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Jungle Cruise

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This article is about the 2021 film. For the Disney Parks ride of the same name, see Jungle Cruise .

Jungle Cruise is a fantasy adventure film based on the ride of the same name , starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson who also served as producer.

The film is co-produced by John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment, Beau Flynn of FlynnPictureCo., and Dany and Hiram Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions. [1] John Requa and Glenn Ficarra penned the script. [2]

The film was initially announced to be released on October 11 , 2019 , but was been pushed back to July 24 , 2020 , [3] only for the COVID-19 pandemic to cause it to be pushed back again to July 30 , 2021 . [4]

• 4 Development
• 6.1 Home media
• 7 Reception
• 11 References
• 12 External links

Synopsis [ ]

Set in the early 1900s, a tramp steamer captain named Frank Wolff [5] takes a pair of scientist siblings down the Amazon River in search of the Tears of the Moon , a flower with miraculous healing properties, while evading Germans. [6]

In the 16th century, Don Aguirre leads Spanish conquistadors to South America in search of the Tears of the Moon, a mythical tree whose petals can cure any illness, heal any injury, and lift any curse. After most men die in the jungle, the survivors are nursed back to health by a local tribe using the tree petals. When they refuse to reveal the location of the tree, the Spanish destroy the village. As punishment, the conquistadors became cursed by the village chief to never die and never be able to leave sight of the river or the jungle would take them back to it for all eternity.

In 1916 London, Dr. Lily Houghton and her brother, MacGregor , present Lily's Tears of the Moon research to an association of Royal Society explorers, explaining that the petals could revitalize medicine and aid in the British war effort. The Houghtons request access to an arrowhead recovered by Dr. Albert Falls that Lily believes is key to locating the tree. When the association denies their request, believing the tree is a myth and a female scientist is unqualified to join their ranks, Lily steals the arrowhead. She narrowly avoids Prince Joachim, a German aristocrat who also wants the arrowhead to find the tree.

In South America, Frank Wolff takes tourists on jungle river cruises, which are embellished with fake dangers and corny jokes. When his boat engine is repossessed by businessman Nilo, Frank attempts to steal it back. Caught in the act by Lily, Frank pretends to be Nilo and claims the Tears of the Moon is a myth and that she could not withstand the dangerous jungle; he then backtracks after noticing Lily possesses the arrowhead. Frank's deception is revealed when the real Nilo shows up, but Lily hires Frank anyway after he underbids Nilo and bravely fights a jaguar.

Frank, Lily, and MacGregor depart on Frank's boat, but they are nearly intercepted by Nilo attempting to confiscate his engine, by mercenaries hired by Joachim to retrieve the arrowhead from Lily, and by Joachim himself attacking in a German submarine. After making their escape, it is revealed that the attacking jaguar was actually Frank's pet, Proxima. Lily wonders if Frank can be trusted.

Joachim locates the cursed conquistadors, whose bodies turned to stone due to them traveling too far from the river, and have been infested over time by tree roots, deadly snakes, poisonous frogs, and stinging insects. Joachim frees them by diverting the river, and offers to help them break the curse if they help him retrieve the arrowhead.

As Frank, Lily and MacGregor continue down the river, they grow closer. MacGregor tells Frank he was nearly disowned by his family due to being gay, but Lily stood by him. Breaking into Frank's cabin, Lily finds photos and drawings of inventions such as the automobile, but also discovers drawings of the arrowhead and research on the Tears of the Moon. Lily accuses Frank of wanting the tree for himself, but he explains he gave up searching for it a long time ago and believed it can never be found. A tribe of "cannibals" attack them and demand the arrowhead, but this is exposed as another of Frank's faked dangers; they are a friendly tribe he has an arrangement with. Frank apologizes and claims he was unable to call off the plan, but Lily rebuffs him.

Trader Sam, the tribe's female leader, translates the writing on the arrowhead, revealing the tree's location and that it only blooms under a blood moon. The conquistadors attack and take the arrowhead; Frank recovers it and gives it to Lily, but is fatally stabbed through the chest with a sword. Lily runs away from the river so the Spaniards are unable to follow due to the curse's limits.

The next morning, Lily discovers that Frank has miraculously survived. He reveals that his real name is Francisco, and he is one of the cursed conquistadors, unable to die or leave the river. The expedition to find the tree was originally a noble one to save Aguirre's sick daughter, Anna, but when the natives were attacked by the Spaniards, Frank switched his allegiance to help the villagers. After years of fighting, Frank trapped Aguirre and the others in a cave where the river could not reclaim them and where they became petrified. He then spent centuries searching for the tree to lift his own curse. But unable to find it without the arrowhead, he had finally given up. He decided to build a town next to the river, he made and lost friends and eventually decides to build a boat and give jungle cruises as well as taking in stray kitties all of which were named Proxima.

An injured MacGregor stays behind with Trader Sam while Lily and Frank make the final journey to the tree. MacGregor is captured by Joachim and forced to reveal the tree's location. Joachim breaks his arrangement with the cursed brigands, in order to keep the petals for himself, but Frank, Lily, the Germans, and the Spaniards all converge on the tree. While solving the puzzle, the arrowhead is discovered to be a heart piece having a gem, which after placing blooms the tree under the blood moon. The moon passes as they fight, and Lily is only able to recover one petal. MacGregor fights Joachim, who gets flattened under a fallen piece of ruin, while Frank crashes his boat to block the river, which turns himself, Aguirre, and the other Spaniards into stone. Lily expends the petal to revive Frank and break his curse. The moon breaks out one last ray of light and one final petal blooms - Lily's research can proceed.

Returning to the United Kingdom, the society has offered full membership to Lily, which she rejects via MacGregor, who uses the opportunity to insult the society, saying that they are unworthy of the research, or the tale of the trip, or anything learned by it, primarily stories due to their chauvinism and insular nature. Lily fulfills her promise to show Frank all of London and the movie ends as she gives him his first driving lesson in her automobile, where she herself delivers a corny joke, worthy of Frank's admiration.

• Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff :

A shrewd, cynical but ultimately noble steamboat skipper who reluctantly agrees to guide two explorers on their quest for the mythical Tears of the Moon Tree. He eventually reveals his true name (Francisco Lopez de Heredia) and identity as the adopted brother of Aguirre as well as one of the cursed conquistadors, forever trapped by the Amazon river. He is a trained cartographer 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". He has had a number of tamed exotic cats as a pet, each one named "Proxima".

• Emily Blunt as Dr. Lily Houghton :

An eccentric, adventurous, and virtuous botanist working in a male-dominated field. She embarks on a quest to find the Tears of the Moon Tree, hoping 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 and lock picking skills, though she cannot swim. She wants to prove herself equal to her chauvinistic peers but gains some notoriety for wearing trousers.

• Édgar Ramírez as Lope de Aguirre :

A Spanish conquistador who once sought the Tree's power to save his ill daughter, only to be cursed with immortality for his cruelty towards the tree's guardians. Temporarily freed by German explorers, he sets out to take revenge on his adopted brother, Francisco, who sided against him to defend a native tribe. His body is now composed of and infested with snakes.

• Jack Whitehall as McGregor Houghton :

Lily's younger brother who works as her assistant. He confesses to Frank that Lily stood by him when his family nearly disowned him after he refused to marry, as his interest lies "elsewhere". Lily hired him and allowed him to stay with her so he could support himself. A somewhat foppish snob who adheres to proper etiquette and prefers wearing three-piece suits. 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 to claim the Tree of Life, both to aid Germany's war effort and achieve immortality. According to Lily, he is the youngest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, unlike the other characters, he is based on an actual prince.

• Paul Giamatti as Nilo Nemolato :

The harbormaster at Porto Velho, where Frank moors his boat. He is also a business rival and confiscates Frank's boat engine when Frank is unable to repay him his loan. This leads Frank to wreck Nilo's prize boats in return. He owns a parrot he named "Rosita".

• Veronica Falcón as Trader Sam :

The chief of Puka Michuna tribe in 1916, a tribe which guards the Tree.

• Dani Rovira as Sancho :

A conquistador that is covered in honey and bees.

• Quim Gutiérrez as Melchor :

A conquistador who is made out of mud with frogs.

• Dan Dargan Carter as Gonzalo :

A conquistador who is made out of roots and tree branches.

• Andy Nyman as Sir James Hobbs-Cunningham:

The Royal Society's artifact handler who briefly helps Prince Joachim.

• Raphael Alejandro as Zaqueu:

Frank's young assistant.

