Review of The Jungle Book (2016) by Colin R — 15 Jun 2017

Even though I don't think the original Disney classic is one of the best Disney animated features, I like it. As for this movie, I really enjoyed it. There are really good things about this movie. The visuals are spectacular.

This film has some of the best CGI I've ever seen. The film looks awesome. The jungle is large in scope and really something to behold. The animals look great too, although they are unnecessarily large.

As for the acting, it's good. All the actors do pretty good jobs in their roles. But why did they cast Scarlett Johannson as Kaa? First, I thought Kaa was a male, not female, and second, why get a well-known actress to voice her when she was only in the film in the film for a few minutes? Anyone else could've voiced Kaa.

At least in the original animated feature, Kaa appeared twice and added comic relief. Kaa's only purpose in this film was to show Mowgli's backstory, but how did she even know his backstory in the first place? The boy who plays Mowgli is decent.

The film also has pretty good action and suspense. The characters are as likeable in this movie as they are in the original. Mowgli definitely has a lot more personality, and I still like Baloo and Bagheera.

Shere Khan is a lot more vicious and menacing. The story is interesting and has a darker tone. The only two problems I have with the film is that I felt that the relationship between Mowgli and Baloo, and between him and his wolf family was kind of lacking.

I also felt that the incorporation of "Bear Necessities" and "I Wan'na Be Like You" was forced. I know they're paying homage to the original film, but still. Overall, I think The Jungle Book is a fun, visually dazzling, entertaining remake that surpasses the original.