Review of The Jungle Book (2016) by Ethan P — 13 Jul 2016

The Jungle Book breathes a wild, ferocious energy into a familiar story and indulges the audience in a breathtaking aesthetic experience. The film takes place in a dark, complex and beautifully wild place, filled with an incredible assortment of creatures and beasts that all depend on each other. The CGI animals are amazingly realistic. The fights are brawny and brutal, especially the Wildebeest Chase, the tiger killing the head wolf and the fight between the tiger and Baloo. The casting is absolutely impeccable. The leads are perfectly cast, especially Bill Murray as Baloo. Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson and Idris Elba are all amazing. The old tale is presented with sharp focus and enchanting style as Mogli survives one dangerous encounter after another on his journey to the man village. The finale with the Jungle on fire and the showdown between Mogli and the tiger is brilliant.

It will be difficult to surpass the beautiful and ferocious nature that Jungle Book created in Disney's latest reimagining of the story. The giant monkey was terrifying and seeing him tear apart his ruins to get the boy was thrilling. It wasn't afraid to be violent and scary and visceral. It is a darker, wilder version compared to the fun-loving, musical original, but it still manages to have fun, light moments, like when Mogli and Baloo work together to collect as much honey as possible. I also really liked the themes of acceptance and grace. The animals force Mogli to be an animal at first, but eventually appreciate and help him develop into what he is: a human. He harnesses his human abilities and uses them to save the Jungle without using the human's weapon, fire. I really, deeply enjoyed watching this. It is refreshing.