Dwayne Johnson is truly the Skipper for his “Jungle Cruise” cast

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is not just a pro-wrestler and actor, he happens to be a huge Disney Parks fan! So when it came to making his new movie “Jungle Cruise,” he was all-in getting to know everything about Walt Disney’s boating adventure.

Prior to developing the script for the movie and playing a skipper, Johnson was a regular visitor to the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank, CA where archivists carefully pulled 70+ year-old concept art from Walt Disney Imagineering and even never-before-seen video of the attraction on opening day.

It all spurred on a theme that Johnson wanted to pull from in his contemporary movie. “It’s all about nostalgia,” he said to DisneyExaminer at a virtual press conference for the movie.

“I had ridden the ride [at Disneyland] when I was a kid, and then rode it at Disney World years later. So when it comes to doing a movie on it, it brought back fond memories, which was the groundwork to this opportunity.”

The movie itself is filled with many references to the attraction, including the all-too-famous Skipper jokes. And while true Jungle Cruise attraction fans won’t be seeing an exact replica of the boats in the movie, you will get the same feelings you do when you do see it.

“When you think about it, all the elements of our movie [laughter, adventure, nostalgia, love] come nicely together in our Disney movie,” Johnson continued. “It’s a lucky opportunity that we get to make a movie based on an iconic ride by the most trusted brand in the world when it comes to family and delivering entertainment.”

In other words, it’s Skipper Dwayne Johnson’s Disney dream come true!

Special thanks to Dwayne Johnson for contributing to this story! Look for our spoiler-free review of Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” soon.