As many of you know, Disney’s current schedule of upcoming
live-action releases is almost entirely consisting of live-action remakes of
their animated classics. These last few months in particular have seen the company
announce numerous proposed films, including a new Winnie the Pooh, a new Mary
Poppins film, and The Sword in the
Stone, just to name a few. This of course is following the highly
successful box-office runs of films like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and 2014’s Maleficent.
However, this new practice of theirs has attracted a considerable amount of
controversy amongst certain audiences for the same reasons that basically
affect any announced remake, namely the question as to why one would attempt to
remake a beloved film like the many animated classics that Disney has produced
over the years. I, on the other hand, am a little more optimistic that a fair
amount of these ‘Disney remakes’ are going to turn out fine. That mindset
developed for me after I watched last year’s live-action version of Cinderella, which ended up being my #3
favorite film of 2015. Not only was the film full of gorgeous visuals but it
was also big on heart and the end result was a film that both honored the
original animated classic that inspired it while also doing enough to
distinguish itself as its own entity. You could pretty much say that it is
solely because of that film that I’m generally optimistic about these upcoming
Disney remakes. Because if you ask me, if at least a few of these remakes happen
to be as well-made as Cinderella by
filmmakers who clearly show a lot of affection towards the original film, then that
would mean that the fact that all of these remakes are getting announced is
nowhere near as bad as some may claim.
Which brings us to the latest in this line of ‘Disney
remakes’, The Jungle Book. It of
course follows in the footsteps of the company’s 1967 animated adaptation of
Rudyard Kipling’s iconic novel of the same name. Unfortunately, that version is
forever connected to a tragic point in the history of Disney Animation as it
was the last Disney animated feature that Walt Disney himself produced prior to
his death in 1966, just ten months before the film’s release. But even with the
loss of the studio’s visionary leader, the original Jungle Book became an animated classic and served as a very fitting
swan song for the man who was responsible for some of the most famous animated
films/shorts of all-time. This new version is directed by Jon Favreau, who in
the past gave us hits like the first two Iron
Man films, the modern holiday classic Elf,
and his most recent effort, the charming (and also hunger-inducing) indie flick
Chef. And just like Kenneth Branagh
last year with Cinderella, Favreau
very much succeeds in regards to how his take on the classic story of the
man-cub Mowgli both honors the original film that inspired it while also making
its own mark in film history. The new Jungle
Book is easily one of the best-looking films of the year, which is even
more impressive considering the method in which the film was made. But those
visuals are only the icing on the cake as this remake very much succeeds in
capturing the heart of the original Disney flick without being a complete
rehash of what came before.
The film of course follows the same general plot of both the
original Kipling novel and the 1967 Disney animated version. In the middle of
the Indian jungle, a young orphaned baby boy is found by the panther Bagheera
(Ben Kingsley). Realizing that he has no mother or father to look after him,
Bagheera brings him to a wolf pack, which includes the boy’s ‘adoptive mother’
Raksha (Lupita Nyong’o) and the pack’s leader Akela (Giancarlo Esposito), who
then proceed to raise the young man-cub, Mowgli (Neel Sethi), as one of their
own. Mowgli’s peaceful life with the pack is soon threatened, however, when the
vicious tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba), who hates man after being threatened by
them via man’s great asset, fire AKA what the animals refer to as ‘the red
flower’, threatens to kill him and anyone who dares to protect him. Realizing
that he is in danger, Bagheera and the wolf pack agree to have Mowgli brought
to the nearby man-village so that he will be safe from Shere Khan’s wrath with
his own kind. But while on the way to the man-village, Mowgli soon finds
himself coming across all sorts of characters, from the laid-back bear Baloo
(Bill Murray) to the devious and hypnotic snake Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) to the
imposing ape King Louie (Christopher Walken), all while being simultaneously
hunted by Shere Khan.
You want to know the most interesting thing about this film?