• Simone Lockhart as Anna:

The daughter of Aguirre.

• Ben Jenkin as Proxima :

Frank's pet jaguar.

Development [ ]

Dwayne Johnson commandeering a Jungle Cruise boat at the Magic Kingdom for "research"

A Jungle Cruise movie has been in the works at Disney since at least 2006 . A previous attempt that was originally intended for a 2007 release would have featured Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in starring roles as a Skipper and a frustrated passenger going down river to search for a miraculous cure in a story described as a more comical take on Heart of Darkness . This version was still being tossed around as late as 2011 , but ended up never materializing. [7]

On August 19, 2015 , it was confirmed a new version of the project was moving forward with Dwayne Johnson set to star. [8] On April 7, 2017, Johnson announced he would also be producing. [9] On July 31 , 2017 it was confirmed that Jaume Collet-Serra will direct the film. [10] They have also been confirmed to be working off on a script written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. [11]

On January 30 , 2018 , Emily Blunt was announced to sign on to the project and that Michael Green was hired to rework the script. [12] On March 26 , 2018, English comedian Jack Whitehall was cast as the scientist's brother. [13] On April 19, 2018, Édgar Ramírez and Matt Damon had signed on to the project as the film's villains. [14] In December 2018 , it was reported that actor Jack Whitehall 's character would be homosexual and would have a coming out scene in the film with Dwayne Johnson . There was some backlash over the report, with a few expressing outrage over a straight actor being cast as a "camp" gay character.

In January 2019 , it was announced that James Newton Howard had joined the production as the film score composer. Additionally, he would later collaborate with Metallica on an instrumental version of the song "Nothing Else Matters" for the film. According to the band's drummer Lars Ulrich, Metallica worked on the film after Walt Disney Pictures president Sean Bailey , 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. In order to add a "regional flavor", Howard incorporated panpipes and Brazilian percussion instruments. Frequent Metallica collaborator Greg Fidelman served as associate producer and engineer. The soundtrack album was released on July 30 , 2021 .

Release [ ]

Jungle Cruise had its world premiere at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim , California on July 24 , 2021 . It was released in the United States on July 30 , 2021, simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access for US$30. Initially, it was slated for October 11 , 2019 before being moved to July 24, 2020 , and was delayed to its current date 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. The filmmakers decided on this, after being given multiple options by Disney , due to the continued closure of theaters in markets like Brazil and Europe due to surges in COVID-19 cases.

Home media [ ]

Jungle Cruise had a digital release on August 31 , 2021 and it was released via 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on November 16 . All of the home media releases include 16 minutes of 11 deleted scenes and 6 bonus featurettes.

Reception [ ]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 62% based on 331 reviews, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

• The film was initially slated for October 11, 2019 before being moved to July 24, 2020, and was delayed to its current date to July 30, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It is also the fourth Disney film to be released in theaters and on Disney+ on the same day after Raya and the Last Dragon , Cruella , and Black Widow .
• This is also the first and only Disney+ Premier Access release to date to have a male protagonist.
• In addition, this is the last Disney+ Premier Access release to date, following Disney's new releasing plan that allow theaters release Disney's films executively for first 45 days starting with Free Guy .
• This is also the sixth non- Jerry Bruckheimer Disney film to be rated PG-13, after John Carter , Saving Mr. Banks , The Finest Hours , Mulan , and Cruella .

Gallery [ ]

References [ ]

• ↑ Jungle Cruise: Dwayne Johnson Disney Movie Lands Director Jaume Collet-Serra . Den of Geek (July 31, 2017). Archived from the original on August 4, 2017.
• ↑ Chitwood, Adam (August 20, 2015). Dwayne Johnson to Rock Disney's 'Jungle Cruise' Movie . Archived from the original on August 21, 2015.
• ↑ Pearson, Ben (October 19, 2018). Disney's 'Jungle Cruise' Movie Shifts From Fall 2019 to Summer 2020 . Slash Film . Archived from the original on October 20, 2018.
• ↑ McClintock, Pamela (April 3, 2020). 'Black Widow,' 'Mulan' Land New 2020 Release Dates, 'Jungle Cruise' Delayed a Year . The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 4, 2020.
• ↑ https://movies.disney.com/jungle-cruise
• ↑ What Dwayne Johnson's Jungle Cruise movie is Going to be About - Cinema Blend
• ↑ https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Tim-Allen-Tom-Hanks-Star-Disney-Jungle-Cruise-23447.html
• ↑ " Dwayne Johnson to Star in 'Jungle Cruise' Movie for Disney (Exclusive) ". The Hollywood Reporter (August 19, 2015).
• ↑ Johnson's 'Jungle Cruise' Is a Go at Disney (Exclusive)
• ↑ Disney announes Jaume Collet-Serra to direct upcoming "Jungle Cruise" movie
• ↑ Jungle Cruise: Dwayne Johnson Disney Movie Lands Director Jaume Collet-Serra
• ↑ " Emily Blunt Boards Disney's 'Jungle Cruise; with Dwayne Johnson ". Collider (January 30, 2018).
• ↑ " Disney's Jungle Cruise Movie Casts Emily Blunt's Brother ". Screen Rant (March 26, 2018).
• ↑ Jungle Cruise Casts Jesse Plemons As Another Villain

External links [ ]

• 2 Inside Out 2
• 3 Nostalgia

Jungle Cruise

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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, and follows the captain of a small riverboat who takes a scientist and her brother through a jungle in search of the Tree of Life.

Plans for a feature film based on the Jungle Cruise ride began in 2004, the project laid dormant until 2011, then that 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 Atlanta, Georgia, from May through September that year. One of the most expensive films ever made, the film had a budget of $200 million. Following a year of post-production and further a year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jungle Cruise was released in the United States on July 30, 2021, simultaneously in theaters and digitally through Disney+ with Premier Access, with music composed by James Newton Howard.

The film has grossed over $209 million worldwide making it the tenth highest-grossing film of 2021. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Johnson and Blunt's chemistry and the entertainment values, but criticized the screenplay and the abundance of CGI. A sequel is in development with Johnson and Blunt set to reprise their roles.

• 3.1 Pre-production
• 3.2 Casting
• 3.3 Filming
• 3.4 Post-production
• 4.1 PVOD viewership
• 4.2 Box office
• 4.3 Critical response

In 1556, Don Aguirre leads Spanish conquistadors to South America to search for Lágrimas de Cristal Tree, whose flowers cure illness, heal injuries, and lift curses. After most conquistadors die, the Puka Michuna tribe heals the survivors with the Tree's flowers. The tribal chief refuses to reveal the Tree's location, so Aguirre stabs him and burns the village. The dying chief curses the conquistadors, making them immortal and unable to leave sight of the Amazon River; the jungle recaptures anyone attempting to escape.

In 1916 London, Dr. Lily Houghton's Tears of the Moon research is presented by her brother, MacGregor, to the Royal Society, claiming that the Tree's flowers could revolutionize medicine and aid the British war effort. The Houghtons request access to a recently acquired arrowhead artifact. Lily believes it and an old Amazon map are the key to finding the Tree. The society denies the request, believing the Tree is a myth and female scientists are inferior. Lily steals the arrowhead, narrowly evading Prince Joachim, an ambitious German royal also seeking the Tree.

Arriving in Brazil, Lily and MacGregor need a boat and a guide to take them down the Amazon. They hire skipper Frank Wolff, who offers cut-rate jungle cruises embellished with faked dangers and corny puns. Frank initially declines, saying the trip is too dangerous, but he reconsiders upon seeing the arrowhead. Frank steals back his repossessed boat engine, and the trio departs after escaping Joachim, who pursues them in a U-boat.

In Frank's cabin, Lily notices photos and sketches of modern inventions, as well as maps, drawings, and research on the Tears of the Moon. She accuses Frank of seeking the Tree, though he insists he gave up long ago. Puka Michuna tribe, disguised as cannibals, captures the group as one of Frank's faux dangers that he was unable to cancel in time. Lily is angry and doubts Frank's honesty. The tribal chief translates the arrowhead's symbols, revealing the Tree's location and that it only blooms under a blood moon.

Meanwhile, Joachim locates the conquistadors petrified inside a cave and frees them by diverting the river, on the conditional offer to lift their curse if they retrieve the arrowhead for him; the Spaniards attack the tribe and fatally stab Frank. Lily escapes with the arrowhead. As she crosses the curse's boundary, vines capture the pursuing Spaniards, dragging them back into the jungle.

