Jungle Cruise (film)

Jungle Cruise is a 2021 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a story by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa and a screenplay written by Michael Green, Ficarra, and Requa, based on Walt Disney's theme park attraction of the same name.

Synopsis[]

Set during World War I, a riverboat captain named Frank takes a scientist and her brother on a mission into a jungle to find the Tree of Life which is believed to possess healing powers. All the while, the trio must fight against dangerous wild animals and a competing German expedition.

Plot[]

In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors led by Don Aguirre travel 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 of the 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 are cursed to never die and never be able to leave sight of the river.

In 1916 London, Dr. Lily Houghton and her brother MacGregor detail Lily’s research on the Tears of the Moon 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 to be a myth and a female scientist unqualified to join their ranks, Lily steals the arrowhead instead. She narrowly avoids Prince Joachim, a German aristocrat who also wants the arrowhead and the tree.

In South America, Frank Wolff takes tourists on jungle river cruises, which he embellishes with fake dangers and corny jokes. When his boat engine is repossessed by businessman Nilo, he attempts to steal it back. Caught in the act by Lily, Frank pretends to be Nilo and arrogantly tells her that the Tears of the Moon is a myth and that she will not be able to handle the dangers of the jungle, but changes his tone when he notices that Lily is in possession of 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 wild jaguar.

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

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

As Frank, Lily and MacGregor continue down the river, they become closer. MacGregor reveals to Frank that 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 new 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 couldn’t be found. They are attacked by a tribe of “cannibals” who demand the arrowhead, but this is revealed to be another deception by Frank working with a friendly tribe. Frank apologizes and says 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 location of the tree, and that it only blooms under a blood moon. The conquistadors attack and manage to take the arrowhead; Frank recovers it and gives it to Lily, but is stabbed through the chest with a sword and falls to his death. Lily runs away from the river so that the Spaniards cannot follow her.

The next morning, Lily discovers that Frank has miraculously survived. He reveals that his real name is Francisco, and he is actually 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 sides to help the villagers. After years of fighting, Frank trapped Aguirre and the others in a cave away from the river. He then spent time searching for the tree to lift his own curse, but had been unable to find it without the arrowhead.

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 location of the tree. Frank, Lily, the Germans, and the Spaniards all converge on the tree, which begins to bloom under the blood moon. The moon passes quickly as they fight, and Lily is only able to recover one petal. MacGregor kills Joachim, and Frank crashes his boat to block the river, turning himself, Aguirre and the other Spaniards into stone. Lily uses the petal to revive Frank and break the curse, only afterwards discovering that due to a shift in the moonlight, there is one petal left for Lily’s research.

Returning to the United Kingdom, the society has offered full membership to Lily, which she rejects. She shows Frank all of London and gives him his first driving lesson in her automobile as well as delivering a corny joke herself, worthy of the latter's admiration.

Cast[]

Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff
Emily Blunt as Lily Houghton
Edgar Ramirez as Aguirre
Jack Whitehall as MacGregor Houghton
Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim
Paul Giamatti as Nilo Nemolato
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
Matt Lindquist as Extra
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

Trivia[]

The film takes influence from The African Queen (1951), an adventure film which imagineer Harper Goff used as an inspiration when making the Jungle Cruise.
There are various connections between the Jungle Cruise attraction and Jungle Cruise film.
- In the film, connections to the ride include:
  - Dr. Albert Falls who stole the arrowhead for the Royal Society is a character from the ride, having founded the Jungle Navigation Company and, "Discovered" Schweitzer Falls.
  - Nilo Nemolato's pet cockatoo Rosita is a character from Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room who physically appears in Disneyland's Jungle Cruise and Tropical Hideaway.
  - Frank Wolff's business is the Jungle Navigation Company, an organization from the ride.
  - Trader Sam of the Puka Michuna tribe is named for the male immortal magic-user Trader Sam from the ride. The character of Chief Nah-mee is also alluded to through chieftain Sam when she receives a top-hat.
  - The Royal Anthropological and Diverse Adventures Society has a name similar to the Royal Anthropological Society which Nigel Greenwater mentions Marcus Brody lectured on the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.
- In the attraction, connections to the film include:
  - In Disneyland, Frank and Lily's clothes are hung in the office of Alberta Falls at the boathouse. Their map is also framed on the wall and another hall has Lope de Aguirre's helmet.^[1]^[2]
  - For the film's premiere, one of Disneyland's Jungle Cruise's boats was turned into the La Quila.
  - In Walt Disney World, the aforementioned map is hung up in the Amazon River Base near Frank's hat and Lope de Aguirre's helm, again in the office of Alberta Falls.^[3]
  - The map of the Magic Kingdom's Rivers of Adventure was created by Frank Wolff who signed it as, "F.W.". This map also appears in Disneyland aboard the Mekong Maiden.
  - A crate labelled, "A. Falls Botanical Expedition" in Alberta's Amazon office might reference Doctor Falls' expedition for the Tears of the Moon.
  - During the Jingle Cruise, one of the crates dropped in the African Veldt was addressed to Nilo Nemolato.
  - On a shelf over the door for The Pach's room is a small bookshelf. One of the books is titled "My Interests Happily Lay Elsewhere" by MacGregor Houghton. This alludes to MacGregor's quote implying his homosexual attraction from the film.
- In the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise there is a non-story related easter-egg referencing the film where a telegram to the JNC from Skipper Shaun mentions him pitching a Hollywood version of the Jungle Cruise.