The Jungle Book
Dir: Jon Favreau
Starring: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong’o,
Christopher Walken, Idris Elba, and Scarlett Johansson
The Disney film that played almost consistently throughout
my childhood was “The Jungle Book”. The Walt Disney produced animated film was
a staple of my childhood, a film that still finds considerable viewings in my
home with my family today. Director Jon
Favreau, who is partly responsible for the resurgence of Marvel superhero films
from his fantastic vision for “Ironman”, tackles the story of Mowgli the
man-cub from the Rudyard Kipling novel. It’s hard trying to update these
classic animated tales from Disney’s early days, some seem to miss that “magic”
quality that makes these films so formidable in the memories of people who grew
up with them. This version of “The Jungle Book” I am happy to inform is
impressive; a beautifully computer rendered film with a standout performance
from young star Neel Sethi, Mr. Favreau has successfully crafted a magical
jungle story.
Mowgli (Neel Sethi) has been raised in the jungle since he
was young child, protected by a panther named Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and pack
of wolves that have taken the young man-cub into their company. Raksha (Lupita
Nyong’o) is Mowgli’s wolf mother, she is tender and caring and treats Mowgli
with the same amount of love as she does her own wolf cubs. Mowgli is curious
about the jungle and the animals that live within, however his curiosity is
reflected dangerously by a tiger named Shere Khan (Idris Elba) who threatens
anyone who stands in the way of him and Mowgli.
Transferring this animated film with talking animals into a
medium that is not a traditional cartoon is a challenge, however with the help
of technology Mr. Favreau’s film comes to striking photo-realistic life. Even
though moments are broken with moving animal mouths that have human voices
coming out of them, it rarely distracts because the film correlates many of the
qualities those who have come to love this cartoon with the film. From the
opening moments that introduce the film with the original 1967 theme intact, to
the beloved sing-a-long songs that still make an appearance, to the cartoon
playfulness that should come with a film based off a story with talking
animals; everything seems to be treading lightly and respectfully on the
original Disney tale.
The voice work is a great combination of familiar voices.
Bill Murray is the most recognizable in the role of the laidback bear Baloo.
Mr. Murray’s usual comic flare and style are evident throughout the composition
of the character. Ben Kingsley fits perfectly with the temperament of Bagherra
the panther. Christopher Walken sounds as good, if not better, as the great ape
King Louie. Scarlett Johansson also fits perfectly as the soothing serpent Kaa.
The best of these performances, combined with the fantastic effects, is Lupita
Nyong’o as Mowgli’s mother Raksha who in one touching moment tells Mowgli that
he will always be loved wherever he goes. The star of the film, amidst all
these famous names, is newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli. Young Mr. Sethi,
performing mostly against a CGI capture, provides emotion and passion as the
maturing Mowgli.
This version of the “The Jungle Book” provides more drama,
which means some scenes may be a little more intimidating for younger viewers.
However, this shouldn’t keep you from bringing the family to watch this film.
It captures enough of the familiar qualities to evoke those childhood memories
for those who grew up with the cartoon and enough movie magic moments that will
create new memories for young people seeing this story for the first time.
Monte’s Rating
4.00 out of 5.00
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