To the Houghtons' shock, a fully revived Frank is found the next morning. Frank reveals he is one of the cursed conquistadors who were once on a noble expedition to save Aguirre's gravely ill daughter, but attacked the village. To defend the tribe, Frank trapped the other conquistadors after years of fighting, away from the river where they turned to stone. He then spent centuries unsuccessfully searching for the Tree, as the artifact was protected by the then tribal chief's daughter; it would later be kept in London museum for Dr. Albert Falls.

Lily and Frank continue to La Luna Rota Waterfall where they discover and raise a submerged temple. Meanwhile, Joachim captures MacGregor, forcing him to reveal Lily's location. Frank, Lily, MacGregor, the Germans, and the Spaniards all converge in the temple that houses the Tree. It is discovered the arrowhead is actually a heart-shaped locket containing a gemstone. After placing the gem and locket into the trunk, the dormant tree blooms under the blood moon. As a fight ensues, Lily recovers one flower. The Germans drown, Joachim is crushed to death, and Frank crashes his boat to block the river, petrifying him and the Spaniards. Lily, realizing her true feelings for Frank, sacrifices the flower to lift his curse and restore his mortality. Frank, who wanted to end his life, decides he will continue living to be with Lily. The moon's last beam blooms a single flower, allowing Lily's research to proceed.

Upon their successful return to England, Lily becomes a full professor at Cambridge and the Royal Society offers her full membership, which she rejects and guides Frank in London.

• Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff / Francisco Lopez de Heredia: A shrewd, cynical but ultimately noble steamboat skipper who reluctantly agrees to guide two explorers on their quest for the mythical Tree. He eventually reveals his true name and identity as the adopted brother of Aguirre and as one of the cursed conquistadors, forever trapped by the Amazon river. He is a trained cartographer 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". He has had a number of tamed exotic cats as a pet, each one named "Proxima".
• Emily Blunt as Dr. Lily Houghton: An eccentric, adventurous and virtuous botanist working in a male-dominated field. She embarks on a quest to find the Tree, hoping 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 and lock picking skills, though she cannot swim. She wants to prove herself equal to her chauvinistic peers but gains some notoriety for wearing trousers.
• Édgar Ramírez as Aguirre: A Spanish conquistador 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, Francisco, who sided against him to defend the tribe. His body is now composed of and infested with snakes.
• Jack Whitehall as MacGregor Houghton: Lily's younger brother who works as her assistant. He confesses to Frank that when his family nearly disowned him after he refused to marry, as his interest lies "elsewhere" being a gay man, Lily hired him so he could support himself. A somewhat foppish snob who adheres to proper etiquette and prefers wearing three-piece suits, 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 to claim the Tree of Life, both to aid Germany's war effort and achieve immortality. He gets aid by the cursed conquistadors after he frees them for his own interest, and he can talk to the bees and snakes.
• Paul Giamatti as Nilo Nemolato: The harbormaster at Nilo's River Adventure, Porto Velho, where Frank moors his boat. He is also a business rival, and confiscates Frank's boat engine when Frank is unable to repay him his loan. This leads Frank to wreck Nilo's prize boats in return. He owns a Moluccan cockatoo he named "Rosita".

Additionally, a jaguar named Proxima appears in the film, portrayed on set by stunt actor Ben Jenkin. Veronica Falcón portrays Trader Sam, chief of the Puka Michuna tribe in 1916, a tribe in the Amazon which guards the Tree. Dani Rovira, Quim Gutiérrez, and Dan Dargan Carter portray Aguirre's fellow conquistadors: Sancho, who is covered in honey and bees, Melchor, who is composed of roots and tree branches, and Gonzalo, who is made out of mud having poison dart frogs. Andy Nyman portrays Sir James Hobbs-Coddington, the Royal Society's artifact handler who briefly helps Prince Joachim; while Raphael Alejandro portrays Zaqueu, Frank's young assistant.

Frank's puns are inspired from the skipper's lines on the original theme park ride, and Lily's personality is inspired by the titular character of Indiana Jones franchise. The boat is named after Mama Killa; while character name of the cockatoo, originally named "Lover Girl", is inspired by the singing bird "Rosita" at Disneyland. The film has several elements referencing towards Dr. Albert Falls, a fictional character at Disneyland who has discovered Schweitzer Falls and has founded Jungle Navigation Company.

Early versions [ ]

In December 2004, it was announced that Jungle Cruise would be developed for Mandeville Films, with a script by Josh Goldstein and John Norville. Following the success of Pirates of the Caribbean , 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 and Miles Millar were in talks to write the film. In February 2011, it was announced that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, 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.

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 expressed his interest in having Patty Jenkins helm the project, but 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 in, as Johnson wanted her to be his co-star.

Casting [ ]

Édgar Ramírez plays the role of Aguirre 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 of 6–14 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 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, in the 2017 adaptation of Beauty and the Beast . There was some backlash over the report, with some 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 the Trader Sam, a role inspired by a character at the theme park who is originally a male, it was being discussed whether the role would be portrayed by a male or a female 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 floody rains. Other shoot locations include the town of Lihue, 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 as the river, as well as the jungle in it. Some scenes were also filmed at Oxford College of Emory University.

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 especially made for the film, for which he researched the cultures of different tribes in the Amazon. He told that Amelia Earhart was the inspiration for Blunt's costume. Joel Harlow 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 doubles 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 SXT Plus cameras were used, with specially designed C Series Anamorphic Prime Lenses by Panavision. To shoot the underwater sequence, a puzzle set was built in the second tank and then it was filled with water. Ian Seabrookand, an underwater cinematographer, told that it about took 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 told that while Johnson was a strong swimmer, Blunt, on the other hand, showed no fear despite being a novice in acting underwater. In case, the water tank also had emergency exits for her on right and left sides of camera. The set had to be pulled out of water by a crane so he held the camera throughout.

Filming wrapped on September 14, with about 95 days of principal photography. A few re-shoots 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 , and Indiana Jones .

Post-production [ ]

DNEG provided 385 visual effects shots including the 'Tree of Life' for the film Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl served as the sound designers, while Joel Negron served as the film editor; with DNEG, Industrial Light & Magic, Rodeo FX, Rising Sun Pictures, 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 completed in September 2020.

After filming and before the post-production phase, the teams were sent to 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 footages, 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; these were used to animate the turbulent and aerated water, so the boat can be animated running at 200 kmph 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 summer.

To portray the character of Proxima, a stunt actor in jaguar morphsuit as well as a stuffed toy 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, before its 3D modelling 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 on interactions. A pet cat also made an appearance as baby Proxima. In sequences of the pink river dolphins, each one was animated sepearately to build its own character, while the piranhas were also created with CGI.

To animate the conquistadors, the frogs were recorded from Costa Rica forest, honeycomb dripping sound was used, sounds of pressurized air releases were used for the snakes, and sounds of wood stress were used. Materials were gathered to study the actual movements of the snakes for the animation. The submarine was also digitally extended, after it was shot in a tank. To visualize the explosions by torpedo, rubber and wooden structures were used.

The scene for the Tree of Life was animated after taking inspirations from "Banyan trees, Baobabs, Angkor Wat 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 after merging different shots, in order to animate the exposing and reverting of the petals' luminosity.

Most of the environmental surroundings and water elements were built and animated on Houdini, while the greenery was developed on SpeedTree.

James Newton Howard composed the score of Jungle Cruise ; Metallica also collaborated for instrumental version one of their tracks.

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 collaborated with Howard on an instrumental version of the song "Nothing Else Matters", for the film. According to the band's drummer Lars Ulrich, Metallica worked on the film after Walt Disney Pictures president Sean Bailey, 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. In order to add a "regional flavor", Howard incorporated panpipes and Brazilian percussion instruments. Frequent Metallica collaborator Greg Fidelman served as associate producer and engineer. The soundtrack album was released on July 30, 2021.

Reception [ ]

Pvod viewership [ ].

In its opening weekend, Disney reported the film made $30 million from worldwide Disney+ Premier sales, with Samba TV 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.

Box office [ ]

As of September 26, 2021, Jungle Cruise has grossed $114.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $92.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $207.8 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.

In the United States and Canada, Jungle Cruise was released alongside Stillwater and The Green Knight , and 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 to $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 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 to $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 the UK ($8.5 million), Russia ($5.9 million), France ($4.2 million), Japan ($4 million), and Saudi Arabia ($2.7 million).

