"The Jungle Book" - Review

Forget About Your Worries and Your Strife...

We now have the first of two(!) Jungle Book reboots being released. Andy Serkis is directing Jungle Book (without the the) and it was recently pushed from its 2017 release into 2018. I wonder if the reason why was because Warner Bros. got a bit worried after this weekend. Andy Serkis has his work cut out for him. Jon Favreau's Disney remake of The Jungle Book is here and it is spectacular. It is a visual feast for the senses with a surprisingly tense but fun and insightful script. Along with other technical masterpieces like Avatar and Life of Pi, this is what movie theaters were created for. I can imagine that a good deal of the wonder of this movie would be lost on a smaller living room screen so if you want to experience this movie, and your whole family should, then go see it on the biggest screen possible while you can.

The Jungle Book is in theory a remake of the 1960's Disney animated classic of the same name, but it takes the familiar plot beats of the animated film and also borrows some of the darker insight of the original Rudyard Kipling stories that the movies were originally based on. Like those stories, this movie follows a young boy named Mowgli (Neel Sethi) who is found as an infant abandoned in the jungle. The panther Bagheera (voiced here by Ben Kingsley) finds him and looks after him as he is raised by the jungle's wolf pack. A few years later, Mowgli is discovered by Shere Khan (hauntingly voiced by Idris Elba). Shere Khan hates humans and wishes to claim Mowgli's life, so the young boy must go on the run so save himself, along the way meeting animals like Kaa the boa constrictor, Baloo the bear and King Louie the orangutan (Scarlett Johannson, Bill Murray and Christoper Walken respectively).

The animated film was basically made up of vignettes of Mowgli meeting different animals with Shere Kahn showing up at the end to be the villain, but making him the reason for Mowgli to be traveling and meeting these animals gives the film a sense of urgency and tension that is extremely palpable. It feels like a legitimate thriller at times. Lives are threatened, and taken, and there is tangible danger throughout. It is never too intense for young audiences, but it is something that parents should keep in mind. There is real seriousness and emotional complexity to the film and its subtext of mankind's historical cruelty and the way it effects nature is woven throughout in an intelligent manner. That is not to say that the film is not also fun. There is a real sense of joy as well, much of it coming from Bill Murray's wonderful voice performance as Baloo. This is a near perfect casting choice and there is a warm charm to his take on Baloo that is at once hilarious and heart warming. Neel Sethi, the talented young actor playing Mowgli, has a lot of fun interacting with him and he gives a great performance as well, which is all the more impressive since he is a child actor working with imaginary characters. Fun fact: the character of Baloo had such detail and size that it took animators 5 hours to render every second of screen time he had.

This seems like the perfect time to come to the best aspect of this film. The script is intelligent and the performances, including Christopher Walken's musical and threatening King Louie, are superb, but the true star is the seamless animation that creates the world of the jungle. Guess what? As the end credits almost jokingly state at the end, this film was filmed completely in downtown LA. Not a single second was created in an actual jungle. This is all done with green screen, minimal sets, and animation. Even with that knowledge, you may not believe it while watching the finished product. The results feel like magic. It is immaculately realized. The animals are animated with an eye for detail down to single strands of fur. This is a gorgeous film with a fully realized world and it shows in every single frame. It is an achievement for the film-making team on this film and I hope to see some accolades thrown their way later in the year.

The only thing that holds this movie back from perfection, for me personally, is that I felt that the film was at times rushed, particularly in the first third. The film jumps right into the action without preparing you first and it was a bit jarring at first. I wish that the writers were allowed to slow down just in a few parts to have Mowgli spend some time with the characters that watch out for him. The wolf pack was surprisingly fleshed out and stayed that way for the whole film and it had a particularly touching scene when Mowgli says his goodbyes in the beginning of the movie. If he were to find that kind of time with Baloo and Bagheera, it would have made later scenes even more effecting. Do not get me wrong. The development that is there is great, especially Baloo's, but I wanted more. Maybe I was just a little greedy.

Despite my problems with some momentary pacing, I thought this was a great film. It is thrilling and fun without being afraid to be scary and emotional at times. It is a visual master work with wonderful casting to back it up. This is a film that deserves every penny for the theater experience. I highly encourage you to go catch it while it is available. Movies that justify the theater exoerience like this do not come very often, so enjoy it while it is here. In fact, I am going a second time very soon. It is that good.

Grade: A-.

The Jungle Book is now playing in theaters everywhere. Catch it in 3D IMAX for the best experience.