It was shot entirely on a soundstage. Just like all of its animal characters,
all of the jungle locales in the film are basically done entirely in CGI. And
while some may argue that this would make the whole film ‘too artificial’ as a
result, it actually does really work in regards to make everything look so
photo-realistic even when knowing that most of it was created by computers. As
for the film itself, it takes on a much darker tone compared to the original
animated film, which does sort of make sense because the predator animals in
this story could be considered as being more menacing in a live-action setting.
However, it doesn’t get too dark to the point where it would completely draw
younger audiences away. And aside from three new renditions of the songs ‘The
Bare Necessities’, ‘I Wanna Be Like You’, and ‘Trust in Me’, the film avoids
going the same musical route of its animated predecessor. All in all, this
results in the film’s overall tone and plot being a generally equal mix of both
the original animated film and Rudyard Kipling’s original novel. But of course
this film is more than just pretty visuals, even though said visuals could very
much make the film a worthwhile theater experience all on their own. At the end
of the day, Favreau very much succeeds in capturing the heart of the original animated
film in this new live-action setting. He does this through many things,
including the multi-layered characters who are just as memorable as they were
in the original animated film and the story’s strong themes of friendship and
courage.
As Mowgli, newcomer Neel Sethi is the only major live-action
actor in the entire film. And considering that he had to go through the entire
film shoot interacting with locations and characters that weren’t primarily added
in until post-production, he definitely pulls off the act of managing to make
it all seem natural quite well. At the same time, he also succeeds in making
his Mowgli both likable and also very clever, the latter of which is
represented by the many ‘inventions’ that he comes up with throughout the film.
As for the animal characters, this film features a pitch-perfect voice cast as every
actor/actress is an excellent fit for their respective roles. Bill Murray’s
generally laid-back demeanor perfectly fits Baloo, who in this version is more
sarcastic than his animated counterpart but is still a loyal friend to Mowgli
through thick and thin. Ben Kingsley more than brings the right gravitas to the
role of the noble panther Bagheera while Idris Elba provides one heck of an
intimidation factor in the role of Shere Khan, who in this version gets a bit more
backstory as to why he hates man. Some of the animal characters actually get
more to do in this film compared to the animated film, particularly the
wolf-pack and Mowgli’s ‘adoptive mother’ Raksha who, despite everyone telling
her otherwise, very much treats Mowgli like her own son, resulting in a particularly
emotional scene near the beginning when Mowgli decides to leave for the man-village.
As for the characters of Kaa and King Louie, who each have one major scene in
the film, Scarlett Johannsson’s alluring voice fits perfectly in the part of
the hypnotizing snake while Christopher Walken’s wackier persona is fitting for
King Louie. At the same time, however, this King Louie is considerably
different than the one from the original film, as he is just as menacingly imposing
as he is in size.
Now before I list my rating for this film, let me be clear
about something first. While I’m about to give it a rating that’s ½ a star
higher than my rating for the original Jungle
Book, that doesn’t automatically mean that I view this new film as the ‘superior’
version, which is a claim that quite a few critics have been making these past
few days. Just like with the new Cinderella,
I view this new Jungle Book as a
complement to the original film and not something that’s meant to ‘replace’ it.
The original Jungle Book is still an
undeniable classic (and one that, for the record, is far better than what
Screen Junkies recently made it out to be) and this new version helps introduce
the story of the man-cub Mowgli and his adventures in the jungle to a whole new
generation. And it very much is an excellent new take on this classic story.
From a technical perspective, it’s one of the most visually breathtaking films
in recent memory which is saying a lot considering that the film is basically
95% CGI. But at its core lies the same heart that defined the original with a
terrific cast bringing these classic characters to life. So yes… this isn’t the
end of Disney’s live-action remakes. There are a lot more on the way, perhaps
even a bit too many at this point. However, both this film and Cinderella are more than enough proof
that they can be done and, more importantly, be done very, very well. So in
short, contrary to what popular opinion may be, I am genuinely excited to see
what Disney comes up with next in regards to re-imagining some of the classic
films and stories that have defined many a childhood.
Rating: 5/5!
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