Five wild rides

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This article was published 09/08/2023 (759 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Movies can transport us to another world, invoke our imagination and reconnect us with our childlike sense of wonder, which is the same function of Disney theme parks and their rides. Combine the two and you have a memorable cinematic experience that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre (or couch).

With the release of Disney’s new Haunted Mansion movie, it’s a great time to look back and rank the five best movies based on theme-park rides. (It would be easy to include multiple movies from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but for originality and variety, there will be only one entry per franchise on this list.) Who knows? You may even find some hidden gems you haven’t heard of.

All movies can be streamed on Disney+ except the Tower of Terror, which is available on DVD.

5. Tower of Terror (1997)

This supernatural thriller is based on one of Disney’s most popular rides, the Tower of Terror, which in turn is based on an episode of The Twilight Zone. However, this made-for-TV film is its own original story with portions of the movie filmed at the iconic ride, incorporating many of the costumes and settings from the haunted-elevator attraction.

The movie, surprisingly, functions as an ode to quality journalism when reporter Buzzy Crocker (Steve Guttenberg) begins making up ghost stories, using his niece Anna (Kirsten Dunst) in pictures as a fake ghosts for the fictional supermarket tabloid the National Inquisitor. Eventually, Buzzy is informed about ghosts trapped in the Hollywood Tower Hotel, which takes him on a mission with Anna to free the ghosts and learn about the power of truth in journalism.

The ghosts are from 1939 and include a child actress named Sally Shine (Lindsay Ridgeway), who is reminiscent of Shirley Temple.

Considering that this was Disney’s first-ever attempt at adapting one of its rides into a movie, it fares quite well as both a compelling ghost story and great Halloween viewing that the whole family can enjoy.

https://youtu.be/fD7cCmMng_U

 

4. Tomorrowland

Based on a section of the Magic Kingdom in Disney World, this ride pays tribute to the hope and optimism of the future, complete with futuristic science fiction that would leave the Jetsons in awe. This visually stunning feature is about a genius inventor Frank Walker (George Clooney) and a teenage scientist Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) being brought together by a robot from the future named Athena (Raffey Cassidy) to save the world from imminent destruction by travelling to an alternate dimension called Tomorrowland.

Disney excels at creating gateways of exploration into genres for people who may not be familiar, and this film succeeds at being an easily accessible science fiction film to get into. The film is filled with humour, suspense and heartwarming moments of the grown-up Frank, who has lost his sense of wonder after learning that the world will end and regains his sense of hope when meeting Casey.

The film pays tribute to the land it is based on throughout the movie with a young Frank riding It’s a Small World, and the iconic Space Mountain building, which is a visual landmark in the parks, also representing a visual landmark in the film. The land’s signature song, There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, is not only played in the film, but is representative of its message.

 

3. Jungle Cruise

This action-adventure film is inspired by Disney’s slow-moving river-cruise ride and filled with the so-bad-they’re-good puns from the attraction it’s based on: The Jungle Cruise. The film features Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as the Rock) as the riverboat tour guide, or skippers as they’re known on the ride and in the movie, taking Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) and her brother MacGregor Houghton (Jack Whitehall) on a wild adventure in search of the Tree of Life.

The story feels original with mystical elements found throughout the journey as the heroes compete against villains, including a German expedition and supernatural conquistadors, during their travels. The electric chemistry between Dr. Houghton, the optimistic scientist hoping to use the tree’s healing powers to help humanity, and Frank, the fit, strong non-believer who is only in it for the money, works wonders for the film’s pacing.

The set pieces in the jungle are visually stunning as the expedition takes place in the Amazon River of Brazil with lush trees and forestry, dazzling rivers and colourful animals. Fans will find tributes to the ride throughout, including the animatronic animals in the water, the signature puns — including a familiar joke about the backside of water — and the fact that Frank’s entire cruise at the beginning of the film essentially recreates the ride.

 

2. Haunted Mansion (2023)

Disney’s first attempt at adapting The Haunted Mansion into a film, with Eddy Murphy as the star, didn’t work out as planned, but their second trip to the mansion fared much better, with an all-star cast rounded out by LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The film, in theatres now, blends comedy and horror in a way that succeeds on numerous levels, due to an excellent script with sharp dialogue from Katie Dippold and directing from Justin Simien that is able to match any mood from Justin Simien.

The film also explores grief in a profoundly deep, yet easily accessible way.

The film could serve as a gateway to horror for newcomers to the genre, with its well-executed spooks balanced out with a plethora of great jokes. There are many callbacks to the ride it is based on, including the legendary hatbox ghost, varying renditions of the song from the ride, Grim Grinning Ghosts and many of the other ghosts found throughout the film’s source material.

 

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

It’s hard to believe Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl came out 20 years ago, but that officially cements this game-changing film — Disney’s most successful movie based on a ride to date — as an all-time classic. The supernatural-swashbuckling film received five well-deserved Academy Award nominations featuring a great cast led by Johnny Depp as the eccentric Jack Sparrow, incredible action, death-defying adventure and a story based on one of the original Disney rides; It was also produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the Top Gun and Bad Boys franchises.

While Depp’s Sparrow steals the show — he earned an Academy Award nomination for the role — there were breakout performances from Orlando Bloom as William Turner and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann, along with Geoffrey Rush as the menacing Captain Hector Barbosa. From the moment the theme music hits, this movie takes you into the fascinating world of pirates, but with cinematically choreographed action and fight scenes that will leave you in awe.

This world is complete with a pirate code and varying classes that have certain ways of living, much of which pay tribute to the ride it is based on. You can find easter eggs from the ride such as the pirates locked in prison trying to lure a dog over, the song from the ride, Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me), and the fact that the entire plot is based on a small section of the ride called dead man’s cove.