The Jungle Book (2016)

            Once again, we venture into the world of Disney animated films getting live action remakes. I’ve made my case before that I’m not too fond of the idea, because some of the previous attempts at doing this have turned out pointless and complete garbage, with the biggest offender being “Maleficent.” The only major exception we got out of this was Kenneth Branagh’s “Cinderella,” but that’s because the man is so well experienced with Shakespeare that he treated the project as such. Despite this, I still had no expectations for Disney’s next film, their remake of “The Jungle Book.”

            Based on the Rudyard Kipling books of the same name, the 1967 animated film follows the story of Mowgli, a man-cub orphan who is put under the watch of Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear. As the years go by, Mowgli grows much attached to the jungle and doesn’t want to leave for the man-village, despite the threat of Shere Khan the tiger. Sure, the animation wasn’t great and a few songs are very forgettable, but it’s the characters and morals that make the film stand out the most. While the film isn’t the most faithful adaptation of Kipling’s novel, the film stands as its own little thing and is one of the most memorable Disney films, especially since it was the last film that Walt Disney was associated with before he died in 1966.

            So handling a live action remake of this film would need great care and attention given. Sadly, Disney failed at honoring that…in 1994. Yeah, most people may not know this, but there was already a remake of “The Jungle Book,” made back in 1994, directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Jason Scott Lee. And it was pretty bad. If you want to know more about that adaptation, go and watch The Blockbuster Buster’s review of it on Dailymotion.

            Now with Jon Favreau’s adaptation taking the scene in theaters, it’s obvious that only the original animated film is being honored and not the book. For those of you that wanted to see a true faithful telling of the book, don’t worry about that. There’s another film directed by Andy Serkis coming out in a couple of years, so maybe you’ll get a true telling of the story then. But going back to the Favreau film, does it honor the animated film, or at the very least surpass the 1994 film? Well, I’m happy to report that the new film is not only good, it’s really good. In fact, I found myself having a grand old time watching this film.

            One of the worries I had about the film was it being filmed entirely on a set with blue screen, instead of being filmed on location and used with practical effects like I would prefer it to be. Much to my surprise, the effects were done really damn well. It actually looked like a real jungle with animals that inhabited it. It’s really nice to see a film use CGI and take the time and effort to make sure it looked its absolute best, as opposed to other films nowadays that half-ass it for absurd reasons.

            Neel Sethi plays Mowgli, and I was really impressed with this kid’s acting chops. He really gave it his all, playing a child that was raised in the jungle under the guidance of wolves, a panther, and a bear, especially since he had to work off of characters that he couldn’t actually see. I hope that he steers in the right direction if he does continue acting, because there is a lot of potential with this kid.

            As for the voice cast, I was really impressed with what they did. Despite being mostly celebrities, they really did a good job making these voices feel like they belong to these characters, and not sound like actors in a recording booth phoning it in. Bill Murray as Baloo was such a lovable guy, but made it feel different from what Phil Harris did in the animated film. Sure, he can be a bit selfish at times, but you still grow to like him despite those little moments. Plus, you do see the concern he has for what happens to Mowgli, as the two grow towards each other. Bill Murray really did a great job with this performance, and I couldn’t be happier to say that. Ben Kingsley as Bagheera was such a perfect casting choice. The stern parental role really stuck throughout, and the tone brought about in the performance was just as strong as it should be. Sebastian Cabot would be proud. Idris Elba as Shere Khan was another great vocal performance, and one that also fully embraced the character. A threat, a villain, a ferocious tiger that doesn’t take opposition lightly. That is who Shere Khan is, and this film got that right perfectly.

            Now with what they did that was really good here, there were two things that did bother me quite a bit. For one, the scene where Mowgli encounters Kaa, played by Scarlett Johansson, did feel like a big exposition dump, especially with the narration during it. It wasn't a bad scene, it just felt like it could have been re-worked a bit better. My second problem with the film were the song numbers. I mean, the scene with Baloo humming “The Bare Necessities” in one scene was fine, but when they’re singing that in the river or when King Louie sings “I Wanna Be Like You,” it felt a bit out of place. It wouldn’t have been a problem if they only played them in the end credits, since they did that with “Trust in Me,” but to throw those two songs in the film and no others felt really distracting. Although, I will admit I got a kick out of Christopher Walken singing as a giant ape…that’s something I had to write down.

            Aside from that, Jon Favreau’s “The Jungle Book” is a film I highly recommend seeing. If you’re a fan of the original animated film, you’ll have a great time watching this. The production value is stunning, the acting is fantastic, and it’s an overall great film to watch.

Rating: 9/10