The Jungle Book Film Review

The Jungle Book is a beloved classic so when I heard they were remaking it, I was skeptical. Nothing worse than having something you hold dear from your childhood being ruined. The 1967 Disney film was one of the first animated films I watched as a child and I remember singing along to the songs and cheering Mowgli on. Disney has been remaking a couple of their classics with ‘Sleeping Beauty’ re-imagined as ‘Maleficent’ and a live action ‘Cinderella’ released last year. There’s always a danger to touching the classics but there’s also the possibility of a triumph of the re-imagination.

I checked into the theatre at Prestige Plaza at 10am for the screening. The Jungle Book was showing in 2D (though I hear there’ll be a 3D version though I’m not sure if and when that will be screening in Kenya) which was a little disappointing but it didn’t dampen my mood too much. I did have high expectations as the film is directed by Jon Favreau, who did justice to Iron Man. The film is touted as live action but is mostly CGI and is written by Justin Marks based on the books by Rudyard Kipling as well as inspired by the 1967 film.

Mowgli is played by newcomer Neel Sethi, who does a fantastic job of portraying the essence of the character, although there are instances where the fact that he’s green shows. Still, it’s difficult not to fall in love with his take on Mowgli. Idris Elba is perfect as Shere Khan, as is our darling Lupita Nyong’o as Mowgli’s adoptive wolf mom, Raksha. Bill Murray as Baloo is right on the money and breathes a necessary light-hearted humour into the film. Christopher Walken as King Louie lends an interesting choice to portray Louie as a mob boss of sorts which veers off the 1967 film, but I ended up liking it. Scarlet Johannson voices Kaa, and though it’s a pretty short scene, it may scare the kids and some grown-ups. (I actually was pretty creeped out by the scene. Though to be fair, I am scared of snakes.) And of course, Ben Kingsley as the sagely Bagheera is the perfect choice for the role.

The visuals are stunning with the CGI reminiscent of The Life of Pi. The animals are so lifelike it’s incredible and I especially appreciated the little details in their movement. The landscape is breathtaking. Whether it’s the colour of the sunrise in the sky or lush-green foliage or even the menacing darkness of the deep forest, everything was breathtaking. The pacing of the film shows that Favreau was a good choice of Director, though the film is a little darker (okay, a lot darker) than its predecessor. Some of the classic’s songs, ‘Bare Necessities’ and ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ are in the film and had me reminiscing my childhood.

The Jungle Book is a great film for children and adults alike. The story is solid and filled with life lessons on family, love, acceptance of those different from us, belonging, friendship, courage, self-belief and celebration of our strengths. It’s a wholesome family movie that will warm your heart and have you tearing up.

Rating: 4/5