Critical response [ ]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 62% based on 319 reviews, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 80% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Writing for Variety , Owen Gleiberman 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 and Martin Thomas of Double Toasted 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 characters, Coleman found it somewhat campy and unnecessary.

Rolling Stone 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 , Jeannette Catsoulis wrote a negative review that the film is a "soggy mess" with "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, reviewer Peter Travers 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 and Tomorrowland ", other Disney rides based films.

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 a screenplay. Michael Green is developing the script, with Jaume Collet-Serra expected to return as 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 August 31 via a video posted on his official Instagram account.

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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.

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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

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.

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Jungle Cruise

• View history

• 3.1 Uncredited

Synopsis [ ]

• Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff
• Emily Blunt as Lily Houghton
• Edgar Ramírez as Aguirre
• Jack Whitehall as MacGregor Houghton
• Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim
• Paul Giamatti as Nilo
• Veronica Falcón as Trader Sam
• Dani Rovira as Sancho
• Quim Gutiérrez as Melchor
• Dan Dargan Carter as Gonzalo
• Andy Nyman as Sir James Hobbs-Coddington
• Raphael Alejandro as Zaqueu
• Simone Lockhart as Anna
• Pedro Lopez as Chief
• Sulem Calderon as Chief's Daughter
• Sebastian Blunt as Society Guard
• Mark Ashworth as Society Member
• Allan Poppleton as Society Worker
• Caroline Paige as Kid Tourist
• James Quattrochi as Italian Tourist
• Stephen Dunlevy as Middlepart
• Philipp Maximilian as Axel
• Romualdo Castillo as Animal Vendor
• Pedro Haro as Bird Vendor
• Christina Souza as Barmaid
• Michael H. Cole as Bus Conductor
• Hector Banos as Puka Michuna Warrior
• Peter Luis Zimmerman as Puka Michuna Warrior
• Travis Gomez as Puka Michuna Warrior
• Ismael Herrera as Puka Michuna Warrior
• David Lengel as Boat Tourist
• Justin Randell Brooke as Boat Tourist
• Victoria Blade as Boat Tourist
• Brooke Jaye Taylor as Boat Tourist
• Vince Pisani as Boat Tourist
• Piper Collins as Boat Tourist
• Keith Arthur Bolden as Boat Tourist
• Chip Steele as Boat Tourist
• Ben Jenkin as Proxima
• David Paris as Pilot
• Kevin Larosa as Pilot

Uncredited [ ]

• Jobe Allen as Merchant Vendor
• Al Saif Alshad as Extra
• James William Ballard as Society Member
• Pedro Barquin as Dying Conquistador
• Sharon M. Bell as Guitar Lady
• Nick Benseman as German Mercenary
• Shane Berengue as Society Member
• Larry Blanks as Society Member
• Ryan Boz as Soldier
• Madeline Brumby as Upper Class Tourist
• John David Bulla as Spanish Conquistador
• Serge Burack Jr. as Society Member
• Luis Burbano as Puka Michuna Warrior
• James Burns as Londoner
• Met Clark as Yaktunaru Healer
• Jeremy Connell as Society Member
• Paul Delacerda as Puka Michuna Drummer #1
• Marc Demeter as Archaeologist
• Mariama Diallo as Mfantse Woman
• Ryan Dinning as Soldier #2
• Nalehua'o Puna Donlin as Merchant Vendor
• Porter Drudge as Lollipop Tourist Boy
• Payson Durant as Hotel Guest
• Lionel Fase as Tourist
• Faith Fay as Hotel Guest - Savannah
• Charles-Joseph Fisher as Flower Vendor
• Tony Fontanez as Tourist / Townsperson
• Gavrielle Anne Fontanilla as Puka Lady
• Kylie Michele Fuller as Society Cruise Tourist Kid
• Ely Garcia II as Dockworker
• Daniel Giron as Extra
• Stephan Goldbach as Surviving Mercenary
• Brian Gonzalez as Puka Michuna Drummer #2
• Jay Gutierrez as Conquistador
• Josué Gutierrez as Puka Warrior
• David H. Hahn as Gambler
• Clyde C Harris as Puka Warrior #2
• Nicholas Ryan Hernandez as Young Aguirre
• Tom Holowach as Hairpin Man
• Kalanikauleleiaiwi Ka'auwai as Boater
• Jay D. Kacho as RADAS Member
• Ilana Kohanchi as Italian Woman
• Abraham Kyle IV as Boater
• Xavier Leblanc as Puka Michuna Warrior
• Eufemio Longboy Jr. as Bartender
• Roy Luke as Society Member
• Clay Mason as Nilo's Dockworker
• Shawn McBride as Hotel Guest - Peppa
• Luke McDonald as Puka Male
• Garrett M Miller as Lecture
• David R. Mitchell as Society Member
• Casey Nelson as Soldier #3
• Jason New as Hotel Maitre D'
• Keith Nussbaum as German Valet
• Emily Marie Palmer as French Woman
• Annika Pampel as German Woman
• Danny Pardo as Canoe Man
• Josiah Paul as 1920s Society Member
• Quintin Tyler Price as British Soldier
• Nathan Reyes as Boater
• Henardo Rodriguez as Native American
• Matt Rodriguez as Ride Tribe Marauder
• Jamey Russell as Tourist
• Sterling l Sheldon as Gambler
• James Siderits as Society Member
• Jaren Soto as Yaktunaru Tribesman
• Keekee Suki as Market Vendor
• Charles Surrett as High Society Man
• Jason Szabo as Tourist
• Alfredo Tavares as Gang Member
• Robert Tinsley as London Guard
• David Turner as Society Member
• Alexandra Velez as Puka Woman
• Ruben Vidal as Frank's Friend
• Tom Vodnik as Tanner
• Wes Weems as Society Member
• Tanya Wheelock as Boat Tourist
• Kiera Woodward as Boat Tourist Child
• Marn Zeeb as Pit Boss Gambler

Gallery [ ]

• 1 Sydney Winbush
• 2 Billie Gadsdon
• 3 Bill Lauch

• Attractions
• FastPass attractions

Jungle Cruise (Walt Disney World)

• View history

The Jungle Cruise is an attraction located in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom . The attraction simulates a riverboat cruise down several major rivers of Asia, Africa and South America. Park guests board replica tramp steamers and are taken on a voyage past many different Audio-Animatronic jungle animals. The tour is led by a live Disney Cast Member delivering a humorous scripted narration.

• 1 Inspiration & Design
• 2 Attraction Description
• 3.1 Current Boats
• 3.2 Retired Boats
• 4 Albert Awol
• 5 Pop Culture References
• 6 Sources & External Links

Inspiration & Design [ ]

Sources of inspiration for the attraction include a 1955 True-Life Adventure about a pride of lions, and the movie The African Queen . Imagineer Harper Goff referenced The African Queen frequently in his ideas; even his designs of the ride vehicles were modeled after the steamer used in the film.

When plans began to develop, Bill Evans, the Imagineer responsible for landscaping Disneyland and most of Walt Disney World , faced the daunting task of foresting an entire jungle on a limited budget. Aside from importing many actual tropical plants, he made wide use of "character plants" which, while not necessarily exotic, could give the appearance of exoticism in context. In a particularly well-known trick, he uprooted local orange trees and "replanted" them upside-down, growing vines on the exposed roots. The clean water was dyed brown to prevent visitors from seeing the bottom of the “river,” which varies between three and eight feet deep.

Although Goff and Evans can be credited with the creation and initial design of the ride, Marc Davis, recognized for his work on venerable attractions such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean , added his own style to the ride in later versions and Disneyland updates. The "Indian Elephant Bathing Pool" and "Rhinoceros Chasing Explorers up a Pole" were among his contributions.

In a popular story recounted by Jeff Lange, a writer for weblogging site Jim Hill Media, an experience at the Jungle Cruise helped bolster Walt Disney 's obsession with the concept of "plussing," or continuous improvement. The story claims that Walt overheard a mother visiting Disneyland telling her child that since they had been on the ride the last time they visited the park, they didn't need to ride it again. In horror, he put his Imagineers to work designing upgrades to the ride. Many similar variations of this story exist.

Attraction Description [ ]

The Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise is set as a depression era British outpost on the Amazon river, operated by the fictional company, The Jungle Navigation Co., whose advertisement poster is painted on the wall near the exit of the attraction. Albert Awol's broadcast is different than that of Disneyland's, being ride specific. Also unlike Disneyland, the queue no longer extends to a second level. The skippers at the Magic Kingdom no longer carry revolvers loaded with blanks. These real guns have been replaced with realistic props that skippers wave to scare away animals that get in the way, and to prevent the hippos from attacking the boat.

