Emily Blunt: Jungle Cruise is inspired by Romancing the Stone
Emily Blunt says 'Jungle Cruise' is a lot like 'Romancing the Stone'.
The 38-year-old British actress stars as eccentric scientist Dr. Lily Houghton in Disney's new adventure film which is inspired by the ride of the same name at Disney World theme parks across the globe.
Emily's alter ego relies on Dwayne Johnson's character, steamboat captain Frank Wolff, to guide her on her quest to find the Tree of Life and she says the quest and chemistry between the two characters has lots of similarities with Robert Zemeckis' 1984 blockbuster which saw Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner on a quest to find a lost treasure in Colombia.
In an interview with Collider, she said: "I think there's a lot of films that have tried to emulate films like 'Romancing the Stone'. Everyone's like, 'Oh, yeah. We're making 'Romancing the Stone.'' and it never is that, it's that film. And I think that this film has those qualities, but it's got qualities that are sort of supernatural, similar to 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. It's a huge, action-packed adventure film, a lot of practically-shot, big Hollywood."
Discussing the chemistry between herself and Dwayne, she added: "I think at the core of it is this relationship, this unlikely duo, this unlikely couple initially sort of rub each other the wrong way and drive each other insane, but there's this chemistry between them, and this rapport between them that was so attractive to me when I read the script. It was so nostalgic, and I just don't think people are making these films which feel uncynical and fun and big. It's not a superhero film, respectfully. I can say that."
Dwayne, 49, agrees with Emily's comparison of 'Jungle Cruise' to 'Romancing the Stone' and believes audiences will love the sense of adventure in the movie.
The Hollywood action man also thinks that the fact the movie's plot is inspired by such a beloved ride at Walt Disney World means that audiences will come to the cinema expecting excitement and a certain setting.
In the joint interview, he explained: "I think, leaning into what Emily was talking about, about the adventure, about the fun, about the romance ... There are the movies that truly inspired this movie; 'Romancing the Stone', certainly 'Pirates of the Caribbean', because we have an opportunity here to make a movie that's based off an iconic Disney ride that has been beloved for generations and generations, and the responsibility of that, and also there's 'The African Queen', as well. That was our inspiration to make movies like this, and as Emily was saying, these movies aren't made that often. People try, and sometimes they talk about making movies like 'Romancing the Stone' and things like that. 'We're going to do a little bit of Pirates,' you know. Well, it is that kind of movie."
Emily and Dwayne also star in the movie - which will be released on July 30 - with Edgar RamÃrez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons and Paul Giamatti among others.
