The Jungle Book
Director: Jon Favreau
Stars: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley
Duration: 205 mins
Class: U
KRS Releasing Ltd
Following Disney’s live-action reimagining of its 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty with Maleficent (2014) and that of Cinderella with the Kenneth Branagh-directed incarnation last year, the studio continues to plunder its back catalogue to terrific effect with this spectacular take of The Jungle Book. Live action and astonishing CG flawlessly coalesce for an impeccable update of the studio’s beloved 1967 classic.
The essence of the narrative – based, of course, on Rudyard Kipling’s seminal books – remains the same, with at its core a classic coming-of-age story featuring Mowgli (Neel Sethi), the man-cub raised by wolves in the jungle. The young boy is compelled to leave the jungle he calls home when he is threatened by the tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba), who harbours immense hatred for mankind.
As he grudgingly embarks on his journey away from the safety of the wolf pack he has grown up with, Mowgli encounters a host of jungle inhabitants – be they friend or foe – who all in their way contribute to the exploration of his place in this world.
Director Jon Favreau and his considerable team of craftspeople have created awesomely immersive surroundings to tell the story. The CG rendering of the jungle is a gorgeously lush environment featuring an explosion of assorted hues. The trees come in all verdant shapes and sizes; the flora all textures and colours imaginable; the animals a veritable menagerie of tangibly real creations – from the stately elephants down to the humblest of birds, with the most adorable and cuddly wolf cubs in between. The imposing landscape is surrounded by majestic mountains in the distance as waterfalls gush elegantly down cliff-faces, the lighting expertly capturing the bright sunlight as it filters through the trees, and the mysterious, starlit velvety purple darkness of night. There is too much to mention, and words simply cannot do it justice.
The action is breath-taking; from the opening scene where Mowgli races pell-mell through the jungle chased by his wolf siblings, to the final heart-in-mouth conflict, via a thunderous buffalo stampede reminiscent of the now-legendary one in The Lion King, and more, capturing a daring sense of adventure throughout.
Evokes a sense of childhood wonder even in the most cynical of adults
It is certainly stunning to look at and exciting to behold; yet Favreau displays keen sensitivity to the story, never letting the visuals or the action get in the way of its heart and soul. He mines sincere emotions from the screenplay by Justin Marks, who makes some significant departures from the original animated film - at times venturing into some very dark and sinister territory – making for some scary (and sad) watch-through-your-fingers moments. The darkness is tempered of course by many scenes of great hilarity and some truly moving moments.
The live-action share of the movie falls for the most part on the little but sturdy shoulders of the young Sethi, who makes his feature film debut as Mowgli. Bearing an astonishing resemblance to his animated predecessor, Sethi is a delightful combination of cute, precocious, vulnerable, brave and funny and blends in perfectly well with his A-list co-stars who voice the animal ensemble.
Ben Kingsley lends his mellifluous and articulate voice to Bagheera, encompassing the gravitas of the elegant black panther who serves as the stern but loving mentor to Mowgli. Giancarlo Esposito and Lupita Nyong’o voice the regal wolves Akela and his mate Raksha, Mowgli’s adoptive parents; while Scarlett Johansson is at her seductive best as the python Kaa. Idris Elba is on top and menacing form, truly capturing Shere Khan’s danger and menace. They are all superb, yet, it must be said Bill Murray and Christopher Walken steal most scenes they are in.
Murray is a scream with his spot-on rendition of the laid-back, jocular Baloo, effortlessly providing the bear’s share of the film’s humour, as he imparts lessons to Mowgli about the good life, while Walken brings his eccentric persona to the imposing and larger-than-life ape, King Louie, introduced to us via an oft-used (yet still funny) Godfather reference.
This version of The Jungle Book is not a musical, yet the classic numbers The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You make a welcome appearance, courtesy of new, toe-tapping versions by Murray and Walken respectively; (with an excellent rendition of Trust in Me by Johansson featuring in the end credits).
The elements that make up this version of The Jungle Book come together like a dream, making for a film that should achieve that rare goal of evoking a sense of childhood awe and wonder even in the most cynical of adults.