the right and the left of the camera.) The set had to be pulled out of the water by a crane so he handheld the camera throughout. Filming wrapped on September 14, with about 95 days of
principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
. A few
re-shoot In filmmaking, a pick-up is a small, relatively minor shot filmed or recorded after the fact to augment footage already shot. When entire scenes are redone, it is referred to as a re-shoot or additional photography. On set During principal photo ...
s took place before June 2019, which took three weeks in Atlanta. Johnson shared that the film pays homage to '' The African Queen'', ''
Romancing the Stone ''Romancing the Stone'' is a 1984 action-adventure romantic comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Diane Thomas and produced by Michael Douglas, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. The fi ...
'', and ''
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
''.


Post-production

Ethan Van der Ryn Ethan Van der Ryn (born October 21, 1962) is an American sound editor. He won 2 Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and ''King Kong''. He earned further Academy Awards nominations for ''Transfo ...
and
Erik Aadahl Erik Aadahl (born September 16, 1976) is an American sound editor. He is best known for providing Godzilla's roar in the 2014 film of the same name. He also voiced Bumblebee in '' Transformers: The Last Knight''. Career He graduated from the U ...
served as the sound designers, while Joel Negron served as the
film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...
, with
DNEG DNEG (formerly known as Double Negative) is a British visual effects, computer animation, and stereo conversion studio that was founded in 1998 in London, and rebranded as DNEG in 2014 after a merger with Indian VFX company Prime Focus. The c ...
,
Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
,
Rodeo FX Rodeo FX is a visual effects company involved in projects in the film, television and advertising industry. The company currently has studios in Montreal, Quebec City, Munich and Los Angeles. History Rodeo FX was founded in 2006 in Montreal, Ca ...
,
Rising Sun Pictures Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) is an Australian visual effects company headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia, co-founded and headed by Tony Clark. Since April 2021 it has been owned by FuseFX. Its film and television credits include '' Black W ...
, and Weta Digital providing the visual effects, along with The Third Floor. It took about a year in the post-production stage, but was shut down in March 2020 due to the pandemic, however, it resumed in the summer and was completed in September 2020. After filming and before the post-production phase, the teams were sent to the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, and Costa Rica forest, where they recorded the actual surroundings, including "pristine wildlife and hundreds of species of exotic birds", so the background effects library can be created for the film, using different types of microphones, including ambisonic and parabolic. Two Alexa Minis, a drone, and several cameras were used for the reference photography and footage, which took about three weeks. The port town, the water, and the jungle, all were built on a limited scale and were extended through CGI to create backgrounds. Plate shots were also captured at the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
; these were used to animate the turbulent and
aerated water Aerated water is, correctly speaking, water to which air is added. The term is, however, frequently applied to carbonated water. Purpose of aeration Sulfur compounds dissolved in water are not necessarily dangerous, but can give the water a b ...
, so the boat can be animated running at 200
km/h The kilometre per hour ( SI symbol: km/h; non-standard abbreviations: kph, km/hr) is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres travelled in one hour. History Although the metre was formally defined in 1799, the term "kilometres per ho ...
on the river as its journey is seen in the film. The 3D team made such effects like "light reflecting off the water, bugs flying around and dew glistening on leaves", so the film weather looks humid in the summer. The submarine was also digitally extended after it was shot in a tank. To visualize the explosions by
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
, rubber and wooden structures were used. To portray the character of Proxima, a stunt actor in a jaguar
morphsuit Morphsuits is a company in Edinburgh, Scotland that distributes branded spandex costumes, based on the Zentai, existing skin-tight garments, which cover the entire body. The company offers over 80 different designs. The company was founded by brot ...
, as well as a
stuffed toy A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be cal ...
, were on set. To animate it for the film, a collection of plates from big cats was used with most references taken from a female jaguar in
San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...
, before its 3D modeling and sculpting, with details like a mark on her forehead, a folded-over ear, and the muscle and skin system. Other animals were also observed to create its reaction to interactions. A pet cat also made an appearance as baby Proxima. In sequences of the pink river dolphins, each one was animated separately to build its own character, while the piranhas were also created with CGI. To animate the conquistadors, each character was built with different body parts to make it not completely human. Materials were gathered to study the actual movements of the snakes for the animation, and the character was made serpentine; with sounds of the snake recorded from pressurized air releases. The frogs were recorded from Costa Rica forest for the mud guy, while
honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...
dripping sound was used for the beehive guy. The sounds of wood stress were used for the tree guy; whose character was completely animated except for some of his only facial expressions. Initially, there were ideas to explore more of the conquistadors with different characteristics, but these were settled on four only. The scene for the Tree of Life was animated after taking inspiration from " Banyan trees,
Baobabs ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropi ...
,
Angkor Wat Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hinduism, Hindu temple dedicated ...
and native South American trees" to give it an ancient look. The branches were made in higher resolution "to keep the Tree very organic and verging on gnarled". The tree growth and petal variations were observed, and lighting balance was considered, in order to animate the exposing and reverting luminosity of the petals after merging different shots; the sequence also contains fully-digital characters. Most of the environmental surroundings and water elements were built and animated on
Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
, while the greenery was developed on
SpeedTree SpeedTree is a group of vegetation programming and modeling software products developed and sold by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) that generates virtual foliage for animations, architecture and in real time for video games and dema ...
.


