Welcome to the Jungle - History of Art 480
If you’ve ever had the misfortune to listen to me ramble on and on about the Disney Theme Parks, you will learn at least one thing: I love details and theming. The reason why I love the parks so much is because of the extensive work that goes into crafting a story. It’s found in the architecture, the queues, the sounds, and it all leads to the ride itself. All of these details are meant to pull you into a narrative to give you an experience that you would never have in the “real” world. Plenty of attractions do a fantastic job at this. Expedition: Everest has extensive theming that features artifacts from Nepal. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror has a gorgeous yet unsettling queue that sets the tone of the ride to come. Mission: Space creates an alternate future history in which to take a daring journey to Mars.
And then… there’s the Jungle Cruise.
Compared to most other rides, the Jungle Cruise is… odd. It has extensive theming, like the others (see fig. 1). It has a narrative structure like other attractions, with the queue showing the backstory and the ride itself being the main plot. And in one of the true marks of a successful attraction, it also has obnoxiously long wait times.
“Please be sure to tell your friends how much you enjoyed your trip on the Jungle Cruise,” the cast members say, “It helps keep the lines down.” (“The World Famous Jungle Cruise”)
And that’s exactly what makes this ride weird – there is no fourth wall. The fourth wall is the invisible barrier that divides the audience from the story. Usually, characters won’t acknowledge that they’re in a story, or otherwise imply that there’s a universe beyond their own. The cast members of the Jungle Cruise enjoy smashing the fourth wall like it’s part of a condemned building, and guests enjoy the carnage. (Except for those poor people who don’t appreciate puns. Pity them, for they know not joy.)
But the Jungle Cruise hadn’t always been a monument to subversive humor. In 1955, Disneyland’s version of the Jungle Cruise was one of the opening-day attractions. Originally, they played it “straight,” meaning that they took the flora and fauna seriously. The “E” Ticket reports that “The earliest Jungle Cruise was more educational in its presentation than were the later versions we’re familiar with.” (“Jungle Adventures,” 31) This can be seen in the documentary “People & Places: Disneyland U.S.A.,” which covers the Adventureland section of the park. Over moving images of the ride, the narrator speaks as if it’s an actual foray into an exotic location. There are no gags here – the animals and the danger they represent are very real. It’s understandable why the Imagineers would choose to present the story this way. Very few people had ever had experience with this kind of show. Moving, mechanical figures in a convincing, wild space hadn’t been done before. Besides that, the attraction drew a lot of inspiration from “True-Life Adventures,” which was a series of nature documentaries by Disney, as well as “The African Queen,” a film set in a river in Africa (Wright, 40). All of these are serious endeavors, and to make a comedy out of them would have been disconcerting.
But, to be fair, “People & Places” shows that the mechanics can’t copy lifelike animation. Even Blaine Gibson, a prolific sculptor for Disney, says, “I hadn’t worked on the original animals and we didn’t like those very much. They were rather crudely done. I don’t mean to put anybody down, but they weren’t all that they could be.” (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” 19) Hence, the re-vitalizing of the attraction, of which Gibson was a part, provided much more expressive show elements. The revamp began in the early sixties, with the addition of the elephant pool and the African Veldt to Disneyland in ’62. The actual animals (or should I say, animatronics) weren’t added until ’64, which is also when the trapped safari scene made its first appearance (“The World Famous Jungle Cruise.”). These scenes provided interest and motion, and obviously, more things for the skippers to talk about. But according to the handbook for cast members of this ride, the most enhancements were made in 1976. In this year, guests saw the arrival of the hornbill and crocodiles, the cobras and Bengal tiger in the temple, the safari camp, the gorilla facing off against the croc, the baboons and the lion cave on the Veldt, and the python and water buffaloes. It’s important to note that some of these scenes are overtly humorous. For instance, the safari camp features some gorillas trashing the camp and playing with the equipment. (This is also the site of the famous, “they got the jeep to turn over” joke.) Their antics are more cartoonish than anything, and it’s a far cry from the strict sense of exploration that the previous version had.
On that note, I’ve never been able to pin an exact date on when the shift from seriousness to silliness happened. The pithy answer might be, “When the cast members got tired of their usual shtick,” but I’m afraid that’s not good enough. (Besides, if all the employees everywhere got tired of their routines, they might get fired pretty quickly.) But there is a very interesting line in the Jungle Cruise manual, which encapsulates both sides of the ride. “So life-like are the elephants, alligators, hippos, and other animals who inhabit the Disneyland jungle that they often startle Adventureland explorers with their realistic appearance and performance.” If you read this line without the context of dates, this sentence might true of the fifties. But a little more than two decades later in the year 1976 (or possibly later, depending on when the document was published), and you’ve got to wonder if the author of the manual was fond of very dry sarcasm. The cast members and guests all know that the animals aren’t real, and no one is pretending they are. And yet, the ride sets up a frame to allow for this kind of “play.”
