I want to be pissed about The Jungle Book. In my fantasy bubble, movies would be wholly original. Not reimaginings and retreads. Reboots and redos. Something fresh. I’ve been screaming this for years and yet nothing is done about it. My fantasy bubble has popped.
Here’s reality. Disney has decided, starting with Alice in Wonderland in 2010 , to remake their animation classics into altered live action films. Last year’s Cinderella was quite charming while Maleficent was a touch disjointed. On the horizon? A computer generated Pete’s Dragon with be arriving this year followed by Emma Watson experimenting with bestiality in Beauty and the Beast.
And while eating your own tail and serving the paying audience a regurgitated meal looks bad on paper, my sad truth is I’m enjoying these movies. I’m burning my soapbox .
The Jungle Book is an amazing film in many respects. And while it picks and borrows from the 1967 animated classic, there is plenty different to make this a neoteric experience. We follow Mowgli the man cub (played by an impressive Neel Sethi) living happily with the animals of the jungle. He plays with his wolf brothers and has a panther named Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) as his best friend. His life is threatened by a ferocious tiger named Shere Khan (Idris Elba)and he is forced to leave the jungle and go find his own kind in the Man Village.
All in line with the familiar. But what director Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Elf) does to distinguish is fill the film with spectacular action scenes and moments of real drama involving talking animals. This is expertly paced and looks phenomenal in 3D, something that is very rare these days.
The majority of the vocal cast is strong. Elba’s Khan is a frightening creation while Scarlett Johansson has a brief but effective turn as the seductive snake named Kaa. While the casting of Bill Murray as Baloo the bear sounds like a perfect match, Murray the master-genius-funny man exceeded my expectations. Baloo literally chews the scenery and steals the show. I want Baloo Underoos right now. The only stumble is Christopher Walken as the inexplicably huge King Louie. His New York gangster delivery of the lines is distracting and doesn’t fit the film. And Walken’s warbling of the song “I Wanna be Like You” makes the number feel out of place. This isn’t a musical and smashing the number into the film is a misstep.
What makes The Jungle Book extraordinary is the animated animals that populate the entire film. This is a step above the wonderful work in the new Planet of the Apes films or the tiger in Life of Pi. The effect is flawless and it is easy to suspend your disbelief and sit back to watch some seemingly real talking animals. Wonderful stuff.
So despite my prejudices against remakes, I was blown away by this movie. See it in the theaters and pay the 3 bucks for 3D. You will not be disappointed.