The queue of the Jungle Cruise is heavily themed with period artifacts, tools, gear, photos and more. It is intended to resemble an outpost where an exploration of the jungle rivers may be booked. It is divided into four main sections which may be opened or closed in sequence to accommodate crowd fluctuation. The queue was designed to wind about heavily so that guests may see all of the different artifacts in the queue. The most notable section of the queue is the office of Albert Awol.

On the ride, the skipper introduces himself or herself, and begins to take the boat full of guests down the tropical rivers of the world. The ride starts out in the Amazon River, where the passengers encounter butterflies with one-foot wingspans, or as the skipper might say, twelve inches. The boat then passes Inspiration Falls, which transitions into the Congo River in Africa.

The skipper explains that there is a Pygmy welcoming party waiting for them, but when the boat arrives at the beach, the canoes are empty, and the place deserted. The skipper wonders what scared off the Pygmies, and they soon discover that it was a giant python. The boat then passes a camp that has been raided by gorillas, which transitions the cruise into the Nile River.

After encountering two elephants, the boat passes along the African Veldt, where numerous African animals watch a pride of lions eat their kill. The boat then passes a lost safari group that has been chased up a pole by an angry rhinoceros and are now trapped. The group then passes by another waterfall, Schweitzer Falls, and encounters a pool of hippos. They are about to charge the boat until the skipper scares them off. Ominous drums are heard as the group enters headhunter territory. Near the Hippo Pool, a piece of a downed airplane can be seen along the shoreline. This is the back half of the Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior found at The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Casablanca scene. Natives are seen dancing near the boat and guests soon find themselves in an ambush. They escape and proceed into the Mekong River.

They enter a temple which has been destroyed by an earthquake. Inside, baboons, cobras, and a tiger can be found. After they exit, they come across an elephant bathing pool where numerous elephants are relaxing in the water. The boat narrowly avoids being sprayed by water from one of the elephants. The cruise concludes after passing Trader Sam, the head salesman of the jungle, who offers two shrunken heads for one of the passengers.

Each variety of plant throughout the attraction was carefully selected by landscape architect Bill Evans to ensure that the foliage would be able to endure Florida's unique climate: hot summers and relatively cool winters. The most difficult aspect of this was making sure these plants had the appropriate look and feel of traditional tropical plants in the equatorial jungle.

There are 15 vehicles, with a maximum of 10 in operation at any given time.

Current Boats [ ]

• Amazon Annie
• Bomokandi Bertha (wheelchair lift equipped)
• Congo Connie
• Ganges Gertie
• Irrawaddy Irma
• Mongala Millie
• Nile Nellie
• Orinoco Ida
• Rutshuru Ruby
• Sankuru Sadie (the only boat to have ever sunk)
• Senegal Sal
• Ucyali Lolly
• Wamba Wanda (wheelchair lift equipped)
• Zambesi Zelda

Retired Boats [ ]

• Kwango Kate (retired in 2000)

Albert Awol [ ]

Albert Awol is a fictional Jungle Cruise boat captain and disc jockey for the Disney Broadcasting Company. Considered the "Voice of the Jungle", he broadcasts everything from news, to quizzes, reminders, weather, etc. on the DBC (Disney Broadcast Company). He also serves as a period disc jockey for the station, filling the airwaves with music from the 1930s depression era.

Albert Awol was added in 1991 to the Jungle Cruise during a refurbishment:

"Standing in the Jungle Cruise queue was a somber affair prior to the aforementioned 1991 rehab; once guests crossed the threshold they were faced with a series of twists and turns that led past bare walls, their fellow guests and occasional glimpses of the river. There was no background music at that time either, so if the queue was full it promised a fair amount of shuffling drudgery. Of course DL's Jungle Cruise queue is now closer to the full embodiment of how cool a ride's waiting space can be, but Florida's 1991 upgrade did include queue music interspersed with radio commentary by Albert AWOL, 'the voice of the jungle.' A considerable array of visual enhancements were also made at that same time, from a series of new destination-based wall murals to the artifact-laden 'office' in the center of the queue.

Albert's broadcast is projected not just over the Jungle Cruise queuing area, but over Adventureland as a whole, setting the time period.

Pop Culture References [ ]

• There was a tribute to the ride in 2005 on an episode of the podcast The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd, as well as a Strong Bad E-mail entitled "theme park."
• In the sing along songs video Disneyland Fun during "Following the Leader", Jungle Cruise made an appearance.
• Jungle Cruise was parodied as Timon and Pumbaa's Virtual Safari on The Lion King Special Edition.
• A stand up comedy show featuring only Jungle Cruise Skippers, called The Skipper Stand Up Show, has been doing shows in Fullerton, California since May 2006.
• "Weird Al" Yankovic wrote and recorded a song titled "Skipper Dan" about a failed actor who ended up as a guide on a Jungle Cruise-type ride. The song is included on his 2009 digital Internet Leaks EP and his 2011 album, Alpocalypse.
• In the Martha Speaks episode, "What's Bothering Bob?", the scene when Bob chases Truman and his friends up a tree is similar to the Lost Safari.
• Disney's "Fab Five" characters, cruise boat and the "River Expedition Company" boathouse were incorporated into an original painting and limited edition print offering by artist Randy Souders entitled "Jungle Cruise" created for the 1999 Official Disneyana Convention at Disneyland.

Sources & External Links [ ]

• Official website
• 1 Expedition Everest
• 2 Walt Disney World Monorail System
• 3 Downtown Disney (Walt Disney World)

• Swiss Family Robinson
• Theme Park items
• Jungle Cruise (Magic Kingdom)
• Adventureland Treehouse

Disneyoendron trees

• Edit source
• View history

The Disneyoendron trees are a fictional genus of tree in the Disney Parks. They originate from Adventureland attractions such as the Swiss Family Treehouse where they were created and named by horticulturalist and imagineer Bill Evans .

• 1 Description
• 3.1 Adventureland Treehouse
• 3.2 Adventure Trading Company
• 3.3.1 Jungle River Cruise
• 3.4 Tarzan's Treehouse
• 3.5.1 Skipper Canteen
• 4.1.1 It's Tough to be a Bug!
• 4.2 Swiss Family Treehouse
• 4.3 Tahitian Terrace
• 7 References

Description [ ]

Disneyoendron trees are a genus of giant tree. They are described as being a large and, "unnatural species" and some had more distinct features such as always blooming flowers and leaves.

Species [ ]

• Disneyodendron eximus : This species of Disneyoendron grew on the island of, " New Switzerland " in the East-Indies. Its name means, "Out of the Ordinary Disney tree".
• Disneyodendron semperflorens Gigantis : This tree was grown on the tropical, "Discovery Island" where it was known as, "The Tree of Life". Its name translates to , "Giant, always blooming Disney tree" and its bark is covered in growths resembling animals. This tree was grown when an ant planted a seed on Discovery Island with a wish that it could provide shelter for all the creatures of the animal kingdom.
• Disneyodendron semperflorens grandis : This variant of Disneyoendron grew in the Congo basin of Africa and elsewhere in Adventureland. Its name translates to, "Large, always blooming Disney tree" due to how the tree is always in bloom.
• Tahitian Disneyodendron : This tree grew to be 35 feet tall and had perpetually blooming, fiery red leaves. This tree is only known to have grown in the Polynesian isles and might have required a special serum to grow. [1]

Appearances [ ]

Adventureland treehouse [ ].

A plaque identifies the, "Family tree" as being a, "Disneyodendron semperflorens grandis". The attraction's poster also identifies the tree of being this species. [2]

Adventure Trading Company [ ]

The Treehouse Juju traded by the Adventure Trading Company is modelled after the Swiss Family Treehouse. The juju is earned by studying petroglyphs of the juju at the base of Tarzan 's treehouse . These petroglyphs were reported on in The Daily Gnus newspaper by journalist Tallahassee Glover who interviewed Shrunken Ned and José on the subject.

Jungle Cruise [ ]

Felix Pechman XIII 's application form for the Jungle Navigation Company identify him as having previously lived in the Swiss Family Treehouse. [3]

Jungle River Cruise [ ]

In this incarnation of the Jungle Cruise, the boats pass by Tarzan's Treehouse.

Tarzan's Treehouse [ ]

Tarzan's Treehouse is set within the Disneyodendron semperflorens grandis tree where Tarzan's biological parents made their treehouse.