What throws this attraction into greater contrast with others is that the rest of Adventureland is a reflection of the Jungle Cruise, but taken seriously. Both the Jungle Cruise and Adventureland mix several locations from around the world together to match what Americans view as being an “adventure story.” The Imagineers freely admit, “Since many disparate images come to mind when one hears the word ‘Adventure,’ our Adventureland intentionally plays on several of these themes and settings.” (Wright, 38.) This explains why a Spanish fort is next to a jungle, which is next to a Polynesian building, which is near an Arabian market. The transitions between these areas are seamless when you’re wandering around this land, though it is odd to look around and realize you’ve managed to travel from a Spanish sea fort to Polynesia without noticing. Similarly, the Jungle Cruise takes several vastly different (and vastly separated) locations and puts them all into one attraction.
In the Walt Disney World version of this ride, boats sail through the Amazon, Congo, Nile, and Mekong rivers (Wright 40). Some skippers will point this out, with a phrase like, “And through the power of Disney magic, we’ve jumped over an entire continent!” Joking aside, all these places share jungle and rainforest locations, both of which are wrapped up in the concept of “adventure” (though the former word is more associated with adventure than the latter). This bears out in the original names for the attraction. One of these was “Tropical Rivers of the World.” A sign in the passage from Frontierland to Adventureland in Disneyland referred to the ride as “Jungle Rivers of the World.” Posters advertising the attraction shortened this title to “The Jungle River.” (“Adventureland” 15) (see fig. 2.) Most recently, this poster has been brought back and remixed to serve as an advertisement for “The Jingle Cruise,” a holiday-themed version of the ride. (Fickley-Baker, Disney Parks Blog.) (see fig. 3.) It makes sense to organize them this way, scientifically speaking. As jungles, they would share a few basic traits, though the flora and fauna would be different. In another way, it makes no sense at all. All of these places have disparate cultures, and it’s disingenuous to lump them all together.
Though we’ve been talking about the mechanical animals, there is evidence of humans in the jungle. That sounds like a really obvious statement to make, but one can phrase it that way because the humans don’t appear nearly as often as the animals do. This makes the times when they’re seen or referenced much more significant.
The ruined temple scene at Disney World is long and gorgeously detailed. No humans are seen here – this entire area is a remnant of the past. All right, fine, it’s no more “real” than anything else on the attraction, but this place has a much more serious tone than all the other scenes that the guests see. In an unusual move, all the skippers stop talking at this point and let the surroundings speak for themselves. This is likely for a combination of three reasons. First, silence from the skipper allows the guests to focus on the theming. Second, this gives the cast member a chance to rest his or her voice. Third (and maybe the most likely reason), the acoustics of the temple would make the skipper’s voice echo, and thus harder to understand. In a meta-sense, this scene ties in well with what the Jungle Cruise manual tells its cast members, “…keep in mind that you are indeed a part of the show – not the whole Show.” (“The World Famous Jungle Cruise,” 1.) The Jungle Cruise wouldn’t be what it is without its extensive theming, just as it needs the cast members.
After floating down that river of a tangent, we return to a scene that does have human characters – the trapped safari that’s “getting the point in the end,” courtesy of a rhinoceros. In Disney World, four white explorers loaded with gear are the unfortunate recipients (see fig. 4). In Disneyland, there is one white explorer, and three African porters below him (see fig. 5). The white explorer is dressed in the stereotypical pale khaki clothing of the “Great White Hunter” of the 1800s, while the other three men are nearly identical except for facial expressions. Beyond the “bottoms up” jokes, this is an image that many people are familiar with. Imagery like this is loaded with meaning. The colors black and white have deep-seated symbolism – the former mostly negative, and the latter mostly positive. The vivid comparison of skin and clothing only draws this out. Moreover, the European man is the “surveyor of all.” The white explorer is always in command of the situation, and often has Africans doing work for him (Geary, 25). On the Jungle Cruise, the white man is quite literally at the top of the totem pole. How often real explorers dressed like this almost seems like an immaterial question. The point is that this is a character (or even caricature) that people are familiar with, and it’s part of the stereotypical landscape of adventure. The jokes and puns may be a way to relieve some of the tension that would otherwise be present in this scene. This section was added to the Disneyland attraction in 1964, which may be around or after the time when the Jungle Cruise started to take humorous tone. In fact, there’s no way you could take this scene seriously – this is no “true-life adventure.” The whole tableau is mocking the idea of the noble explorer conquering savage lands. He may be at the top, but even the hyenas are laughing at how he’s the butt of the joke. The Walt Disney World version may be more politically correct, but there’s not the same depth of meaning.
