Review of The Jungle Book (1994) by Mrmoviebuff — 15 Apr 2016

Disney nails another live action remake yet again. This time, director Jon Favreau ('Elf' and 'Iron Man') decides to take on the story written by Rudyard Kipling, and remaking the original 1967 animated classic. It's also worth mentioning that the 1967 animated Disney classic was also the last animated feature film produced by Walt Disney before his death in December 1966. I wouldn't be surprised if that boosted the attention of 'The Jungle Book' (1967) for film-goers everywhere.

The movie stars Ben Kingsley as Bagheera the Black Panther who found a little, abandoned boy named Mowgli (a very talented and young Neel Sethi) and decided to let a family of wolves raise him.

We see Bagheera raising and training the little Mowgli who still has a lot to learn, but with him being the only "man cub" within the jungle, that doesn't seem to pass the attention of the villainous Shere Khan (Idris Elba) who plans to kill the young boy. This is seen as an opportunity for Bagheera to take Mowgli to where the humans are, but Mowgli feels that he only belongs in the jungle, he comes across different animals along the way including; a group of marching Elephants, a scheming snake named Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), but he also meets the fan favorite, Baloo the Bear (Bill Murray).

One thing I will say about Murray's performance is that, while certainly great and never failing to provide the laughs, this vision of Baloo is very different to the one in the original animated classic. The animated one was more clumsy, and maybe a bit more simple minded. Murray's version seems to stretch down the more sarcastic side, if anything Bill Murray is basically playing Bill Murray the Bear. But he is likeable and yes, they do sing the iconic "Bear Necessities" which bring back childhood memories of hearing the 1967 animated classic for the first time.

What mainly surprised me the most about this movie was how it accelerates more towards the second half, I felt that the first half was more deliberately paced from time to time, but once the action starts, director Jon Favreau knows how to keep you entertained and invested throughout. The CGI in this film and the setting looks so fantastic, that I can really imagine Disney remaking 'The Lion King' (1994) into live action soon, and it would look something like this. Perhaps Jon Favreau should do the honors of directing that as well if he wouldn't mind.

Much like 'Cinderella' (2015), I cannot say that 'The Jungle Book' is a "must see" film, because you have seen it before. However, if you are looking to taking your children to the cinema, or if you just want to watch a full-blooded, animal adventure film that also is not afraid to be too sentimental, then this is the movie you're looking for. It is another "better than your average live-action remake".