What do you get when you mix a classic Disney theme-park ride with Indiana Jones and throw in some elements of The Mummy for good measure?
Right: Jungle Cruise.
If you missed it when it was playing in the cinemas, now you have another chance: Disney+ has lifted the movie’s paywall.
The creators took the best of the aforementioned films (and some of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), stuck them in a blender, glued on the basic concept of the ride and went with it.
And it works.
Set in 1916, the film takes us from wartime London to the Amazon in search of the legendary Tears of the Moon, which could vastly improve medical science and help the Allies win the First World War. You will have guessed who the villains are: it’s the Germans.
Like The Mummy, the movie stars a strong emancipated female scientist ignored and ridiculed by her peers. As well as an annoying and slightly incompetent brother and a dashing rogue, who is their guide.
For all the comparisons, Jungle Cruise is its own movie, and it earns its spot among the adventure classics we all love so much.
Plus, it’s a Disney movie, so it’s dieselpunk fun for the whole family, which is definitely a bonus. Although, to be fair, some parts might be a little scary to small children.
Apparently a sequel is in the making. Let’s hope they won’t go down the same road as Pirates of the Caribbean, which produced quite a few of subpar sequels. I will quite happily admit I could stand with a little more of this particular brand of adventuring. I’m curious to see what they’ll come up next!