Other connections [ ]

Skipper canteen [ ].

Two books in the library of the skipper canteen indirectly reference the Disneyoendron. One is called, "Treehouse Construction by Mills" referencing Swiss Family Robinson actress Hayley Mills and the Swiss Family Treehouse. The other of these books is titled "Universus Arboribus" by B.M. Evans, reverencing Bill Evans and his penchant for giving fictional plants latin-names. [4]

Other appearances [ ]

Disney's animal kingdom [ ].

The Tree of Life is the park icon for Disney's Animal Kingdom.

It's Tough to be a Bug! [ ]

This attraction is hosted at the base of the Tree of Life by the bugs living within. Guests magically shrink down to their heights in-order to be given a revue show by the bugs.

Swiss Family Treehouse [ ]

This attraction is set on the Swiss family's Disneyodendron eximus treehouse. The original, Disneyland incarnation of the attraction was set in the Disneyodendron semperflorens grandis before it was retconned by Tarzan's Treehouse.

Tahitian Terrace [ ]

A Disneyoendron appeared in this dining-service at Disneyland.

• The original menus of Tahitian Terrace referenced the trees being grown with a secret formula known to imagineers.
• In development, the Tears of the Moon tree from the Jungle Cruise film was called the, "Tree of Life". Another tree in the film possibly connected to Disneyoendrons is that which holds the territory of the Puka Michuna tribe .
• An alternate-history Walt Disney is often featured in the Adventureland mythos and as a result might be connected to the trees naming history in-universe.

Gallery [ ]

References [ ]

• ↑ https://wonderlanddiaries.com/blog/disneyland-announces-the-tropical-hideaway-and-im-celebrating
• ↑ https://dlnewstoday.com/2023/11/photos-new-adventureland-treehouse-attraction-poster-debuts-at-disneyland-park/
• ↑ https://www.mousesteps.com/2021/08/29/jungle-cruise-changes-now-complete-at-magic-kingdom-photos-video/
• ↑ https://allears.net/walt-disney-world-chronicles-the-origins-of-skipper-canteen/
• 1 List of Secrets and Easter Eggs in Trader Sam's
• 2 Prince Joachim

Disney Magic Kingdoms Wiki

✨ Hercules Part 2 Update has arrived! ✨ Visit this page to learn all about what's coming up in Disney Magic Kingdoms!

Jungle Cruise

• View history

Jungle Cruise is an attraction released with Luca Event Update on 13th July 2021.

• 2 Interactions

Jungle Cruise is an opening-day attraction of Disneyland and a standard of the many various Disney parks throughout the world. Based on various jungle expedition films such as The African Queen , the ride consists of tourists traveling across various exotic rivers of the world across Asia, Africa, and South America with the assistance of an intrepid guide who uses guns and puns to assist in the journey while seeing the sights and simulations of the various animals who inhabit these lands.

Interactions [ ]

• Character Activities

• Jungle Cruise was released around the July premiere of Disney's 2021 film, Jungle Cruise .

Gallery [ ]

• 1 Yellow Ribbon Chests
• 2 Shimmery Shiny! Mini Event
• 3 Redemption Codes

Jungle Cruise

• View history

Jungle Cruise is a 2021 film directed by Juame Collet-Serra, and written by Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, John Norville and Josh Goldstein.

• 2 Cast and Characters
• 4.1 Early Versions
• 4.2 Pre-production
• 4.3 Casting
• 4.4 Filming
• 4.5 Post-production
• 5.1 Theatrical and Streaming
• 5.2 Home Media
• 6.1 PVOD Viewership
• 6.2 Box Office
• 6.3 Critical Response

In 1556, Don Aguirre leads Spanish conquistadors to South America to search for Lágrimas de Cristal [b] Tree, whose flowers cure illness, heal injuries, and lift curses. After most conquistadors die, the Puka Michuna tribe heals the survivors with the Tree's flowers. The tribal chief refuses to reveal the Tree's location, so Aguirre stabs him and burns the village. The dying chief curses the conquistadors, making them immortal and unable to leave sight of the Amazon River; the jungle recaptures anyone attempting to escape.

In 1916 London, Dr. Lily Houghton's Tears of the Moon research is presented by her brother, MacGregor, to the Royal Society, claiming that the Tree's flowers could revolutionize medicine and aid the British war effort. The Houghton’s request access to a recently acquired arrowhead artifact. Lily believes it and an old Amazon map are the key to finding the Tree. The society denies the request, believing the Tree is a myth and female scientists are inferior. Lily steals the arrowhead, narrowly evading Prince Joachim, an ambitious German royal also seeking the Tree.

Arriving in Brazil, Lily and MacGregor need a boat and a guide to take them down the Amazon. They hire skipper Frank Wolff, who offers cut-rate jungle cruises embellished with faked dangers and corny puns. Frank initially declines, saying the trip is too dangerous, but he reconsiders upon seeing the arrowhead. Frank steals back his repossessed boat engine, and the trio departs after escaping Joachim, who pursues them in a U-boat.

In Frank's cabin, Lily notices photos and sketches of modern inventions, as well as maps, drawings, and research on the Tears of the Moon. She accuses Frank of seeking the Tree, though he insists he gave up long ago. Puka Michuna tribe, disguised as cannibals, captures the group as one of Frank's faux dangers that he was unable to cancel in time. Lily is angry and doubts Frank's honesty. The tribal chief translates the arrowhead's symbols, revealing the Tree's location and that it only blooms under a blood moon.

Meanwhile, Joachim locates the conquistadors petrified inside a cave and frees them by diverting the river, on the conditional offer to lift their curse if they retrieve the arrowhead for him; the Spaniards attack the tribe and fatally stab Frank. Lily escapes with the arrowhead. As she crosses the curse's boundary, vines capture the pursuing Spaniards, dragging them back into the jungle.

To the Houghton’s' shock, a fully revived Frank is found the next morning. Frank reveals he is Francisco Lopez, one of the cursed conquistadors who were once on a noble expedition to save Aguirre's gravely ill daughter but attacked the village. To defend the tribe, Frank trapped the other conquistadors after years of fighting, away from the river where they turned to stone. He then spent the next four centuries unsuccessfully searching for the Tree, as the artifact was protected by the then tribal chief's daughter; it would later be kept in London museum for Dr. Albert Falls.

Lily and Frank continue to La Luna Rota [c] Waterfall where they discover and raise a submerged temple. Meanwhile, Joachim captures MacGregor, forcing him to reveal Lily's location. Frank, Lily, MacGregor, the Germans, and the Spaniards all converge in the temple that houses the Tree. It is discovered the arrowhead is actually a heart-shaped locket containing a gemstone. After placing the gem and locket into the trunk, the dormant tree blooms under the blood moon. As a fight ensues, Lily recovers one flower. The Germans drown, Joachim is crushed to death, and Frank crashes his boat to block the river, petrifying him and the Spaniards. Lily, realizing her true feelings for Frank, sacrifices the flower to lift his curse and restore his mortality. Frank, who wanted to end his life, decides he will continue living to be with Lily. The moon's last beam blooms a single flower, allowing Lily's research to proceed.

Upon their successful return to England, Lily becomes a full professor at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Society offers her full membership, which she rejects and guides Frank in London.

Cast and Characters

• Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff / Francisco Lopez de Heredia
• Emily Blunt as Dr. Lily Houghton
• Édgar Ramírez as Aguirre
• Jack Whitehall as MacGregor Houghton
• Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim
• Paul Giamatti as Nilo Nemolato

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 collaborated with Howard on an instrumental version of the song "Nothing Else Matters", for the film. According to the band's drummer Lars Ulrich, Metallica worked on the film after Walt Disney Pictures president Sean Bailey, 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. In order to add a "regional flavour", Howard incorporated panpipes and Brazilian percussion instruments. Frequent Metallica collaborator Greg Fidelman served as associate producer and engineer. The soundtrack album was released on July 30, 2021.

Early Versions

In December 2004, it was announced that Jungle Cruise would be developed for Mandeville Films, with a script by Josh Goldstein and John Norville. Following the success of Pirates of the Caribbean, 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 and Miles Millar were in talks to write the film. In February 2011, it was announced that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, 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.

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 expressed his interest in having Patty Jenkins helm the project, but 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 in, as Johnson wanted her to be his co-star.

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 of 6–14 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 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, in the 2017 adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. There was some backlash over the report, with some 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 harbourmaster." 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 the Trader Sam, a role inspired by a character at the theme park who is originally a male, it was being discussed whether the role would be portrayed by a male or a female in the film.

