Review of The Jungle Book (2016) by Russell S — 27 Dec 2016

Disney Movies have always blew me away with their remakes of classic tales, we had Cinderella, Maleficent, and Alice in Wonderland, but one has blew me away from beginning to end and it's called The Jungle Book. The Jungle Book is the classic tale by Rudyard Kipling that has spawned a culture for generations. I know Disney made a 1967 animated feature and there was also a terrible 1994 Jungle Book, but this was the best of them all. Director Jon Favreau has blown my mind again, and will blow your mind.

The Jungle Book starts with Mowgli, (a remarkable breakthrough performance by newcomer Neel Sethi), a young boy who lost his father to a tiger named Shere Khan (voiced magnificently by Idris Elba). Mowgli was later adopted by Akela (Giancarlo Esposito) and Raksha (voiced with wonderful emotional depth by Lupita Nyong'o), two wolves who lead the wolf pack and Mowgli trains with a black panther Bagheera (a unique Ben Kingsley) to run faster and keep up with the wolf pack. Later, Shere Khan shows up to protest that man is forbidden from the pack. Bagheera then decides to return Mowgli to the humans, but Mowgli is later alone and goes through the jungle running into fascinating creatures, including the snake Kaa (Scarlett Johansson using a very seductive voice), who tells him about his past and tries to kill him. He also meets the large orangutan King Louie (played by the marvelous Christopher Walken), who wants the red flower (fire) that man can make. Walken brings power to his voice just like he did when he gave fantastic performances in Catch Me If You Can and The Deer Hunter. You will also like his version of the wonderful song, "I Wanna Be Like You." His version of the song is actually pretty funny to watch.

Mowgli then runs into the one character who steals the show, Baloo. That's right, the honey-loving bear we all love and he's wonderfully voiced by a never-better Bill Murray. Baloo is the one character who wants to have fun, naps a lot, and knows how to be funny. He also sings a funny version of the Oscar-nominated classic song ,"The Bare Nesscities." Murray has never been this funny since his classic movies like Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Scrooged, and Caddyshack.

Favreau, director of unforgettable movies like Elf, Iron Man, and Chef, excels his talent with a wonderful script by Justin Marks, outstanding cinematography by Bill Pope (The Matrix, Spider-Man 2), and the visual effects team. The visual effects on the animals mouth movements match the outstanding effects of Babe. The art direction of the movie is beautiful and makes you want to actually visit the jungle. The Jungle in this movie will rank up with other magical places in movies like Pandora in Avatar, the ocean in Life of Pi, Wonderland in Alice In Wonderland, and Hogwarts in Harry Potter.

The cast is amazing playing unforgettable characters. Idris Elba voices Shere Khan with gratitude, which results into the biggest villain of the year so far. Wait, didn't Elba also voice Chief Bogo in Disney's latest classic Zootopia? Yes, he did, but he does it again as a tiger. Lupita Nyong'o voices Raksha with emotion and joins her unique voice portrayal of Maz Kanata in Star Wars:The Force Awakens and her Oscar-winning role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave. Ben Kingsley brings grip to his portrayal of Bagheera. All of these actors are exceptional, but the real one that will blow your mind is Neel Sethi, the only human in the movie. Sethi gives a tour de force performance as he plays Mowgli with all his strength and courage. He gives the year's best breakthrough performance as did Jacob Tremblay did with Room.

The Jungle Book will soon be considered not just as a modern day Disney classic, but a new American Classic. The Jungle Book is a marvelous way of bringing back the classic old Disney we all know in love. The visual effects should definitely get an Oscar as it is some of the best CGI I have seen on film ever. The actors are great, the story is great, the directing is great, and the whole movie is a masterpiece. Jon Favreau has brought the right movie version of Rudyard Kipling's beloved novel and will knock you out of your seat wanting to cheer for this movie at the end. The movie is superb, heartwarming, and flat-out funny. You will love this movie and you will leave the theater wanting more and want to see it again. It's that great? Yes!!!!!!!!