Disney's The Jungle Book (2016) - Written Review

Jon Favreau is a director who has a track record of making seemingly doomed movies good. Iron Man in 2008 had pretty much no reason to be any good, but somehow without even a proper script Favreau made one of my all-time favourite movies. His 2003 film Elf is one of the most heart-warming and funny Christmas movies ever made, yet should surely not work on any technical level. Add this to other Favreau projects Chef, Iron Man 2 and Zathura, and you'll realize that Disney's "live action" remake of The Jungle Book isn't actually as condemned as first thought.

With Disney's recent trend of remaking classic animated films as live action reboots, sequels or prequels that turn out to...not really be that good, The Jungle Book would at first appear to be another one to add to the list. However, with Jon Favreau directing and an all-star cast of Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken, not to mention the brilliant casting of Neel Sethi as Mowgli, The Jungle Book stands out as being one of the best films of the year so far.

The Jungle Book follows a young boy called Mowgli, who, after being orphaned at a young age, was taken in by a pack of wolves. When the vicious tiger Shere Kahn vows to kill the man-cub, Bagheera the panther agrees to take Mowgli to a man village before Kahn can get to him. Along the way Mowgli meets a plethora of different animals, from Kaa the snake to Baloo the bear...

On a purely visual level, you just need to watch the trailers to realize how stunning The Jungle Book looks. All of the environments and the animals look almost eerily realistic and while I'm sure that one day people will be able to top this quality of visual effects, for now The Jungle Book shows just how far these effects have come and just what they are capable of. It's amazing how much character the CGI animals have, thanks to brilliant motion capture work of the actors, and Neel Sethi's Mowgli is almost perfectly blended in with all of the visual effects. Oh, and some of the lighting - particularly in the red flower sequence near the end - is just wonderful. The use of colour is perfect throughout the film, and the lighting always sets the mood of each scene.

It's hard to believe that this was all filmed against a blue or green screen, and after a few minutes you'll forget most of this movie was made on a computer. The way the camera films the animals and jungle itself just draws you into this amazing world.

What really helps is the performance from Neel Sethi as Mowgli, who despite being the only live action main character in the film really makes you believe he is part of this world. The way he interacts with the other characters - particularly Lupita Nyong'o's Raksha - really adds to the illusion. Mowgli proves to be the real heart of the movie, and given how great Neel Sethi is in this, I look forward to seeing where his career goes after this.

Bill Murray is great as Baloo, but Ben Kingsley makes for a very endearing Bagheera - a character who if played by the wrong actor could become very unlikeable, but Kingsley helps to create a great father-son dynamic between Mowgli and Bagheera that makes you empathise with his situation. Lupita Nyong'o makes for an excellent Raksha, while Christopher Walken combines both humour and menace is his performance as King Louie. Scarlett Johansson makes for a very creepy Kaa, while Idris Elba is practically perfect casting as Shere Kahn. Some of the things Shere Kahn does in this movie are so manipulative and terrifying but Idris Elba sells all of it.

The music by John Debney takes many cues from the soundtrack of the animated 1967 film and reworks them in a fantastic way. The "Bare Neccessities" song is a definite highlight of the film, and while The Jungle Book isn't a musical, there is also the inclusion of King Louie's "I wanna be like you" song - which does feel a little out of place in the film. It is great however, to hear new versions of some of the original songs in the credits sung by the new cast, especially Scarlett Johansson's version of "Trust In Me".

Ultimately what I love about The Jungle Book though is its heart. This is a film that Jon Favreau, Justin Marks and the entire cast wanted to make - not one they were just contractually obliged to. The amount of work that has been put into this film really shines through in the final product, making arguably the best interpretation of The Jungle Book to date. Disney are already so pleased with the film that Sethi and Favreau are signed on for a sequel, and rightly so. The Jungle Book is a visual treat for the eyes with a lot of heart behind it, strong performances and a great script. While some of the scene transitions and pacing early on in the film feel quite clunky - we go from one fun scene of Mowgli chasing after some puppies to him meeting Kaa - the overall end product is just fantastic. I love almost everything about this movie, and the ending really made me smile. If you haven't already been to see The Jungle Book, do so - it's well worth watching at the cinema, and if you can, in 3D or IMAX.

I give The Jungle Book a 9/10.