Porto Velho (meaning: "Old Port") is a location featured in the 2021 Disney live-action film Jungle Cruise, based on the attraction of the same name.
History[]
Background[]
Porto Velho is a harbor town located in the Amazon River in the Brazilian state of Rodônia, particularly in the upper basin of the Amazon Rainforest and the Madeira River.
Development History[]
The Porto Velho set was built and shot at Kauai, located in the US state of Hawaii. Additionally, production designer Jean-Vincent Puzos used Brazilian, Argentinian, Spanish, and Costa Rican architecture to design the city of Porto Velho.[1]
Makeup designer Joel Harrow and his team applied makeup to over 400 background characters in the scenes in which Porto Velho appears including scars, insect bites, and sunburns to give the film an Amazon theme. [1]
Places of Interest[]
- Hotel de Ferreira: A cantina run by Nilo Nemolato where his headquarters Nilo's River Adventure was based there.
- Jungle Navigation Company boathouse: A boathouse run by Frank Wolff of the Jungle Navigation Company.
- Nilo's River Adventure boathouse: A boathouse owned by Nilo where a small fleet of steamboats were at.
Role in the film[]
As Lily Houghton and her brother, McGregor arrive at Porto Velho via train, the two explore Porto Velho together. Meanwhile in the Amazon river, Frank's boat La Quila stops at the docks where the tourists disembark and Nilo Nemolato approaches Frank who is very dissatisfied of the insufficient amount of money he gave explaining that if he doesn't give him enough money he will get the boat and keep it by next week. Lily and McGregor explore the Hotel de Ferreira where they are looking for Nilo Nemolato and as Lily attempts to ask a customer, he suddenly ignores her while Nilo returns to his office to place his pet cockatoo Rosita on her perch while Frank spies on him entering his office.
Elsewhere, a fight between a tarantula and a scorpion is taking place where participators are placing their bets to know which one wins as McGregor observes the fight between the tarantula and the scorpion while Frank continues to find a way to enter Nilo's office while Lily discusses with her brother about talking to Nilo Nemolato auto make a negotiation with him as Lily asks a bartender to know where his office is to which she follows the path where his office is at. Frank manages to enter Nilo's office without Nilo noticing him where he finds Nilo's pet cockatoo Rosita just as Lily plans to negotiate with Nilo inside only to find Frank inside the office. Upon entering, Lily shows Frank a map and points the Lágrimas de Cristal on it and discusses to know where the region is at in which Frank denies, explaining that no one can get there. Lily discusses with Frank to know if he can take her there to which Frank explains that she must be careful of the dangers that lurk in the jungle just before Lily plans to negotiate with Frank.
Downstairs at the bar, Lily makes a negotiation with Frank and as Lily is discussing with him, McGregor arrives and shows Nilo in front of the two to which Lily feels disappointed that Frank isn't Nilo himself. Frank begins to approach Nilo discussing with him about a faster boat in the harbor than La Quila to which while discussing, the conversation is interrupted; Proxima, a jaguar, walks inside the bar frightening a couple of customers inside where Nilo tells the survivors to stay calm. As Frank approaches Proxima, she ferociously snarls at Frank and then pounces on him, causing him to crash on the area where the fight between the tarantula and the scorpion was taking place. Proxima continues to tackle Frank and upon being pinned on the ground, Frank suddenly sees the scorpion preparing to strike him with its stinger while the tarantula prepares to attack Frank with its mandibles. Evading the scorpion and the tarantula, Frank manages to throw a piece of steak out of the window to distract Proxima and then close the window just as the customers cheer for Frank who got the jaguar out of the hotel. Frank approaches Lily and makes a deal with Lily just before planning to take Lily onboard the La Quila.
When Frank finishes fixing the engines on his ship and arrives at the harbor of Porto Velho, he sees Lily who boards the boat followed by McGregor who is bringing luggage containing his important supplies inside much to Frank worried that the luggage could cause a weight overload on the ship while Lily sees a smuggler sensing a cage full of toucans who are in mercy of being put in taxidermies in which Lily plans to save them while Frank throws some of McGregor's some of luggage into the river. Meanwhile, Lily is put in the cage where the toucans are at trying to free herself while Frank spies Nilo and his men trying to go after Frank. Still in the cage, Lily grabs a hairpin and uses it as a key to free herself and upon using it, the toucans fly out of their cage while Frank and McGregor notice the commotion. Upon freeing the toucans, Lily engages in a brawl with the smugglers with Frank helping her take on the other thugs across the Porto Velho marketplace. Lily opens a couple of cages freeing some squirrel monkeys who tackle on more smugglers as Frank suddenly finds her as the two escape through the Hotel de Ferreira and into the docks. As Frank goes onboard his ship, Lily escapes from the thugs via zip line but misses the La Quila; Lily receives another chance of jumping into the ship to which she successfully boards it. Throughout the journey, Prince Joachim boards his submarine and prepares to shoot down Frank, Lily, and McGregor onboard just as Frank manages to starboard to avoid getting hit by Joachim and his men by tying a rope onto one of the poles or Nilo's River Adventure and while trying to starboard, Joachim orders his soldiers to fire torpedoes on the La Quila as Frank plans to increase the engine's speed on the ship and avoid getting hit by torpedoes in which Frank manages to dodge the torpedoes and break through the Nilo's River Adventure property, much to Nilo's fury. Upon escaping from Joachim, the La Quila begins its journey across the Amazon.
After a long journey across the Amazon, Frank returns to Porto Velho via raft alongside Lily, McGregor, and Proxima. Frank approaches Nilo who explains to him that he sold his business to which the group continues walking across the docks.
Trivia[]
- Because the film is based on the attractions at the Disney Parks, certain elements which are references to the original attraction at the Disney Parks are alluded in Porto Velho:
- The boats parked on the docks of Porto Velho are similar to the ones seen in the Jungle Cruise attraction at the Disney Parks.
- The barrels around the docks of Porto Velho are labeled "Gurr Oil”; this is a reference to Bob Gurr, who designed the mechanics of the boats of the original Jungle Cruise attraction at the Disney Parks.
References[]
External links[]