Disney has made a few movies based on rides found at their Disney Parks, with varying degrees of success. 1997's made-for-TV flick Tower of Terror was their first foray into the concept, but by far the most successful one has been their Pirates of the Caribbean series. The first film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, was a huge success both critically and commercially, even earning an Oscar nomination.
Because Pirates of the Caribbean was such a success, it makes sense that future projects based on Disney rides would take on some notes from the series. However, taking notes is different than practically recreating a film that's already been made. Unfortunately, Disney's latest ride-based film seems to cross that line. While Jungle Cruise is still a relatively fun movie to watch, it does feel like a worse Pirates of the Caribbean.
RELATED: 6 Things That Make No Sense In Free Guy
The story of Jungle Cruise follows a sister and brother duo, played by Emily Blunt and Jack Whitehall. They're on a mission to find a tree in the Amazon that is said to have magical petals. These petals are meant to have healing powers, and the main characters want to essentially save the world with their magic. No one in London believes their findings, and no one wants to help them find the tree. When they decide to make the journey on their own, they hire a wisecracking jungle cruise tour operator played by Dwayne Johnson to help them.
While the general plot doesn't sound exactly like a Pirates of the Caribbean ripoff, there are way too many similarities. Both films have deformed undead pirates with similar backstories, as well as legends that can heal people and keep them alive. The characters are similar, and so is the setting. There are so many ways that Jungle Cruise could have gone, and it could have been very original and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, that just isn't the direction they decided upon.
Jungle Cruise is what would happen if all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films got together and made a baby. Not only are the pirates undead, but their backstory is very reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. In that film, the pirates serving Davy Jones on The Flying Dutchman are cursed and bound to the ship. They become very deformed and, eventually, become part of the ship. In Jungle Cruise, the undead pirates are cursed and bound to the Amazon River. They also look deformed and can become part of the jungle.
The tree with the magical healing petals that the main characters are looking for is super reminiscent of the fourth film in the Pirates franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. That film revolves around Captain Jack Sparrow's search for the legendary Fountain of Youth. Though the characters in Jungle Cruise technically aren't looking for the actual Fountain of Youth, the object of their affection is very similar. Overall, they could have been looking for anything and a magical healing agent feels quite unoriginal.
The characters here are different from the main characters of Pirates of the Caribbean, but not different enough. Dwayne Johnson's character really is just a worse Captain Jack Sparrow. They both love boats and the water, they're both clever, and they're both a bit morally ambiguous. They're the good-looking bad boys whose lovable sides come out by the end. This may not have been as big of an offense as it is if the characterization of Jack Sparrow wasn't so acclaimed and if this was the only similarity. Because this is on top of everything else though, it feels pretty annoying. The sister and brother main characters are okay, and not too Pirates of the Caribbean reminiscent, but they are rather forgettable in general.
Finally, the settings just feel too similar. Jungle Cruise of course has to be set on the water so by default, the settings have to be similar. But, similarly to why Dwayne Johnson's character feels so annoying when there are so many other Pirates similarities, the water, and boat setting feels like just another element of films that came out years ago. This wouldn't have been so noticeable without the other issues, and that is unfortunate, but it's still impossible to ignore.
By all accounts, Jungle Cruise has its strengths and is relatively enjoyable. It's fun and full of adventure, and it's a great summer movie. Keeping in elements of the ride, like Skipper's insanely corny jokes, adds a lot to the film for Disney Parks fans. It's just baffling why they would have wanted to make this film just so similar to Pirates of the Caribbean. It almost seems like they wanted to recreate the magic they had with that film and felt that simply recreating it would have been the best way to go about that. Unfortunately, this film feels far more like a worse version of Pirates than it does a good film that captures Pirates' essence.
MORE: Eternals Could Be Better Than Spider-Man: No Way Home & Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
