When I was between the ages of 3 and 6 I use to watch Disney’s 1967 version of The Jungle Book over and over. Being such a big fan of it since childhood I was skepticle to think that Disney could recreate that version of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book into a live action movie. Of course they already did it back in 1994 and as kid I really liked that version although that version was very different from the original cartoon. This time Disney decided to use modern technology and use CGI to create the animals which I’m okay with, but also at the same time very weary considering some CGI can still look pretty bad in movies. After seeing the new version of The Jungle Book I am glad to say that it does not hinder the original in any way and is actually an enjoyable movie.
The Jungle Book is about a man cub named Mowgli (Neel Sethi) who is found alone in the jungle by a black panther named Bagheera (Ben Kingsley). Bagheera saves Mowgli and decides to take him to be taken care of and raised by a pack of wolves. The wolves take Mowgli in as one of their own and everything is going fine until the vicious tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) shows up. Shere Khan has a hate for man and demands the wolves to hand over the man cub Mowgli. They refuse and send Mowgli off with Bagheera to go with his own kind in the man village.
When it came to the casting of The Jungle Book I think they did a pretty good job. All of the animals are voiced by an impressive ensemble cast that work in just about every way. Ben Kingsley is perfect as Bagheera and I don’t think any other actor could have possibly filled that role any better. Idris Elba really brings it and gives a haunting performance as the tiger Shere Khan. The way he delivers his lines are truly frightening and it really helped me forget that I was just looking at a CGI created tiger. Another solid performance came from Bill Murray playing the popular bear character Baloo. For the most part he is mostly just playing Bill Murray which I think actually worked since his laid back perception of his personality actually fits the classic character of Baloo.
The main character of Mowgli was played by child actor Neel Sethi in his feature length debut and I think he pulls off the role for the most part. I can only imagine how hard it must have been to give a performance when a lot of the movie had to be shot on green screen. I’ve read that the filmmakers brought in puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to act along with Sethi to try and help him pull off the role. I think that made a lot of difference because overall Sethi really shows that he can act. There were a few spots here and there where I felt he could have been better although it is hard to tell if it was his acting or just the script.
This version of The Jungle Book is basically a direct remake of the 1967 Disney cartoon. The difference is that this is quite a bit longer and has been filled out a bit more with some ideas from Rudyard Kipling’s original stories about Mowgli. They add the Peace Rock which is a big rock by a stream of water where all the animals can drink from under a truce that they won’t attack each other. They also add the Law of the Jungle which becomes a very important part of the movie.
The biggest thing I was worried about with this movie were the CGI animals. They actually turned out looking very good and the best I’ve seen since the recent Planet of the Apes movies. They actually add a few of the songs in this movie although they don’t over do it which I’m glad. Christopher Walken played the character King Louie who is a giant 9 foot tall ape in the movie. He sings a version of the song “I Wanna Be Like You” and although I’m glad they included it being my favorite song from the 1967 cartoon I didn’t think it was near as well done as the original and kind of felt weak in comparison.
I think a lot of people are praising this version of The Jungle Book and calling it an instant classic and although I really liked it I think it is being a little bit too overrated. I really enjoy the characterization added to the character of Mowgli and how he doesn’t feel like he belongs in either the man village or the jungle. The way that the filmmakers pull that off really works and it adds a certain depth to Mowgli as a character that you usually don’t see in movies aimed at kids. Saying that though there are a few things that didn’t exactly make a lot of sense and I think they were overlooked by the filmmakers. The geography of the jungle seems a little off because they have Mowgli walking for a day or two to get to the man village and yet near the end they basically have him run all the way back to where he was living with the wolves in less than an hour. There were a few other things that were off like that although even with it’s flaws I have to say that this is easily one of the best versions of The Jungle Book ever made and I think this movie will pave the way for other Disney classics such as The Lion King to be made into fantastic live action movies.
Dave’s Rating- ★★★★(4) out of ★★★★★(5)
