"The Jungle Book" Movie Review

"The Jungle Book" is one of Disney's newest live-action retelling of one of their classic animated films, which seems to be a thing now, what with "Cinderella" being released last year, and movies like "Pete's Dragon", "Beauty and the Beast" and others on the way. 

"The Jungle Book"  is directed by Jon Favreau ( director of Iron Man, Chef, etc.) follows the story of Mowgli, an orphaned "man-cub" who is raised by wolves in the Indian jungle. Mowgli has to be taken to a "man-village" before the villainous tiger Shere Khan can kill him. However, on his journey back to the world of man, Mowgli encounters many different animals, some who are friendly towards him and others who aren't as kind in their intentions. After Shere Khan threatens Mowgli's family and friends, he returns to defend those he loves. 

This movie was really impressive overall- not only did it pay homage to the original Disney version, but they also tried to incorporate elements from Rudyard Kipling's classic novel. I also feel like this movie was much more of a step-up from Disney's other live action version of this story that was released back in 1994. While that movie was more like "The Jungle Book" meets "Tarzan" this one seemed to be more to the point. I also saw a lot of similarities in this film to the classic short "Mowgli's Brothers" which was released in 1976 and was animated by the late, great Chuck Jones. 

Mowgli and Baloo
[found on Google Images]

That being said, while all of these films clearly share the same basic story line and name, there are many things that set this film apart from it's predecessors. The main thing is the fact that this film is entirely done in CG. Normally, this would be a point against the movie for me, as I personally am getting a little sick of movies relying heavily upon that medium and not even seeming to try to achieve practical effects or anything else. I can honestly say however, that for most of the film I had no idea I was watching a CGI film because all of the sets and locations in the movie appeared to be real. I couldn't believe it after I saw the film! You can still tell the animals are CGI, but the animators really

Jason Scott Lee as Mowgli in "Rudyard Kipling's The
Jungle Book" in 1994 [found on Google Images]

nailed a lot of the animal casts' natural mannerisms, types of fur/skin/scales, as well as movements. If I had to pick one animal that just looked the best versus the others, it would have to be Bagheera the black panther, but honestly, all of the animals looked great. It really was amazing to see. I also really liked the fact that no real animals were used to film this movie. While I said I do prefer practical effects over CGI effects any day, I really feel that this was the best way to go to achieve what these characters needed to do in the story. They really helped maintain the suspension of disbelief whereas I feel that live animals, especially wild animals, need much more coaxing than domesticated animals in order to achieve the desired action, and there is nothing that will break that aforementioned suspension as seeing an animal clearly trying to gain the trainer's approval. Also, let's just face it- wild animals deserve to be out in the wild enjoying their lives and not on some sound stage trying to get treats for a job well done. But that, dear children, is for another blog entirely... 

Mowgli saying goodbye to his mother, Raksha. A very
emotional scene that displays Sethi's acting skills at their
finest. [found on Google Images]

I also have to give a lot of credit to Neel Sethi for his portrayal of Mowgli. He was literally the only real thing about this movie, and for him to pull off the performance he did while acting with literally NO ONE else, it really was a testament to how talented this kid is. He's definitely got some mad acting chops and I look forward to seeing what else he can do in future films. 

Dangers of all shapes and sizes wait for Mowgli
in the Jungle. Shere Khan pictured above, Kaa below.
[found on Google Images]

The rest of the cast isn't without merit, though. While Neel is making his film debut in "The Jungle Book", the rest of the cast is made up of seasoned actors and actresses. Ben Kinglsey gives Bagheera a voice, and it's a very smooth, collected, and stern one. He was a perfect choice for the role, for sure. Bill Murray is another example of a great casting choice who brings the comic relief as sleepy brown bear Baloo. This is the best performace I've seen from Murray since his cameo in "Zombieland", so it was great to hear the humor and wit of the Bill Murray we all know and love. Christopher Walken plays King Louie, who for some reason, is a gigantic orangutan. While the King Louie of the animated film was played by jazz-man Louis Prima, Walken makes Louie sound much more like a mob boss, which is basically what his character is, so that was a nice touch. Lupita Nyong'o does an amazing job as Mowgli's adoptive mother Raksha  and Giancarlo Esposito is a calm and peacful Akeala, who is the leader of the Seeonee wolf pack. Scarlet Johansen gives a voice to the duplicitous snake Kaa, which was a very interesting casting choice. A lot of people, audience and critics alike have been critical of this decision. I, however, kind of like it. While a lot of people say she should sound more reptilian/snake like, I feel that not only would that be the obvious choice, but it's a good idea to make her sound so innocent and appealing to Mowgli- how else can a serpent get someone to trust her and get close enough for her to wrap her coils around them? And finally, Shere Khan's voice comes from the talented Idris Elba. While his voice adds a level of classiness, he's also very terrifying when he delivers some of his lines. This tiger isn't playing around- he means business and with Mr. Elba's performance that becomes disturbingly clear as the story progresses. 

As you can see, I have plenty to say about this film. I thought it defied my expectations and made me a believer that the rest of Disney's live action adaptions may just be worth giving a shot. I give "The Jungle Book" 4 out of 5 stars; it's definitely worth checking out!