Music

In January 2019, it was announced that James Newton Howard joined the production as the film score composer. By August 2020, it was revealed that
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
collaborated with Howard on an instrumental version of the song "
Nothing Else Matters "Nothing Else Matters" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album, ''Metallica''. The song peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Tra ...
", for the film. According to the band's drummer
Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...
, Metallica worked on the film after Walt Disney Pictures president
Sean Bailey Sean Bailey is an American film and television producer. Bailey is currently the president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, a role he has served since his appointment in 2010. Career Early career As a co-founder and executiv ...
felt like ''Jungle Cruise'' was "the right fit" for a collaboration between Disney and Metallica. Bailey had been "always looking for the right match where there was a way that Metallica could contribute to some Disney project". The band members recorded their parts from their individual studios, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The score was recorded in February 2020 by a 99-person orchestra, with vocals provided by 40 members from the
Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one of the t ...
. In order to add a "regional flavor", Howard incorporated
panpipes A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...
and Brazilian
percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
s. Frequent Metallica collaborator
Greg Fidelman Greg Fidelman (born September 4, 1965) is an American record mixer, engineer and record producer. He is a frequent collaborator of producer Rick Rubin, and has worked with many bands in various genres, including Metallica, Slayer, High on Fire, B ...
served as associate producer and engineer. The soundtrack album was released on July 30, 2021, by
Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its r ...
.


Release


Theatrical and streaming

''Jungle Cruise'' had its world premiere at
Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Di ...
in
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
on July 24, 2021. It was released in the United States on July 30, 2021, in
Dolby Cinema Dolby Cinema is a premium cinema created by Dolby Laboratories that combines Dolby proprietary technologies such as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, as well as other signature entrance and intrinsic design features. The technology competes with IMA ...
,
RealD 3D RealD 3D is a digital stereoscopy, stereoscopic projection technology made and sold by RealD. It is currently the most widely used technology for watching 3D films in theaters. Worldwide, RealD 3D is installed in more than 26,500 auditoriums by app ...
, 4DX, and
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access for . It had a special screening on July 29, 2021, by D23 at
El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as th ...
. Initially, it was slated for October 11, 2019, before being moved to July 24, 2020, and was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, Disney announced that the film would be released simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access, due to the continued closure of theaters in markets like Brazil and Europe as the
SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India in late 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 2021. The ...
surged. This is the last Disney+ Premier Access release to date, with Disney mostly instituting a 45-day exclusive theatrical window before coming to stream. It was also released in India on September 24, and in China on November 12, 2021.


Home media

''Jungle Cruise'' had a digital release on August 31 and it was released via 4K,
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
, and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on November 16; this includes 16 minutes of 11
deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...
s, and 6 bonus
featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...
s. It debuted atop the " NPD Videoscan First Alert", ranking first in both the overall disc sales and Blu-ray sales. 55% of the sales came from Blu-ray, including 16% from 4K Blu-ray and 39% from traditional Blu-ray. The following week it was displaced to the second position by '' F9'' due to the discounts offered around Black Friday, while ranking first on Redbox's rental charts. The third week saw it falling to the third rank in overall disc sales while retaining its position on the Redbox rental charts.


Reception


PVOD viewership

In its opening weekend, Disney reported the film made $30 million from worldwide Disney+ Premier sales, with
Samba TV Samba TV is a television technology company that offers real-time insights and audience analytics. It was founded in 2008 by early employees of BitTorrent, including Samba TV's current CEO, Ashwin Navin. It develops software for televisions, set ...
saying $23.3 million of it came from 770,000 U.S. households. Through its first 10 days of release, Samba reported the film had been streamed in 1.5 million households for a running domestic Premier Access gross of $44.98 million. By the end of its first 30 days, the viewership had grown to 2.2 million households for an estimated revenue of $66 million. After its release on disc, the film topped Redbox's digital chart for two consecutive weeks. In the third week, it dropped to the fourth rank. In January 2022, tech firm Akami reported that ''Jungle Cruise'' was the tenth most pirated film of 2021.