The other scene that involves human characters, and one that has existed since the ride’s creation, is the African tribe’s attack on the boat. (See fig. 6.) Since it was there at the first day, it was played straight, without snarky commentary. In “People & Places,” the narrator ominously notes that danger is lurking everywhere, as the camera shows the back of an African native’s head. Periodically, the figure peers out from behind a log. In the fifties, people could still get away with portraying central Africans as headhunting savages. But this particular representation has deep and longer-lasting roots. For intellectuals, this was accepted as a fact about the people of Africa for decades. In Hegel’s introduction to “The Philosophy of History,” he writes that Africa is “the land of childhood,” which “[lies] beyond the day of self-conscious history” (91). He goes on to further characterize the terrain of continent as dangerous and impassable (92), asserts that Africans are godless sorcerers (93-5), and further claims that they are cannibals and slavers (95-6). The general public would have heard not only lurid tales such as these, but also consumed images of the African “other.” These images were certainly an influence on the tribal attack scene. One postcard recreates an execution from the Kongo kingdom. (Or at least, it claims it does. Sensationalism sells, after all.) The executioner is dressed in a large mask, wears ceremonial dress, and wields a saber. This relates to the popular notion of Africans being barbaric and primitive (Geary, 27-8). Another postcard of Poto warriors attempts to show Africans as they really existed. Three men are posed together – two standing in the back, one crouching in front. Each man has a spear, and the two men in the back have tall, narrow shields (Geary 33). Again, notions of primitivism are attached to this picture. The warriors are meant to look fierce, but it’s plainly obvious that the participants have been posed. It’s not so unlike the mechanical figures in the brush, really.
Like the earlier scene with the safari trapped on the pole, the uncomfortable aspects are mitigated by humor. Some of this humor even creatively re-fashions the attackers into something completely different. One recent example plays on the mechanics of the figures themselves. As the boat passes the natives, the skipper may shout, “Hey guys, I said throw the spears! Next time you better do it, OK? Now get down in the bushes and hide again... I'll be back later!” The figures crouch down and return to their original positions just as the skipper finishes the line (Rouse, “Jungle Cruise Jokes”). Here, the cast members play with the idea that the natives are in on the joke along with everyone else – it just so happens that they messed up their part of the show. Other gags include saying, “The natives will be on the right! …They’re on the left this time.” (The figures don’t move; they’re always on the left.) (“The World Famous Jungle Cruise”) Though not all the jokes break the fourth wall in the same way that this one does, they all serve to undermine the intended drama of the scene.
The reasons why the Jungle Cruise tells its story the way it does are both practical and intellectual. The aging of the animatronics, compared to the constant advancements and improvements of new attractions, make them easy to mock. There also aren’t any other rides quite like this one, likely because cast members have so much free rein in their performances. The evolution of culture has also played its part in the ride’s growth. Some aspects aren’t socially acceptable any more, but making a joke out of them instead of presenting them seriously is one way to lampoon traditional ideas of the jungle adventure. And this is the not-so-secret fact behind the attraction’s success – its ability to tackle almost anything with an irreverent sense of humor.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this essay, my name is Kelsey, and this has been the Jungle Cruise. If you didn’t, my name is Ashley, and this has been Expedition: Everest.
Works Cited
Fickley-Baker, Jennifer. “First Look: Jingle Cruise Props & Opening Dates at Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park.” disneyparks.disney.go.com. Disney Parks, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Geary, Christaud M. In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960. London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2002. Print.
Hegel, Georg W. F. Introduction. The Philosophy of History. 1837. Edition Unknown. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, Year Unknown. 91-9. PDF.
Janzen, Leon J. “The Jungle Cruise.” The E Ticket Winter 1988-9: 14-20. PDF.“Jungle Cruise Journeys.” The E Ticket Spring 1996: 30-7. PDF.
People & Places: Disneyland U.S.A. Dir. Hamilton S. Luske. Perf. Winston Hibler. Buena Vista Film Distribution Co., Inc, 1956. Film.
Rouse, Sean. “Jungle Cruise Jokes.” csua.berkeley.edu. n.p. 10 Jan. 1998. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.Walt Disney Productions. The World Famous Jungle Cruise. Publishing details unknown, possible year 1982. Print.
“Walt Disney’s Sculptor: Blaine Gibson.” The E Ticket Spring 1995: 14-25. PDF.
Wright, Alex. The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom. New York: Disney Editions, 2005. 38-40. Print.
Fig. 1. Josh. “jhgasdaddgsad103.” Photograph. Easy WDW. n.p., 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013
Fig. 2. Blm07. “Disneyland_Jungle_River_poster.” Photograph. Wikipedia. Walt Disney Co., 29 Nov. 2006. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Fig. 3. loaloauk. “jinglecruise.” Photograph. Walt Disney Co., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Fig. 4. Blasi, Matthew. “Jungle Cruise ‘They’ll get the point in the end’.” Photograph. n.p., 19 Jun. 2006. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Fig. 5. Unknown. “cpt118954SMALL.” Photograph. Disney Parks Blog, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Fig. 6. Yee, Kevin. “2012-05-12-4928.” Photograph. Ultimate Orlando, 12 May 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.