Jungle Cruise
SimilarIce Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Tropic Thunder (2008),
Watch afterBlack Widow (2021), Free Guy (2021), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), The Suicide Squad (2021),
StudioTSG Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures,
The phenomenon of Disney adapting its own theme park rides to the silver screen will never not be fascinating to me. It's the ultimate act of corporate synergy: watch Disney movies, come to Disneyland to experience them in real life, come ride our rides, then watch the movie based on the rides. What's even more fascinating are the ones that work: Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean pulled off a minor miracle in adapting a pretty groan-worthy theme park ride into a vibrant, Errol Flynn-like adventure. And in an attempt to recapture that kind of heat, we now have Jungle Cruise, which gets points for referencing the right things, even as it refuses to reinvent the wheel. Continue Reading →
Cruella
SimilarAuto Focus (2002), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Son of the Mask (2005),
Watch afterBlack Widow (2021), Free Guy (2021), Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Thanksgiving (2023), The Suicide Squad (2021),
StudioWalt Disney Pictures,
Cruella de Vil is an A-List villain in a B-List franchise. Sure, 101 Dalmatians and its spinoffs have their charms, but no other aspect in the franchise has the staying power of Cruella and her iconic theme song. It’s no surprise that Disney would release an origin story for the character with Craig Gillespie’s Cruella. It’s a logical step for the company to take, but the iconic villain presents a major stumbling block: how can you make a villainess whose traditional motivation is to kill dogs for a coat into a likable hero, or at least an antihero? Continue Reading →