Box office

''Jungle Cruise'' grossed $117 million in the United States and Canada and $104 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $221 million. With an estimated combined production and promotional cost of $362 million, the film needed to gross around $500 million worldwide in order to
break-even Break-even (or break even), often abbreviated as B/E in finance, (sometimes called point of equilibrium) is the point of balance making neither a profit nor a loss. Any number below the break-even point constitutes a loss while any number above i ...
. In the United States and Canada, ''Jungle Cruise'' was released alongside '' Stillwater'' and '' The Green Knight''. It was projected to gross around $25 million from 4,310 theaters. The film made $13.4 million on its first day, including $2.7 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to slightly over-perform, debuting at $35 million to top the box office. The opening was met with a polarized response from industry insiders with some noting the film managed to finish above projections while others blamed the pandemic and simultaneous digital release for eating into possible grosses with one financial insider telling ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
'' that "the model diminishes the aggregate streaming revenue as well as cuts into a movie's theatrical gross." In its second weekend, the film fell 55% to $15.7 million, finishing second behind newcomer '' The Suicide Squad''. The film made $9 million in its third weekend, $6.2 million in its fourth, and $5 million in its fifth. In other territories, the film debuted at $27.6 million from 47 markets, below its $40 million projections. Its largest markets were the UK ($3.2 million), France ($1.6 million), and South Korea ($1.2 million). In its second weekend, the film made $15.1 million from 49 markets, with the top running-totals being from the UK ($8.5 million), Russia ($5.9 million), France ($4.2 million), Japan ($4 million), and Saudi Arabia ($2.7 million). In China it earned $3.3 million during its debut weekend, ranking fifth on the box office charts. This was considered a disappointing opening by media outlets. In the following weekend, it fell to the seventh rank.


Critical response

Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while
PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film ...
reported that 80% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it. Writing for ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'',
Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
praised Johnson and Blunt's chemistry and said that the film is "a little good old-fashioned" and it "pelts the audience with entertainment in such a lively yet bumptious way that at times you may wish you were wearing protective gear."
Korey Coleman Korey Coleman (born September 9, 1971) is an American film critic, animator, filmmaker, voice actor, and comedian. He is best known for his now defunct film review site, Spill.com and its current spiritual successor Double Toasted. Biography ...
and Martin Thomas of ''
Double Toasted Double Toasted is an entertainment website based in Austin, Texas. The site hosts weekly podcasts covering current events, pop culture, movie reviews and video games. History After the closure of Spill.com in 2013, Korey Coleman was encoura ...
'' both gave it a relatively positive review; even going so far as to predict that other critics would negatively critique it simply because of its premise. However, they were both split on the portrayal of Jack Whitehall's character; while Thomas found it as a positive step forward for ''
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...
'' characters, Coleman found it somewhat campy and unnecessary. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' reviewer David Fear gave the film 2.5/5 stars and called it an "attempt to sell the Magic Kingdom's vintage" boat ride as "the next big endless-summer-movie thing", adding that "Blunt's tart apple crisp of a comic performance pairs nicely with Johnson's beefcake served with a side of ham." In ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Jeannette Catsoulis wrote a negative review that the film is a "soggy mess" with a "mostly unintelligible" plot, adding that it "exhibits a blatantly faux exoticism that feels as flat as the forced frisson between its two leads". Writing for
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
, reviewer
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
commented that "made up of spare parts from better movies and at over two-hours in length", the film will be "tough on short attention spans"; however, he added that it is "better than ''
Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...
'' and ''
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...
''", other films based on Disney rides.


Accolades


Sequel

After the release weekend of ''Jungle Cruise'', Dwayne Johnson announced that discussions were underway with Walt Disney Pictures for a sequel, which could answer many questions left behind in the film. On August 30, 2021, it was reported that Johnson and Blunt were set to reprise their roles in the sequel. Michael Green is developing the script, with Jaume Collet-Serra expected to return as the director while John Davis, John Fox, Beau Flynn, Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia return to produce with Scott Sheldon returning as executive producer. Johnson later confirmed a sequel was in development on that same day via a video posted on his official Instagram account. Garcia shared that Johnson and Blunt both have many ideas to explore more of their characters in the sequel. In October 2022, producer Beau Flynn confirmed that work on the script is ongoing, while also stating that Johnson and Blunt are more determined to make sure that a sequel happens, though they could not state when it will be made.


Additional notes


See also

* List of film adaptations of Disney attractions


References


External links

* * * * {{Disney Theme Park Adaptations 2020s adventure comedy films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 2020s fantasy adventure films 2020s fantasy comedy films 2021 3D films 2021 adventure films 2021 comedy films 2021 fantasy films 2021 LGBT-related films 4DX films Alternate history films American 3D films American adventure comedy films American children's comedy films American fantasy adventure films American fantasy comedy films American LGBT-related films American World War I films Casting controversies in film Davis Entertainment films Disney controversies Films about curses Films about immortality Films about siblings Films based on amusement park attractions Films directed by Jaume Collet-Serra Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films produced by Beau Flynn Films produced by Dwayne Johnson Films produced by John Davis Films scored by James Newton Howard Films set in 1916 Films set in Brazil Films set in London Films set in the 1550s Films set in the Amazon Films set on boats Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in Hawaii Films with Disney+ Premier Access Films with screenplays by Michael Green (writer) Gay-related films IMAX films Jungle adventure films LGBT-related controversies in film River adventure films Seven Bucks Productions films Treasure hunt films Walt Disney Pictures films