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 floody rains. Other shoot locations include the town of Lihue, 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 as the river, as well as the jungle in it. Some scenes were also filmed at Oxford College of Emory University.

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 especially made for the film, for which he researched the cultures of different tribes in the Amazon. He told that Amelia Earhart was the inspiration for Blunt's costume. Joel Harlow 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 doubles 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 colourful "London in the summer" unlike many other films which depict London in winter when "it's foggy and it's blue". Arri Alexa SXT Plus cameras were used, with specially designed C Series Anamorphic Prime Lenses by Panavision. To shoot the underwater sequence, a puzzle set was built in the second tank and then it was filled with water. Ian Seabrookand, an underwater cinematographer, told that it about took 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 told that while Johnson was a strong swimmer, Blunt, on the other hand, showed no fear despite being a novice in acting underwater. In case, the water tank also had emergency exits for her on right and left sides of camera. The set had to be pulled out of water by a crane so he held the camera throughout.

Filming wrapped on September 14, with about 95 days of principal photography. A few re-shoots 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, and Indiana Jones.

Post-production

Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl served as the sound designers, while Joel Negron served as the film editor; with DNEG, Industrial Light & Magic, Rodeo FX, Rising Sun Pictures, 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 completed in September 2020.

After filming and before the post-production phase, the teams were sent to 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 footages, 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; these were used to animate the turbulent and aerated water, so the boat can be animated running at 200 kmph 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 summer. The submarine was also digitally extended, after it was shot in a tank. To visualize the explosions by torpedo, rubber and wooden structures were used.

To portray the character of Proxima, a stunt actor in jaguar morphsuit as well as a stuffed toy 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, before its 3D modelling 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 on 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, the frogs were recorded from Costa Rica forest, honeycomb dripping sound was used, sounds of pressurized air releases were used for the snakes, and sounds of wood stress were used; 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. The character play for the tree guy was completely animated, except 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 inspirations from "Banyan trees, Baobabs, Angkor Wat 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 of the petals' luminosity 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, while the greenery was developed on SpeedTree.

Theatrical and Streaming

Jungle Cruise had its world premiere at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California on July 24, 2021. It was released in the United States on July 30, 2021, in RealD 3D, 4DX and IMAX simultaneously in theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access for US$29.99. It had a special screening on July 29, 2021, by D23 at El Capitan Theatre.

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 theatres and on Disney+ with Premier Access, due to the continued closure of theatres in markets like Brazil and Europe as the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant surged. It also released in India on 24th September 2021

Jungle Cruise had a digital release on August 31 and will be released via 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on November 16; this will include 16 minutes of 11 deleted scenes, and six bonus featurettes.

PVOD Viewership

In its opening weekend, Disney reported the film made $30 million from worldwide Disney+ Premier sales, with Samba TV 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.

As of October 22, 2021, Jungle Cruise has grossed $116.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $96.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $213.1 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.

In the United States and Canada, Jungle Cruise was released alongside Stillwater and The Green Knight, and was projected to gross around $25 million from 4,310 theatres. 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 to $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 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 to $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 the UK ($8.5 million), Russia ($5.9 million), France ($4.2 million), Japan ($4 million), and Saudi Arabia ($2.7 million).

Critical Response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 62% based on 319 reviews, with an average rating of 5.90/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "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." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 80% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman 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 and Martin Thomas of Double Toasted 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 characters, Coleman found it somewhat campy and unnecessary.

Rolling Stone 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, Jeannette Catsoulis wrote a negative review that the film is a "soggy mess" with "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, reviewer Peter Travers 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 and Tomorrowland", other Disney rides based films.

• 2 Bunk'd (Season 2)
• 3 Peyton List

• Outdoor attractions
• Adventureland
• Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise (Disneyland Park)

• View history

The Jungle Cruise is an attraction located in Adventureland of the Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California.

The attraction was on the opening day roster of the park and has remained open and largely unchanged in theme and story since then. Aside from alterations and maintenance changes, four completely new show scenes have been added to date. In 1995 the river channel was rerouted to make way for the queue buildings and entrance courtyard of the Indiana Jones Adventure.

While the current version and most previous instances have made use of a comedic spiel, filled with intentionally bad puns, the original intent of the ride was to provide a realistic, believable voyage through the world's jungles. The original spiel had no jokes and sounded much like the narration of a nature documentary.

• 1.1 Effect on Walt Disney
• 2.1 Major changes
• 2.2 Description of specific changes
• 3.1.1 Names decommissioned in 1997

Inspiration and design [ ]

Sources of inspiration for the attraction include a 1955 True-Life Adventure about a pride of lions, and the movie The African Queen . Imagineer Harper Goff referenced the African Queen frequently in his ideas; even his designs of the ride vehicles were modeled after the steamer used in the film. The project was placed on the schedule to open on July 17, 1955, debut of Disneyland.

When plans began to develop, Bill Evans, the Imagineer responsible for landscaping Disneyland and most of Walt Disney World , faced the daunting task of foresting an entire jungle on a limited budget. Aside from importing many actual tropical plants, he made wide use of "character plants" which, while not necessarily exotic, could give the appearance of exoticism in context. In a particularly well-known trick, he uprooted local orange trees and "replanted" them upside-down, growing vines on the exposed roots. The clean water was dyed brown to prevent visitors from seeing the bottom of the "river," which varies between three and eight feet deep.

Although Goff and Evans can be credited with the creation and initial design of the ride, Marc Davis, recognized for his work on venerable attractions such as The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, added his own style to the ride in later versions and Disneyland updates. The "Indian Elephant Bathing Pool" and "Rhinoceros Chasing Explorers up a Pole" were among his contributions.

Effect on Walt Disney [ ]

In a popular story recounted by Jeff Lange, a writer for weblogging site Jim Hill Media, an experience at the Jungle Cruise helped bolster Walt Disney 's obsession with the concept of 'plussing', or continuous improvement. The story claims that Walt overheard a mother visiting Disneyland telling her child that since they had been on the ride the last time they visited the park, they didn't need to ride it again. In horror, he put his Imagineers to work designing upgrades to the ride. Many similar variations of this story exist.

Attraction Summary [ ]

The queue and station are themed as the headquarters and boathouse of the Jungle Navigation Company , located in a British colony in India during the 1930s. The queuing area is cluttered with appropriate props, such as pinned insects, an old radio on top of a bookshelf, and a chessboard with miniature animals and decorated shotgun shells replacing the pieces. The extended queue winds upstairs, underneath an Audio-Animatronic hornbill, and then downstairs again. Big band music from the 1930s plays overhead, punctuated by jungle-related news bulletins, helping to reinforce the setting and threading together the show scenes and boat.

Once aboard the boats, guests are introduced to their skipper and they head into the jungle, allegedly never to return. The first rivers simulated are the Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers, representing tropical Southeast Asia. The boats sail through a dense rainforest and pass by the Temple of the Forbidden Eye and a shrine of a cobra beholding a crystal ball. The boats pass a shrine to the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha and enter the Sacred Indian Elephant Bathing Pool where dozens of Indian elephants prance in the water and squirt water at the passing vessels.

The theme transitions to the rivers of Africa and riders see a family of baboons and a safari camp that has been overrun by gorillas . The boats careen past the dramatic waterfall, Schweitzer Falls, between two African Elephants, and large termite mounds. A tableau of the African Veldt follows, showing zebras, wildebeest, and giraffes watching a pride of lions feasting on a zebra beneath a rocky outcropping. Beyond the lion's den, an angry rhinoceros has chased a safari party up a tree. Antelope and hyenas watch from nearby. The skipper then pilots the boat into a large pool, disturbing a pod of hippos that signal their intent to attack the boat. The skipper frightens them away.

The boats enter through the Congo and pass another boat being taken over by chimpanzees raiding it of its supplies. The boats then pass by more chimpanzees who have raided the box of butterflies.

The boats pass behind Schweitzer Falls (referred to as "the Backside of Water") to enter the Amazon River. Skeletal animal remains and warning signs featuring pictures of dagger-toothed fish forewarn the next show scene, where the boats encounter a swarm of leaping piranha. The guests then pass a pool of water buffalo and pass by Trader Sam 's Gift Shop before returning to the dock.

