Characters - 4/5
We had a little hiccup with the villains. We don’t know that Aguirre and Prince Joachim were both necessary…? But Frank, Lily, and MacGregor more than made up for any questions we had! Watch Johnson and Blunt do interviews together. It will sell you on watching them together in this movie 🙂
Story - 4/5
It’s an absurd (a German submarine in the Amazon river??), adventure with all the Indiana Jones vibes! The balancing of perspectives between the Conquistadors and the Indigenous tribes was handled well. And despite the wishy-washy double villain act, we are all in for another Jungle Cruise adventure story.
Musical Score - 3/5
It was good, but not memorable. There were a few moments that stuck out to Corban musically (the Metallica flashback music!). But overall, neither of us could hum the theme song back to you a day later.
Visual Experience - 3/5
The physical environments were pretty amazing. But the animals were a little herky-jerky, especially Proxima the jaguar. He stuck out so much it was a bit distracting…
Disney Magic Moment - 3/5
Did Corban get misty-eyed? No. Did I get the chills? No. But! We cared about the characters and how their story ended. And the tree at the end with the music was gorgeous! Plus, the little nods to the ride made us crave the Disney magic of Adventureland 😊
Nostalgia - 3/5
The biggest nostalgic draw to this movie is the ties to Disneyland. For better or worse (Corban not a huge Jungle Cruise ride fan…😬), it connected us back to the Jungle Cruise ride and made one of us want to ride it now. Today. Immediately!
Should the Jungle Cruise Be Your Next Disney Summer Movie Night Pick?