Official movie poster (Disney) First things first, do not, I repeat, do not spend extra money to see Disney's latest live-action remake of The Jungle Book in 3-D. I know, the trailer looked amaze-balls (it was the main reason I was pressed to see it myself), but it's a lot like a food-commercial: the product in-person isn't as impressive. A few things stand-out as designed, but not to where it seems like it's right in front of you. It's the equivalent of a children's pop-out book. Outside of that, the visuals are incredibly stunning, using the best in computer graphics to create the majestic, exotic paradise that is the backdrop.
The plot is essentially the same as the 1967 cartoon version: an abandoned child, Mowgli, gets raised by wolves in the jungle and has to evade the threat of a vicious tiger named Shere Khan. How we get from point A to point B are where the changes come in, and they're mostly positive, as they enhanced the emotionality of the story. Significantly, Shere Khan (Idris Elba) has a legitimate motive for targeting Mowgli other than just being a man-eater, and how he's ultimately taken down is far more dramatic and worthy of being the climax. Mowgli (Ritesh Rajan) is braver, charming and actually interesting this time, not taking a backseat to Baloo and Louie (maybe screenwriter Justin Marks felt that in order to spice Mowgli up, Louie's spark had to be diminished; he was made more ominous). Other modifications, including the ending, the increased role of Mowgli's wolf-parents, how he meets Baloo (Bill Murray), and a further emphasized message about animal/nature mistreatment deepened the sense of kinship.
When you start flipping the script (do you like my movie pun?), the good stuff sometimes gets thrown out in the midst; kind of like that antibiotic you take that gets rid of good bacteria. The middle was cut with nothing in its place, removing a song (2 in total) and reducing the number of characters Mowgli interacts with. This wouldn't be an issue if the pace didn't slow and things got less eventful as a result. The iconicism of the music wasn't brought into 2016, mainly because it was obvious that the voice actors who performed the tracks (including Christopher Walken as Louie and Scarlett Johansson as Kaa) don't have singing as their day job. Given that music is a big part of Disney magic, this definitely took away from the film. Additionally, there wasn't a lot that kids would laugh at. It's not that the movie is inappropriate for children, I'm just not sure they would find it consistently entertaining. It honestly serves adults more, and only does so in the setup and peak. This edition of The Jungle Book isn't awful, but I don't believe it will be remembered beyond its effects and adorable lead actor.
The plot is essentially the same as the 1967 cartoon version: an abandoned child, Mowgli, gets raised by wolves in the jungle and has to evade the threat of a vicious tiger named Shere Khan. How we get from point A to point B are where the changes come in, and they're mostly positive, as they enhanced the emotionality of the story. Significantly, Shere Khan (Idris Elba) has a legitimate motive for targeting Mowgli other than just being a man-eater, and how he's ultimately taken down is far more dramatic and worthy of being the climax. Mowgli (Ritesh Rajan) is braver, charming and actually interesting this time, not taking a backseat to Baloo and Louie (maybe screenwriter Justin Marks felt that in order to spice Mowgli up, Louie's spark had to be diminished; he was made more ominous). Other modifications, including the ending, the increased role of Mowgli's wolf-parents, how he meets Baloo (Bill Murray), and a further emphasized message about animal/nature mistreatment deepened the sense of kinship.
When you start flipping the script (do you like my movie pun?), the good stuff sometimes gets thrown out in the midst; kind of like that antibiotic you take that gets rid of good bacteria. The middle was cut with nothing in its place, removing a song (2 in total) and reducing the number of characters Mowgli interacts with. This wouldn't be an issue if the pace didn't slow and things got less eventful as a result. The iconicism of the music wasn't brought into 2016, mainly because it was obvious that the voice actors who performed the tracks (including Christopher Walken as Louie and Scarlett Johansson as Kaa) don't have singing as their day job. Given that music is a big part of Disney magic, this definitely took away from the film. Additionally, there wasn't a lot that kids would laugh at. It's not that the movie is inappropriate for children, I'm just not sure they would find it consistently entertaining. It honestly serves adults more, and only does so in the setup and peak. This edition of The Jungle Book isn't awful, but I don't believe it will be remembered beyond its effects and adorable lead actor.
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