Major changes [ ]

• 1962 - Addition of Indian Elephant pool
• 1964 - Addition of African Veldt and Lost Safari scenes
• 1993 - Various minor additions
• 1994 - Addition of boathouse queue
• 1995 – Rerouting of river to accommodate the Indiana Jones Adventure
• 1997 - Replacement of the original ride vehicles
• 2005 - Various replacements and reconstructions, addition of piranhas, and updates to Gorilla Camp scene

Description of specific changes [ ]

The baboons at the safari camp previously sat on the African termite mounds. A total of six lions have been removed since opening day: one that growled when the African Veldt was added, two lionesses from the Veldt that were fighting over a bloody strand of zebra meat, a lion and a lioness that each had a zebra leg in their mouth, and a dead lion hanging on a spit over a fire in the native village. Also removed from the Veldt were African wild dogs barking at the pride. The native village was originally a dense jungle filled with tikis, masks, and several more natives. Trader Sam previously wore a mask and a gorilla across the channel tried to grab his merchandise.

There are 12 vehicles, with a maximum of 9 in operation at any given time. The boats in 1955 were painted as clean, idealized replicas, but have since been given a more realistic theming reflecting the grunge and wear of actual watercraft due to the addition of Indiana Jones Adventure and its ruggedness.

Names in use [ ]

• Amazon Belle
• Congo Queen (gold-painted for 50th anniversary)
• Hondo Hattie
• Irrawaddy Woman
• Kissimmee Kate
• Nile Princess
• Orinoco Adventuress
• Suwannee Lady
• Ucayali Una (Wheelchair equipped)
• Yangtze Lotus
• Zambezi Miss

Names decommissioned in 1997 [ ]

• Magdalena Maiden
• Mekong Maiden

Gallery [ ]

• 1 Disney Magic Kingdoms/Gallery
• 2 Walt Disney World Resort
• 3 Mickey's Toontown Fair

Jungle Cruise

• View history

Jungle Cruise was a Featured Toy Box  created by Disney. It was not part of any specific challenge. In it, players explore the jungle riding on an Elephant .

Toy Box Description

"Become the skipper in our Jungle Cruise-inspired Toy Box, full of adventure, peril, and puns."

Bob Gurr: Celebrating The LGBTQ+ Disney Imagineer Who Worked For The Studio Since The 1950s

I n the history of Disney there are some great talents whose influence on generations to come cannot be understated. When it comes to film, Howard Ashman changed Disney Animation forever during the Disney Renaissance. Landscape Architect Ruth Shellhorn's influence on Disneyland has been echoed through the decades since. Likewise, many of Walt Disney’s original Imagineers who built Disneyland should be celebrated. Many of them are no longer with us, but one who is, is Disney Legend Bob Gurr.

Gurr was in the first generation of Disney Imagineers. He worked directly with Walt Disney and helped build Disneyland. His contributions to themed entertainment are without question. He’s a man worthy of the Disney Legend status he has received and a man especially worthy of note during Pride Month.

From Automotive Designer To Imagineer 

Bob Gurr was born in 1931 in Southern California. As with many people who grew up in the early days of the mass adoption of the automobile, he was fascinated with cars from an early age. He studied industrial design at the Art College Center of Design in Pasadena, CA on a scholarship he received from General Motors with plans to go to Detroit and design new cars.

Gurr did move to Detroit, but according to Leslie Iwerks’ The Imagineering Story , he didn’t care for the city and was only ever given menial tasks, so he left town, believing his dream of designing cars would be over.

In 1953 Gurr was back in Southern California and catching up with an old high school friend. The friend was Don Iwerks, the son of Ub Iwerks, who co-created Mickey Mouse with Walt Disney. Ub told Bob about what Walt was doing at the Disney Studio and Ub, who would eventually become an Imagineer himself, recommended Gurr for a position in what was then called WED Enterprises.

He may never have designed cars in Detroit, but his automotive expertise would be of key importance at WED. One of Walt’s attraction ideas was a scale version of the freeways that were only then beginning to take over Southern California. It would be called Autopia, and Walt needed somebody to design the ride vehicles. In The Imagineering Story, Gurr explained… 

They wanted somebody to design a body for that little car. So my knowledge of cars and my interest in cars eventually paid off. By golly, I’m over at the Studio and we’re going to design cars for Disneyland.

Gurr was a designer, not an engineer, so while he knew how to design the outside of the vehicle, how the inside would work wasn’t his area. He educated himself on what he needed to know in order to get the job done, eventually going from a contract employee to a full-time Imagineer.

Opening Day at Disneyland is known as Black Sunday by many, due to all the things that went wrong. Autopia was ground zero for many of the issues. The attraction had no guide rail at the time, the vehicles were free to move about the track, and kids were going as fast as they could. This meant collisions were frequent and hard. The aluminum bumpers were getting smashed. 

According to Inventing Disneyland , many teeth were lost when mouths hit unpadded steering wheels. Gurr spent most of his time at Disneyland after opening simply trying to keep as many vehicles in working order as possible so the attraction would stay open.

Working For Disney As A Gay Man In The 1950s

In many ways, Gurr was just like all the other creative people designing Disneyland, but in one key way, he was very different. He was gay. As a young man in his 20s in the 1950s, Gurr admitted to VOA that general perceptions of homosexuals made it clear that his sexual orientation was something he would need to keep hidden, though he rarely had any personal issues over his orientation, despite the fact people likely knew. In his words…

When I was very young we had to keep ourselves invisible and all of us thought we were the only one. Occasionally, they would inquire. ‘Bob, we don’t see you with a wife. Is that your friend? Is that your boyfriend?’ Just little suggestions, but at no time do I recall any unkind word directed to me either in the company or outside the company.

He didn’t come out as gay until the 2000s, but he says now that, while there was never any specific discussion of his sexual orientation, there were many within Disney who knew the truth. If there was ever anybody who disapproved, he never knew it. He told GoWEHO in 2014 that everybody was too busy doing their job to worry about such things. Gurr does think Walt knew, and that he just didn’t care. As long as Walt got the results he wanted, he generally didn’t bother anybody. Gurr added…

In the middle of that working at Disney studios, everybody was so focused on getting what Walt wanted done, nobody was interested in anybody else’s sexual orientation. They just weren’t. Walt certainly was never interested. The only time he was concerned was if a guy came back from lunch after three martinis and they weren’t doing too well on a storyboard, then he would say something, but other than that he was just not interested.

Gurr certainly got his job done, and his success with Autopia would make him one of Walt’s go-to Imagineers when the next phase of Disneyland was being designed, and he was given even more responsibility.

Bob Gurr Built Disneyland’s First Roller Coaster And The Monorail 

There were no thrill rides at Disneyland originally. The Jungle Cruise was considered the park’s big “E-Ticket” experience. Walt felt that thrill rides were something that traditional amusement parks used to draw in visitors, and Walt wanted his park to be something different. The late Disneyland operations manager Dick Nunis , however, believed the park needed something exciting, and eventually Walt relented.

Gurr was given the task of designing the Matterhorn Bobsleds. The job was especially difficult for two reasons. First, because it required a level of mathematical skill Gurr didn’t have at the time, forcing him to teach himself trigonometry. Second, he didn’t like roller coasters. In The Imagineering Story he explained…

If I am designing an Autopia car, I am designing machinery. But in the Matterhorn, I am designing physics.

A second project that was being designed at the same time would be arguably even bigger than the Matterhorn mountain. Walt Disney had fallen in love with monorail trains during his frequent trips to Europe and wanted one in Tomorrowland. Gurr would design that as well, again, with no previous knowledge of what he was doing. He told Leslie Iwerks in The Imagineering Story that getting Walt’s approval was, at least, pretty easy… 

I had never seen a monorail in my life, other than the hanging type…Within two weeks I had come up with just enough of the design of the vehicle, based upon the little Viewliner train, which we had done two years before. I literally made one external drawing, we showed it to Walt and he said ‘Can you build that?’ And I said ‘Yes,’ and the meeting was over.

Today, while not every attraction designed by Gurr is still in the parks (the Disneyland Flying Saucers were a flop, twice ) he is still responsible for some truly iconic attractions. Even his original Autopia is still there, though the attraction is in line for a major upgrade, with the cars set to be transformed from gas to electric vehicles , a move Gurr himself fully supports . 

Bob Gurr retired from Walt Disney Imagineering in 1981 and was named a Disney Legend in 2005. While the fact he was gay may not have been public knowledge for decades, today he’s seen as an icon by many LGBTQ+ Disney fans. He’s also, by all accounts, just an incredibly nice guy, and a man worthy of celebration during Pride Month, or any other, for that matter.