Is Trader Sam In Jungle Cruise? Controversy Explained

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Warning: Spoilers for Jungle Cruise to follow.

Jungle Cruise is here, the Disney adaptation of one of its most famous theme park rides, and the story includes a controversial character who was removed from the ride: Trader Sam. Following in the footsteps of Pirates of the Caribbean, also based on Disney park ride, and apparently inspired by many action-adventure movies before it (perhaps a little too inspired by them), Jungle Cruise tells the story of scientist Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) who, along with her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) wants to travel down the Amazon River to discover the Tree of Life, the flowers of which have the power to heal any ailment. Along the way she enlists the help of skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), and the trio attempts to avoid the dangers on the way, including creatures, river rapids, ambitious and deadly German princes, and cursed conquistadors.

Jungle Cruise was released simultaneously to cinemas and Premier Access on Disney+ on Friday, July 30. The story adapted by Disney brings over many elements recognizable to those who might be fans of the Disney theme park ride, including humorous narration by the skipper, the boat narrowly avoiding sailing off a waterfall, and even theme-park-style fake props, like a wooden hippo which rises out of the river water. Contentiously, the movie also includes a depiction of the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon.

Trader Sam is already a controversial character for Disney, and they have removed him from the Disney park ride for that reason – he played the role of "head salesperson of the jungle," operating Trader Sam's Gift Shop, and was widely considered to be a racist caricature. So it was surprising to many that Jungle Cruise does include Trader Sam as a character, although there are significant changes, including a gender swap. Trader Sam from the theme park ride was a character who was thought to have an extended lifespan, and who ran a pub often frequented by pirates including Captain Jack Sparrow.

The first sight viewers have of the Indigenous peoples is as a part of skipper Frank's tourist boat ride early in the movie – they're dressed up in stereotypical attire and shoot blow darts at the boat, scaring the passengers. But they're in on the act, with Frank signaling to them and revealing they're working together. This is also how Trader Sam is framed. She is introduced at a later point, when Lily, MacGregor, and Frank are captured by Indigenous warriors and taken to their tribe and chief. Trader Sam is the leader of her people, and plays along with Frank in an attempt to have Lily give up the valuable arrowhead she carries.

Though the Jungle Cruise character has been controversial since its introduction, the way Disney works around the problems it's had in the past is by giving the character agency. She leads her tribe and makes a living, at one point even abandoning MacGregor to his fate, saying she has no part in the confrontation. The character still relies on Indigenous tribe stereotypes, for Trader Sam, her people, and their costumes, and rituals, but they're passed off as part of their act. Disney is trying to walk the line between appealing to their park-goers, and the newer viewers they're hoping the movie attracts. There's certainly a different characterization of Trader Sam in Jungle Cruise, though whether Disney has been successful in avoiding Indigenous stereotypes entirely is still up for debate.

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