The Jungle Book
Baloo: (Singing) "Forget about your worries and your strife..."
Mowgli: "What's that?"
Baloo: "That's a song about the good life."
The Jungle Book is directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf, Chef) and stars Neel Sethi as Mowgli, Bill Murray as Baloo, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Lupita Nyong'o as Raksha, Christopher Walken as King Louie, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, and Giancarlo Esposito as Akela.
Wow! Take notes, everybody! This is how you do a modern take on an animated Disney classic!
The Jungle Book takes place in, well, the jungle. I believe it's a jungle in India though. Mowgli, a young man-cub raised by wolves and a black panther Bagheera, lives among the wild animals in the jungle and treats them as friends. When the deadly tiger Shere Khan arrives onto the scene and meets Mowgli, he fears that Mowgli is a very plausible threat based on Shere Khan's past with man and the red flower (also known as fire). His mission is now to kill Mowgli. Bagheera must lead Mowgli to the man-village where he can be safe with his own people. On the way, Mowgli encounters various outrageous, dangerous, and lovable animals that either hinder him or help him on his journey to find out what his true home really is: The man-village filled with humans who have had no contact with Mowgli or the jungle where Shere Khan is killing Mowgli's family and friends until Mowgli comes back.
In writing, this doesn't sound so family friendly...
Right out of the gate, The Jungle Book has its visuals established. It looks fantastic. Many of you may already know that this movie was not actually shot in the jungle. Actually, it was made far from it: A studio in Los Angeles. So because of this, computer generated imagery (and I believe some motion capture) was used to create almost everything, besides Neil Sethi, who plays Mowgli, and some set pieces that Neil interacted with. When I heard about this way of filming a movie, I was extremely skeptical and nervous. 1967's The Jungle Book is one of my favorite classic animated Disney movies of all time and I really didn't want this new one to have a negative imprint on it because of the special effects. Holy moly, was I wrong to be skeptical and nervous! It seriously looks like director Jon Favreau ripped a part of a jungle in India and placed it in a studio in LA. The animals especially look real as can be. To stop myself from repeating it and to save some time for you all, The Jungle Book's use of CGI is , quite frankly, a visual masterpiece. There's just no other way to say it.
It's absolutely beautiful and incredible what talented people can do with computers nowadays, isn't it?
Adding to the absence of an actual environment, Neil Sethi, being the only physically present actor in The Jungle Book, had to act with no other physical human to interact with. I think Jon Favreau did get to work with the Jim Henson company to get some puppets or something to help young Neil interact with at least something. Even then, this kid's talent is blossoming onto the screen here. I see actors working with the same kind of situations on screen and they have a hard time performing. Neil, being as young as he is, has a more fun and easier time doing it here. It's just remarkable to see a young mind imagine in front of your eyes. There were other actors, of course, but they were all voice acting. The Jungle Book really has one hell of a cast though. Everybody from Christopher Walken's King Louie to Ben Kingsley's Bagheera was excellent and perfectly casted. I have to mention that Bill Murray's Baloo is absolutely one of the best examples of perfect voice casting in a movie. His quick jokey and lovable nature that he's usually portrayed as in his movies shines in The Jungle Book (especially during "The Bare Necessities" song).
Ah! The feels! I'm a 4 year old again watching this as if it's for the first time ever!
If you've read my reviews before, I tend to stress the importance of both the visuals (if it calls for it) and the story. The Jungle Book blends as well as it can considering it's an adaptation of an animated Disney movie that was adapted from a really dark book (that I don't think children should really read. Look it up if you really want to). The story is simple, yet enjoyable for adults and kids, but really doesn't elaborate too much from the 1967 film. I'm extremely glad with how it turned out though. I thought the story wouldn't have any songs in it at all, but lucky me, I was wrong yet again. Yes, The Jungle Book has some songs sung by a couple of characters. The only downside is that it has 2 songs. I won't say which song the other one is, besides Baloo's ditty, because it's possibly in my top 3 Disney songs ever. I'll leave it as a surprise when you see it. Since there are only two songs, they, unfortunately, feel a little out of place. Then again, I'm nitpicking. It is an overall immense pleasure seeing a brilliant film like this come to life.
Here's a hint as to what the other song is...
You can probably figure out that I strongly recommend seeing The Jungle Book in theaters. I saw it in 3D. If you can, do the same. I rarely go see movies in 3D because it does cost a bit more and usually it's not really worth it because the movie can use cheap ways to clearly shove it in your face, but The Jungle Book, showing its value in the beautiful CGI people put in it, is definitely worth it. A bold statement, but I truly believe it is a visual masterpiece. The Jungle Book is a huge jump in visuals used for cinema, the story is almost like a brother to the 1967 version (in that this one is a very similar adaptation), and people of all ages will love it, although kids might be terrified of tigers after watching it.
4.8/5
PRO
- CGI has uncanny and amazing resemblance to a real jungle
- Neil Sethi's acting chops
- Perfect voice casting
- Songs!
CON
- Unfortunately, there aren't enough songs, making it seem a little bit out of place
The Jungle Book is rated PG for some sequences of scary action and peril
Click here to watch the trailer
The Jungle Book is in theaters everywhere
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