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Up until now, Hollywood had several major motion pictures that portrayed naval adventure between a man and a woman, against menacing animals and dangerous jungles. However, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt’s 2021 movieJungle Cruisesimply doubled it up with their quest through the wet and dark jungles of the Amazon in search of the Tree of Life.
But while watchingJungle Cruise, one cannot simply get over the striking similarities it shares with the 1951 movie,The African Queen. Appearing as a tribute to the 20th-century Katharine Hepburn movie, it is believed that Dwayne Johnson’s 2021 movie was heavily influenced by the same. Even Emily Blunt’s character name had some resemblance to that of Hepburn’s name.
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Katharine Hepburn’s 1951 MovieThe African Queen
Disney originally conceptualized the idea of combining the sensibilities of adventure with war and thus came up with the 1951 John Huston adventure film,The African Queen. Becoming the chief inspiration for several films afterward, Huston’s timeless movie not just influenced aesthetics but different aspects of filmmaking.
Based on the novel by C.S. Forester,The African Queenstarred Katharine Hepburn as British missionary Rose Sayer. Bringing out her adventure in East Africa during the early stages of World War I, the 1951 movie became an instant hit. Caught up amid World War I, the movie navigated the story of Hepburn’s character whose village gets decimated by German forces.
Further, after the murder of her brother (Robert Morley), Rose Sayer hitches a dangerous ride down the river on a steamboat with the unkempt, drunkard skipper, Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart). Hoping to create a makeshift torpedo to destroy a nearby German ship out for revenge, Katharine Hepburn’s character ends up falling for her fellow travel buddy on their journey together.
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Dwayne Johnson’sJungle CruiseparallelsThe African Queen
Fast-forwarding to 2021, Disney released Jaume Collet-Serra-directedJungle CruisestarringDwayne Johnsonand Emily Blunt. Based on a ride inspired byThe African Queen, it only makes sense that the film parallels the 1951 masterpiece. The film makes a strikingly similar opening featuring Emily Blunt as British explorer Dr. Lily Houghton in South America during the middle of World War I.
While Blunt’s character Lily and Hepburn’s character Rose are both names of flowers, the former’s last name was majorly influenced by Katharine Hepburn’s middle name Houghton. Further, the movie proceeded as Blunt’s character voyaged on a dangerous ride down the river with the mildly unkempt skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson), in search of a mythic healing tree in the Amazon. The two characters are at odds with each other, however, eventually fall in love just like in the storyline ofThe African Queen.
Not just the storyline orEmily Blunt‘s character name, but even the ride vehicle used inJungle Cruiseclearly mimic the design ofThe African Queenboat. Further, the memorable scene where Humphrey Bogart’s character charmingly imitated a group of hippopotamuses in the river was featured inJungle Cruise,where they came across a group of hippos. Apart from such major resemblances, the 2021 movie was also influenced by the aesthetics ofThe African Queen.
WatchJungle Cruise(2021) on Disney+ andThe African Queen(1951) on Amazon Video.
Read more:“How dare you! I got fit for this one”: $375M Movie Forced Emily Blunt to Become as Fit as Tom Cruise for Wearing Bulky 85 lbs Suit
Source:Collider
Krittika Mukherjee
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3219
Krittika Mukherjee is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on films, TV shows, and celebrity news with over 3,000 articles published. With an educational background in Journalism, and a keen interest in filmmaking, Krittika blends factual precision with creative flair, when crafting her editorials, or dissecting fan theories.Her coverage often includes news and analyses of critically acclaimed films, celebrity news, and franchises like the Wizarding World, LOTR, DC, and MCU—particularly Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Superheroes, and fan theories. As a Wizarding World aficionado, Krittika has spent countless hours exploring hidden backstories, unadapted book moments, spells, and trivias surrounding J.K. Rowling’s lore.An imaginative writer with a way with words, Krittika has worked as an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a web content writer for a year. She brought her experience and expertise to FandomWire to pursue her desire for sipping coffee while dissecting films and tracking celebrity drama.
