Entertainment
Jungle Cruise: How to watch the new Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt Disney movie
Disney’s big summer blockbuster is Jungle Cruise (Picture: Disney)
Disney’s new summer blockbuster Jungle Cruise was released on July 30 and has so far earned lead Dwayne Johnson the highest Rotten Tomatoes audience score of his career and $32.4million (£23.4m) in the US on its opening weekend.
A blend of action, adventure and comedy set along the Amazon in 1916, Jungle Cruise was initially due for release in 2020 before Disney postponed it due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But now it’s out, where can you watch the film?
How to watch Jungle Cruise
Just as with Disney’s other big releases over the past year, including Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, Cruella and Marvel’s Black Widow, Jungle Cruise has been made available on Disney+ simultaneously to being released in cinemas.
However, the film is currently only available via Premier Access on the streaming service, with fans needing to pay an additional fee to view.
Jungle Cruise is streaming and in cinemas (Picture: Disney)
Movies on Premier Access require a payment of £19.99 per flick, before eventually being added to the normal Disney+ slate free of any additional charge.
Mulan, Disney’s first film release via this simultaneous strategy, was moved from behind the paywall to become available for all Disney+ subscribers three months later.
Jungle Cruise is currently showing at cinemas nationwide in the UK, including at Odeon, Vue and Cineworld chain theatres, as well some Picturehouse cinemas and independent theatres.
Did Jungle Cruise have a premiere?
The film’s world premiere happened at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on July 24 due to the inspiration it drew from the iconic theme park ride.
There was also a Leicester Square event on July 29, however the film’s cast were unable to attend in person due to ongoing travel restrictions. Invited guests included Bridgerton’s Luke Newton, Strictly Come Dancing’s Katya Jones and Michael and Hillary Whitehall, parents of star Jack Whitehall.
Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson at Jungle Cruise’s premiere with an audience of skippers (Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Disney)
How long is Jungle Cruise and is it an original or a remake?
Jungle Cruise’s run time is 127 minutes, so just over two hours in total. It’s worth noting there is no end credits scene, for any keen film fans looking for easter eggs or hints at a sequel.
It’s an original movie, with a screenplay written by Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, as well as help on the story from John Norville and Josh Goldstein.
Jungle Cruise is based on an opening day attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Walt Disney was involved in its conception, with the basis for the ride coming from his Oscar-winning True-Life Adventure documentaries, as well as 1951 film The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.
It was also an opening day attraction at Orlando’s Magic Kingdom park in Walt Disney World in 1971, and has since navigated its way over to both Tokyo Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland.
The film has a heavy legacy attached to it from the classic Disney Parks attraction (Picture: Disney)
The Disney cast members (what the company calls its employees) who work as skippers on the ride’s boats have a highly sought-after role, with its ability to wise-crack and riff while guests cruise the attraction on their boats.
The film pays homage to its roots and some of the ride’s classic lines make an appearance on screen.
Who is in the Jungle Cruise cast?
Alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as Frank ‘Skipper’ Wolff, a wise-cracking boat captain on the Amazon, Jungle Cruise stars Emily Blunt as Dr Lily Houghton, a botanist keen to discover a legendary flower with magical healing powers – and Frank is the skipper with the boat that can help get her there.
Joining them is Jack Whitehall as her less-than-enthusiastic brother MacGregor, who is the first openly gay character in a major Disney movie.
The film’s trio of leads (Picture: Frank Masi)
Conquistador Aguirre (Picture: Disney)
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A trio of baddies include Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim, son of Kaiser Wilhelm, Edgar Ramírez as cursed conquistador Aguirre, and Paul Giamatti as Nilo, a sketchy gangster.
Jungle Cruise is in cinemas now and available on Disney Plus with Premier Access.
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