Directed by: Jon Favreau.
Written by: Justin Marks based on
the novel by Rudyard Kipling.
Starring: Neel Sethi (Mowgli), Bill
Murray (Baloo), Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Lupita
Nyong'o (Raksha), Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Giancarlo Esposito (Akela), Christopher
Walken (King Louie), Garry Shandling (Ikki), Brighton Rose (Gray).
No
one can realistically doubt that Disney’s recent move to start re-making their
classic animated films as live action films is anything other than a
moneymaking scheme. Disney has beloved titles, that have instant consumer
recognition – and they want to capitalize on that. They used to just re-release
the films into theaters every few years, and in the Home Video era, they came
up with the “Vault” – an ingenious way to get consumers to buy all their titles
by making them worried they wouldn’t be able to get them later (although,
another version was always just around the corner). But theatrical re-releases
are rare now – and are never on a large scale, and the “vault” isn’t relevant
now than everything is available online – both legally, and illegally – so Disney
has to come up with a new way to cash in on their library – hence, the live
action updates. So we get movies like Maleficent, which is Sleeping Beauty from
the bad guys viewpoints, Cinderella, which somewhat, but not completely,
updated the gender politics of the original – and in the works there is Beauty and
the Beast and The Little Mermaid (the later, sadly, no longer from director
Sofia Coppola – although that is a version of that story I would kill to see).
So no, there is no point in denying that on some level, these live action
updates are a cynical attempt to cash-in on something consumers already love.
Having said all of that, let me also say this – if in the future, all these
updates are as good as Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, then I won’t care at all.
The film is well made, exciting, funny, scary and just downright fun. No, I wouldn’t
bring my 4 and a half year old to see it (especially after one very long night
last week, where I had to calm her down because of a nightmare about snakes) –
but it is a great film for slightly older kids – and their parents.
This
new version of The Jungle Book certainly owes a debt to the 1967 animated film
that it’s based on – but this version is significantly better. As charming as
that film was, it is also rather lackadaisical in terms of its plot – it basically
floats along on the goodwill generated by its characters its songs, and pretty
much forgets to have much of a plot. The film works, to be sure, but it’s
rather forgettable as Disney classics go (I think it’s generally expected to be
the last of the Classic Disney films, before the studio entered a little bit of
a creative drought that started with their next film, The Aristocats in 1970,
and didn’t end until The Little Mermaid in 1989). This new version of The
Jungle Book largely keeps our idea of the characters from the original – and
forces in a couple of low-key versions of two of the songs – but is a much more
tightly structured story. In it, Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is being raised by wolves
after he was found by the panther Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley). When the
tiger, Shere Khan, finds out that a “Man Cub” is living among the animals he is
angry. It’s a violation of the law of the jungle – and his scared/burned face is
evidence as to why – Man Cubs become Man – and Man is dangerous. He wants
Mowgli dead – and will do whatever it takes to see it done. So Bagheera and
Mowgli setoff to try and get him to the Man Village – but are separated –
providing Mowgli to have a series of adventures alongside the fun loving, lazy
bear Baloo (Bill Murray), be scared by Kaa the Python (Scarlett Johansson), and
meet a Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now inspired giant Monkey, King Louie
(Christopher Walken) – among other things.
Director
Jon Favreau does an excellent job with the special effects in the film. All of
the characters, aside from Mowgli, are CGI creations, and yet this is one of
the most impressive jobs yet in blending computer generated characters in with
the rest of their surroundings. It’s seamless really, and unlike many other CGI
movies, with talking animals, not even the talking effects distract from the
overall effect in the film. The film is full of wonderful set pieces – the best
include Mowgli’s encounter with Kaa, which genuinely frightened me, with
Johansson’s wonderful vocal performance, and the great visual moment of having
a flashback in the snake’s eye, the aforementioned Apocalypse Now inspired
meeting with King Louie, and pretty much everything involving Shere Khan. Idris
Elba’s vocal performance is the best in the movie – and although Khan is a
terrifying and cruel villain – he’s also one that, you have to admit, makes
logical sense. Man is a danger to all of the animals in the jungle (and the
jungle itself) – and although Khan can be cruel and violent (there is a truly
shocking killing committed by Khan – all the more shocking because of how
sudden it is), well, he’s a tiger. What do you expect him to be? Surely, you do
root for Mowgli throughout the film – and in the wonderful action climax of the
film – but Khan’s argument makes far more sense than Mowgli’s.
If
I were a 10 year old, then this Jungle Book would most likely be my new
favorite movie. It’s darker, more violent and scarier than a lot of movie of
its ilk – but not so much so that it becomes dour and off-putting (it isn’t, it
must be said, for younger children – something that to their credit, Disney has
made pretty clear in their advertising for the film). But it’s also a fun,
funny, and rapidly paced. Like every movie – particularly any movie of this
size – you can surely claim that it’s nothing but a cynical ploy to cash in on
a well-known property – and to a certain extent, it is that. But it’s a hell of
a lot more than that as well – a film that pays homage to the original, much
beloved film – but isn’t so beholden to it that it forgets it needs to work on
its own level as well. If Disney is going to continue to make all these updates
and remakes of their back catalogue, at least we can hope that they’ll all be
as good as this one.
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