"The Jungle Book (2016)" Review

There are plenty of trends going around Hollywood nowadays, whether it is a constant stream of superhero movies, pointless sequels or terrible holiday movies directed by Garry Marshall. Disney have got their own trend going on right now, remaking many of their old animated classics into live action, such as Sleeping Beauty which became Maleficent or Cinderella which became...Cinderella. However, the decision to remake The Jungle Book into a live-action/CGI hybrid was met with a fair amount of scepticism. Mainly because there is only one human character in the movie. Released in 1967 and famously the last movie to receive the special touch of Walt Disney himself, The Jungle Book has remained a classic ever since it's released and brought us some of the most famous songs to come out of the company. Fortunately, the new version of the movie not only remains faithful to the original, but has been beautifully recreated in CGI to the point of realism.

Look, if you've seen the original Jungle Book (either the 1967 animated or the live action version) then you will know exactly how the plot of this one goes. The "man cub" Mowgli is raised in the jungle by a wolf pack and a wise panther called Bagheera. However, when the vengeful tiger Shere Khan arrives in his neck of the woods (or, in this case, jungle), Mowgli is forced to leave for the man village where he will be safe, encountering many fun and interesting characters along the way, including the relaxed bear Baloo. However, director Jon Favreau has made sure that enough new content has been added to keep sone surprises in store even for the biggest fan of the animated movie.  The writing in the movie is excellent and adds some great development to many supporting characters, such as the main members of the wolf pack, Raksha and Akela.  There are also a lot of emotional scenes in the movie, something I found quite surprising given the mainly humorous nature of the old movie.

However, good writing is nothing without great acting. Thankfully, this movie succeeds in that regard. Idris Elba in particular is menacing as the sinister Shere Khan. His entrance to the movie carries an atmosphere of fear and strength, which sets up his character brilliantly for the rest of the action. Bill Murray is also a perfect Baloo, and brings the majority of the movie's funny moments. However, one of the most underrated performances in the movie is Lupita Nyong'o as Raksha, the wolf mother. Despite not being in the movie a great deal, she does great in the scenes that she is in, especially the scene where Mowgli leaves the pack. She does very well conveying the motherly instincts you would expect from this character. Special mention must go to Neel Sethi as Mowgli who does well in the movie, despite interacting with nothing as he is acting in a computer generated environment. Adult actors with a lot of experience would struggle to do this, so it is very impressive to see a first-time actor succeeding in this role.

Of course, as it's based on the animated movie, the movie includes some of the old Disney songs are included. However, one of these is a little bit jarring, as there is no transition into it. The character just starts singing. Normally this would be fine, and it's not a big problem, but this is not a musical, and I was caught a bit off guard because of it. This particular song is " I Wan'na Be Like You," sung by Christopher Walken playing King Louie, who growls out his lines through the song like a mafia boss. "The Bare Necessities," on the other hand, is great in the movie. Bill Murray is great singing the song while floating down the river, and it is implemented in a smooth and well done way. The rest of the score, composed by John Debney, is great as well, particularly due to the how well it reflects each moment of the movie. Shere Khan's menacing melody is present in all of the movie's dark moments while the jazz tunes of the Bare Necessities provides some uplifting background music for the movie's most joyful scenes.

I've been building up to it, but the obvious big aspect of the movie I've not talked about yet is the visual effects of the animals and environments in the movie. The detail on characters like Baloo and Shere Khan are hyper realistic and deserve the recognition they are receiving. I read recently that the work on Baloo is so detailed that it required 5 hours of work for each frame of the movie. After seeing the movie, I can completely believe that. The other characters in the movie also look fantastic, with not a detail missed even in the most fast-paced action sequences. I would normally talk about set design, but the environment is all also completely CGI, besides for a few real-life sets. Fortunately, this is also so detailed that you will forget that everything you are seeing on screen was created using a computer. It is not crazy to suggest right now that the work done here is Oscar-worthy, even though we're only really 3 months into the movie year.

The movie does not only succeed in the visual effects department, but also every other technical aspect. The cinematography in the movie is very well done, with some amazing shots following the animals for long distances and the clear shots during the animal fights so that we can actually see what is happening during these intense sequences. Not only that, but the sound design and editing of the movie is also on point. Again, these were all crucial aspects for a movie so reliant on CGI and ensuring that a sense of realism is maintained throughout the movie and that the immersion of the audience in the world is not broken.

All in all, if you love the old Jungle Book so much that you don't want to see it changed in any way and are unwilling to accept something new, then you should stay far away from this. For the rest of us, I highly recommend this movie because it is fantastic. There is very little wrong with this entry in Disney's catalogue, with excellent writing and acting, with absolutely amazing visual effects and cinematography to boot. There have been quite a few movies out so far this year, and some great looking movies coming as we go into summer. However, you aren't likely to get as fun and uplifting an experience watching "Batman v Superman" than you are watching The Jungle Book.

Pros

• Fantastic writing
• Voice acting
• Beautiful effects
• Cinematography
• The score

Cons

• One strange song entry

Rating: 8/10

Release Date: 15th April, 2016

Starring Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken