Dwayne Johnson is set to star in Disney blockbuster Jungle Cruise alongside Emily Blunt next July, but this July you can watch his first action-adventure Disney movie that was made over a decade ago. As it was just before The Rock became the franchise gold dust that he is today, you may never have heard of it, but Johnson fans should definitely give it a go when it arrives on Disney Plus next month.
2009’s Race to Witch Mountain is due to become available on the streaming service from Friday, July 3rd. A remake of 1975’s Escape to Witch Mountain, the movie stars AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig as teens Sara and Seth, who are secretly extraterrestrials with psychic powers. As with the original, the plot sees the kids trying to get to Witch Mountain, where their spaceship is hidden, before nefarious forces get hold of them. Race, however, adds in Johnson’s character, cab driver Jack Bruno, who acts as their protector.
The original film was a big success for the Mouse House, spawning three sequels (1 theatrical, 2 straight-to-TV) and a TV movie remake in 1995. Race, however, probably wasn’t as big a hit as Disney were hoping for.
On the back of a $50 million budget, it earned just over $100 million at the global box office. Not a flop by any means, but nothing to write home about, either. That’s a bit of a shame, as it even went to the effort of linking up with the earlier movies, featuring 70s stars Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann reprising their roles.
This wasn’t The Rock’s first Disney film, though, as that was 2007’s comedy flick The Game Plan. You can catch that on Disney Plus right now. The same goes for his third collaboration with the studio, 2016’s mega-popular animated movie Moana, in which Johnson voices demi-god Maoui. Jungle Cruise, meanwhile, will be his fourth Disney effort and it arrives on July 30th, 2021.
