Above is the latest trailer for Jungle Cruise, Disney’s attempt to create another semi-supernatural-adventure franchise like Pirates of the Caribbean. Like Caribbean, Cruise is based on a Disney amusement ride. Like Caribbean, Cruise will be packed full of adventure. Like Caribbean, Cruise will have a heavy emphasis on comical characters and their chemistry. It’s following the template well.
But will Jungle Cruise be a massive smash like the Pirates films were? That’s the big question mark floating above Disney’s head. It certainly has star power and enough special effects to wow audiences but I wouldn’t be so sure that this film is the House of Mouse’s next transcendent blockbuster. The Pirates films came out at the perfect time and provided something that felt radically different. Since then, multiple studios have tried to mimic the success and set-up of those movies. So Jungle Cruise doesn’t have that newness, that novel approach that is lacking in most adventure films. Instead it’s coming across as a mix between Pirates and The Mummy and maybe Romancing The Stone.
Disney sure thinks this thing could be a hit. They’re debuting the film in the midst of summer, prime time for a new international smash. And this poster below feels like a poster for the Next Big Thing. Like I said, I’m not so convinced. The film does look pretty fun though, mostly because of the chemistry between Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson. And then there is a menacing-looking Jesse Plemons and Paul Giamatti with a damn parrot on his shoulder, a visual I adore so much that I posted it below so everyone can cherish it forever:
Ah yeah, that hits the spot. Nothing like a little Giamatti action to get your day on track.
Anyway, back to the question at hand: will Jungle Cruise be Disney’s next big money maker or just an average success? We’ll see when it crashes into theaters on July 24th.