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The Jungle Cruise Cast Compares the Movie to the Classic Attraction

Published Fri, 30 Jul 2021 16:58:13 -0500

Jungle Cruise is far from the first Disney attraction to get made into a movie, but it's not exactly easy telling an original story while also remaining true to the attraction for the fans. The cast hosted a virtual press conference, and they were asked if the movie lived up to what they were picturing in their heads the first time they rode the ride as a kid. " =I only rode the Jungle Cruise ride two days ago at the premiere for the first time," Emily Blunt said. "You loved it," Dwayne Johnson intersected. "I loved it," Blunt continued. "I thought it was very whimsical and sweet. And I could see the elements from the ride that have made it into the film."

"I think the movie is so much more than what I expected," Johnson continued. "The charm of the ride is, um, is the simplicity of it and the education of it, too, as well. And the silliness of it. And the calmness of it too. You know you go into the park, and there's so much to do in the Disney parks. Then you get on this ride, and it's almost like you can exhale and really just enjoy the simplicity of the ride. But our movie is anything but simple with all the elements that we have. So I think we delivered."

The Jungle Cruise Cast Compares the Movie to the Classic Attraction — (L-R): Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff, Emily Blunt as Lily Houghton, and Jack Whitehall as MacGregor Houghton in Disney's JUNGLE CRUISE. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2021 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As for Jack Whitehall, he really enjoyed that the ride doesn't take itself too seriously and that we got a Dwayne Johnson standup routine. Which, in this writer's opinion, is worthy of any skipper on the actual ride. "Yeah, I would say that's the element to the Jungle Cruise ride that I like the most, is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, and I think that that is definitely something that we took over into the movie," Whitehall explained. "And it has such ambition and scale, and it's beautiful, and the sets are incredible, and the set pieces and the action. It's got all of that. But at the heart of it as well, it's not a movie that takes itself too seriously. It has wit; it has humor. It's got some of the best puns I've ever heard. It's got Dwayne Johnson doing a standup comedy routine. I mean, what's not to love about that?"

Edgar Ramírez plays our villain and admits that he just rode the ride for the first time right after seeing the movie and enjoyed how simple but fun it was. "I also did the ride for the first time too two months ago," he explained. "So I saw the movie for the first time and then went on the ride with my family and some of my closest friends. And I loved it for the same reasons that Emily just described. 'Cause it was simple, it was cute, it was tender, and it was silly."

Jungle Cruise is on my personal bucket list whenever I'm in Disneyland or in the Magic Kingdom. There is just something so wonderful about it, and as someone who loves a good pun? Got to love it.

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.

Jaume Collet-Serra directs the film, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez, and Jack Whitehall, with Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti. The producers are John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment; Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions; and Beau Flynn of Flynn Picture Co., with Scott Sheldon and Doug Merrifield serving as executive producers. The story is by John Norville & Josh Goldstein and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, and the screenplay is by Michael Green and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa. Disney's "Jungle Cruise" releases in U.S. theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access on July 30, 2021.